Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann says if she decides on a 2012 presidential run, she would be a better candidate than others mentioned as possibly running for the GOP nomination because she is a “constitutional conservative.” Bachman, who indicated she will decide by June, also said Tuesday on Fox News that she has a history of fighting for the “little guy.”
“Well, I think it’s because I’m a proven fighter and I’m a constitutional conservative,” Bachmann told Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly. “I have a record — I have a record when I was in the Minnesota state house for six years, and also now in Congress. In all of that time, I’ve been a person who has been trying to fight against the political class and the ruling class. I will be able to represent who I am — and what I can stand for and why I think that I would be a good person.”
O’Reilly asked whether Bachmann was more qualified to represent “the little guy” than other potential GOP candidates.
“That’s what the American people want right now, Bill — they want a fighter. — I will say that has been my history — that has been what I have always done, “ she said. “I’m a tax lawyer, I started a very successful business, I have been the mother of five children — 23 foster children. My husband and I started the first K-12 charter school in the country for at-risk kids.
“We have a track record of not just talking about things but pouring our lives into something to be a part of a solution,” Bachmann continued. “There is a big difference. I have — I have taken on not just the other political party, but my own political party.”
Bachmann said her no vote on the 2011 budget deal is indicative of her going against the status quo.
“I voted against it — because I believe that we had an opportunity to fight on Obamacare,” she said. “The American people don’t like it, and I felt we had a chance to do some defunding of Obamacare.”
The founder of the House Tea Party Caucus noted that if a person is going to be in a position of running for president of the United States “there’s going to be a lot of people over the course of time that they will be taking on — so you have to be willing to take on everyone. That includes billionaire Donald Trump.
“I like Donald Trump — I think he’s an interesting person — he’s a colorful person, Bachmann said. “He is speaking to what the American people are wanting right now — they want a strong fighter.
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