U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota on Monday formally launched her bid to become the Republican presidential nominee in 2012.
Looking to be the first member of the U.S. House directly elected to the presidency since James Garfield did it in 1880, Bachmann made an informal announcement earlier in the month during a debate with the various Republican presidential candidates in New Hampshire.
Speaking in her old hometown of Waterloo, Iowa, Bachmann called for a constitutionally conservative government, which she insisted the Founding Fathers intended.
Pointing to her time growing up in Iowa, which she left in sixth grade, Bachmann said that her family went through hard times and that she learned important lessons. We trusted in God and our neighbors and not our government, said the congresswoman.
Saying America was at a crucial moment and that voters needed to make a bold choice, the congresswoman called for a smaller, less intrusive federal government.
Government keeps trying to erase that spirit because government thinks it knows better, said Bachmann, slamming President Barack Obama for increasing the federal debt and for passing the federal health-care law.
We cant afford four more years of failed leadership at home and abroad, Bachmann told a cheering crowd. We cant afford four more years of Barack Obama.
First elected to Congress in 2006, Bachmann, a favorite of the tea party, is claiming the wind is at her back and a number of recent polls have found that she seems to be gaining momentum in recent weeks. A poll released over the weekend from the Des Moines Register showed that she was battling former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts for the lead out in Iowa. The poll had Romney, the current front-runner for the Republican nod, taking 23 percent with Bachmann a whisker behind him with 22 percent. Businessman Herman Cain, another favorite of the tea party movement, took third with 10 percent while former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia and U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas tied for fourth with 7 percent. Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota stood with 6 percent, followed by former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania with 4 percent and former Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah with 2 percent.
Still, there is another candidate on the sidelines who may impact Bachmanns hopes -- former Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska. Palin, another favorite of the tea party movement, continues to leave the door open for a presidential bid. All eyes will be on the Hawkeye State when Palin vists there next week.
Bachmann played up her Iowa roots and defended the tea party movement, proudly embracing the label.
My voice is part of a much larger movement to take America, said Bachmann. We can win in 2012 and we will win.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
