US Representative Michele Bachmann, the rising favorite of the “Tea Party” movement, launched her presidential campaign on Monday with a pledge to give Americans “independence from government” so they can go back to relying on God and their neighbors.
The Republican member of Congress launched her race for her party’s nomination in Waterloo, Iowa, where she was born 55 years ago, with a significant opinion poll showing her tied with the front-runner, Mitt Romney, in the state that is seen as a key battleground.
Even as Bachmann played to the crowd with -reminiscences about her childhood, she was coming under scrutiny over her family’s acceptance of hundreds of thousands of US dollars in farm and business subsidies when she claims to be in favor of slashing government spending.
PHOTO: AFP
Bachmann, who represents a district in neighboring Minnesota in Congress, staked out a position aimed at Tea Party supporters, who she said include disaffected Democrats and independents.
Because of years of failed government policies, “the American dream is now distant from many Americans,” she said. “I think that Americans agree, our country is in peril today and we have to act with urgency to save it.”
The people stood with her “against government that’s got too big, spends too much and takes away too many of our liberties.”
She has called for corporate tax cuts, the scrapping of some environmental laws and phasing out a number of personal taxes. She has also advocated greater fiscal restraint.
“We can’t continue to rack up debt and put it on the backs of the next generation. We can’t afford an unconstitutional healthcare law that will cost us too much and deliver so little. We can’t afford four more years of failed leadership here at home and abroad. We can’t afford four more years of millions of Americans who are out of work and who aren’t making enough in wages to support a family,” she said.
The Des Moines Register released a poll of support for Republican presidential contenders in Iowa that put Bachmann in a virtual dead heat with Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who is considered a more mainstream candidate, among those likely to attend the caucus. Romney pulled in 23 percent, while Bachmann had 22 percent. However, potential heavyweights, such as Texas Governor Rick Perry, are yet to declare.
Bachmann faces accusations of hypocrisy after being questioned about her family farm receiving US$260,000 in federal subsidies and her husband’s business accepting US$30,000 from the state of Minnesota. On Fox News, -Bachmann said that her family never directly profited from the farm subsidies.
“It’s not my husband and my farm. It’s my father-in-law’s farm. And my husband and I have never gotten a penny of money from the farm,” she said.
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