As prepared for delivery:
Good evening, my name is Congresswoman Michele Bachmann from Minnesota’s 6th District.
Two years ago, when Barack Obama became our President, unemployment was 7.8 percent and our national debt stood at what seemed like a staggering $10.6 trillion dollars.
We wondered whether the President would cut spending, reduce the deficit and implement real job-creating policies.
Unfortunately, the President’s strategy for recovery was to spend a trillion dollars on a failed stimulus program, fueled by borrowed money.
The White House promised us that all the spending would keep unemployment under 8 percent.
Not only did that plan fail to deliver, but within three months the national jobless rate spiked to 9.4 percent. And sadly, it hasn’t been lower for 20 straight months. While the government grew, we lost more than 2 million jobs.
Let me show you a chart. [CHART]
Here are unemployment rates over the past ten years. In October 2001, our national unemployment rate was at 5.3 percent. In 2008 it was at 6.6 percent. But, just eight months after President Obama promised lower unemployment, that rate spiked to a staggering 10.1 percent.
Today, unemployment is at 9.4 percent with about 400,000 new claims every week.
After the $700 billion bailout, the trillion-dollar stimulus, and the $410 billion spending bill with over 9,000 earmarks, many of you implored Washington to please stop spending money we don’t have.
But, instead of cutting, we saw an unprecedented explosion of government spending and debt, unlike anything we have seen in the history of our country.
Deficits were unacceptably high under President Bush, but they exploded under President Obama’s direction, growing the national debt by an astounding $3.1 trillion-dollars.
What did we buy?
Instead of a leaner, smarter government, we bought a bureaucracy that tells us which light bulbs to buy, and which will put 16,500 IRS agents in charge of policing President Obama’s healthcare bill.
ObamaCare mandates and penalties will force many job creators to stop offering health insurance altogether, unless yours is one of the more-than-222 privileged companies or unions that has received a government waiver.
In the end, unless we fully repeal ObamaCare, a nation that currently enjoys the world’s best healthcare may be forced to rely on government-run coverage that will have a devastating impact on our national debt for generations to come.
For two years President Obama made promises just like the ones we heard him make tonight. Yet still we have high unemployment, devalued housing prices and the cost of gasoline is skyrocketing.
Here are a few suggestions for fixing our economy:
The President could stop the EPA from imposing a job-destroying cap-and-trade system.
The President could support a Balanced Budget Amendment.
The President could agree to an energy policy that increases American energy production and reduces our dependence on foreign oil.
The President could also turn back some of the 132 regulations put in place in the last two years, many of which will cost our economy $100 million or more.
And, the President should repeal ObamaCare and support free market solutions like medical malpractice reform and allow all Americans to buy any healthcare policy they like anywhere in the United States.
We need to start making things again in this country, and we can do that by reducing the tax and regulatory burdens on job creators.
America will have the highest corporate tax rate in the world. Look no further to see why jobs are moving overseas.
But, thanks to you, there’s reason to hope that real spending cuts are coming. Last November you went to the polls and voted out big-spending politicians and you put in their place men and women with a commitment to follow the Constitution and cut the size of government.
I believe that we are in the early days of a history-making turn.
Please know how important your calls, visits, and letters are to the maintenance of our liberties. Because of you, Congress responded and we are starting to undo the damage that’s been done.
We believe in lower taxes, a limited view of government and the exceptionalism of America. And I believe America is the indispensible nation.
Just the creation of this nation was a miracle. Who’s to say that we can’t see a miracle again?
The perilous battle that was fought in the pacific, at Iwo Jima, was a battle against all odds, and yet the image of the young G.I.s in the incursion against the Japanese immortalizes their victory. These six young men raising the flag came to symbolize all of America coming together to beat back a totalitarian aggressor.
Our current debt crisis we face today is different, but we still need all of us to pull together. We can do this.
And that’s the hope we hold tonight as Americans. We will push forward to reclaim the greatness of our country and to proclaim the liberty upon which we were founded.
And we will do so because we the people will never give up on this great nation.
God bless you, and God bless America.
From CNN Politics
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This woman is a real sicko and those who can find sense in her words are the same. Our new republican governor of Wisconsin has already cut so many projects that the unemployment has gone up already. Nice job Walker! A true republsive!
How can there be a response before the SOTU was even over? This isn't a response, this is a rant. This is not leadership, this is wining. She needs to get over herself.
I am fairly certain that both Bachman's and Paul's speeches were wrote before the address and I am also betting that they feel like a bunch of asses now.
He made it clear, if you heard him, that he wants to reward and build his base of supporters. He has no good plans for this nation. He will spin us further into decline if he gets his way. Listen to what Paul Ryan says and you're bound to hear something reasonable compared to the Obamaspeech.
Two years ago, when George W. Bush left office, our national debt was $10.6 Trillion dollars. True, Michelle. And that's what happens when you start two unnecessary wars in order to seize oil for your petro friends and partners.
Bush spent 8 years moving US resources to his corporate friends. And Obama hasn't been able to correct that in two years? Oh, the horror!
What an awful speech.
This is disgraceful. Giving these Tea Party lunatics a stage is the height of low class. Shame on you CNN, why do you hate America so much?
Although I don't completely agree with everything the President says or does, Its people like this broad who show their ignorance and incite violence and rhetoric among everyone. The Tea Party people are terrorists and we as a country need to hold everyone accountable by voting.
May God Bless you Mrs. Bachmann to be able to help put some sanity back in Washington. Stop the careless spending & stop choking the life out of free enterprise with overbearing regulations!
Bachmann should just be quiet and not talk. All she does is divide our beloved county apart through fear tactics.
Now CNN enough about this insignificant moron. This county needs to move forward by not listening to the likes of her.
I wonder what Bachman looks like in a swimsuit. Nothing else that comes out of her mouth matters.
Isn't this supposed to be a response? Bachmann didn't address anything that Obama stated.
I don't get it.
Paul Ryan is a Republican
Michelle Bachman is a Republican
Why are the Republicans suddenly getting TWO REBUTTALS to the State of The Union Address? Why is CNN yielding to this nonsense?
If the Democratic party subdivides itself into three subunits (i.e.-Blue Dogs, Moderates, and South Paws) will they get to have THREE rebuttals the next time there is a Republican in the White House?
Who cares what she has to say. GO AWAY!!!
What planet is this idiot from! This is a pre-prepared response, not a response to the SOTU address.
By the way what's with the Janice dickinson synthic face? Oh yea both these chicks are unstable, rude narcisit..
Michele Bachmann sounds crazier than Sarah Palin! Please think before you air lunatics in the future.
This sounded to me like a campaign speech in that it had little relation to truth, i.e. nothing of substance beyond the normal campaign innuendo.
I don't get the reference to Iwo Jima. Yes, it was a hard fought battle with almost 7000 US casualties and another 18000+ wounded, but hardly against all odds. Out of 22000 Japanese soldiers, only about 200 were taken prisoners. But what exactly is the point? Bachmann is the suffering G.I. and Obama is a dirty Jap?
If you are broadcasting a 'Tea Party' response to the State of the Union and the Republican response, why isn't the Progressive Caucus in Congress being given an opportunity to respond?
Thanks to Michelle Bachman for the Tea Party Response.
This will ensure her stupid ideas will get more voice and make Democrats look great.
Way to go Michelle.
Thanks Tea Party.
Why was this woman given a soapbox after the SOTU? She's a Republican and they chose Ryan to speak. CNN gave a brainless twit this forum in order to what? Embarrass her because of her silliness? I thought this was supposed to be a serious after-SOTU conversation.
So when do we get to see who she was talking to?
Tea Party speech... really? So basically CNN is validating two Republican responses to the State of the Union... how very, very odd. "Turn back regulation..." -Bachmann ... wow...
OMG....where to even begin...There isn't enough space on this blog to refute all of the lies,half-truths and totally out of context statements that this woman has made... But I will say this:
Mrs. Bachmann keeps harping on the same tired lie about the President promised the unemployment rate wouldn't go over 8.0%...First of all, why was he even being asked to make that type of judgement?What was the current President doing? Why was the President elect doing all the work before he was even elected. Secondly, you failed to mention in your out-of-context diatribe that (according to the Bureau of Labor Statistic) from Jan. 2008-Jan. 2009 (remember Pres. Obama didn't get sworn in until January 20th, 2009) the unemployment rate jumped from 4.9 to 7.6 (2.7 percentage points)and the number of unemployed persons increased by 4.1 million.
Intellectually taking out a crayon instead of a pen. Simplistic analysis, skewed conclusions, this speech plays out on a 7th grade level.
Ai ai ai, I hope people realize that the charts are in favor of president Obama. As the economy and job market always respond with a significant lag to government policy, it would be hard to reason that the first statistics during the Obama administration can be the result of his policies.
How dumb can Americans be? Have Ms Bachman and her TP forgotten that the DERegulated finacial market got us into t he economic mess! Does she want our children to consume dirty water and polluted air. Is she that naive to believe that private companies care for the welfare of the people over their profits. The Republicans and TP want us to return to the 18th/19th century America???
We need the government and private companies to work together and keep a balance.
Bachman just proved how IGNORANT Republicans truly are!!! They are NOT focused on doing the People's work, they are more focused on bashing the President rather than solving the issues facing our country!!!
Sad, very sad indeed. People are entitled to their opinion but not to their own facts. Bachman's facts are so twisted and incomplete... it's hopeless to listen to people like that.
Michelle Bachmann and the tea party – a match made in heaven. Democrats are drooling oover this love affair.
Amazing and utterly vapid. But at least she acknowledges that the majority of the debt was incurred PRIOR to the current administration.
OMG this is supposed to be a response! Who Called in the Clowns!
I think CNN and other media was WRONG to give Bauchmnan and the "tea party" free time for a response to the Obama speech. There should be the President speech and the opposite party response. If this is going to be usual reporting, then anyone and everyone with a political agenda, agreeing or disagrreing with the President, should be given free media time to make their case.
If she just didn't twist things she would be believable the same talking points of a sore loser party. She not thinking on her own.
How dare these people act like Bachmann's speech was comparable to that of Paul Ryan's. Her speech was short, powerful, and to the point. Republicans are afraid of her, and they should be.
The same tired little graphs that Fox news does....... Sorry Michelle you dont have it
Waahahaha...Please, oh please, run for Prez...
Ridiculous, oulandish, and food for political mayhem!
Is Ms. Bachmann really that unaware of how those numbers work on her helpful charts? Through the Bush years, what I see is a tragic upward trend. Starting with the Obama years, I see a responsible downward trend.
I'm sure she wants to seem as though she sees the difference between the '08 and '09 numbers as Obama's fault, but that is just not how that works. And I think she knows that.
Did we forget when our economy take a dramatic turn for the worst? It was at the tail-end of the Bush administration with the collapse of the stock exchange. The end of the Bush administration, America was a burning building. It was left to Obama to extinguish the fire and rebuild it.
What a complete ramble by Bachmann. I love the fact that she thinks the Tea Party is important. Please take more votes from the GOP, leaves an Obama reelection extremely easy. Love it.
There are few things funnier (in a sad way) than Michelle Bachman trying to sound like she knows what she's talking about. President Obama mentioned Sputnik and the space race, I should mention Iwo Jima... even if it kinda comes out of nowhere.
Until I see a list of what each Republican/Tea Party candidate is willing to cut from their own district and campaign supporters, I say they can take their complaints about spending and stick them where the sun don't shine. Until they shun the top-notch health insurance my tax dollars provide for them and/or they offer a viable healthcare reform bill instead of just empty talk about making it easier to buy insurance on the free market, they can do the same with their whining about the healthcare bill (which, by the way, is unpopular with most Americans because it does not go far enough, not because it goes too far).
Yeah, you lost all credibility when you called the health care bill Fox New's "Obamacare"
Michele Bachmann is a KOOK . CNN should be ashamed for having that idiot respond to the SOTU address .
Please, someone show this woman where the camera is and how to look directly in it! Not only was it annoying listening to her, but watching her was painful! This so-called rebuttal speech was a joke. And she really needs to learn not to omit and distort facts.
How can anyone take this woman seriously?
Bachmann could not even find the RIGHT CAMERA to LQQK into while she was saying NOTHING MORE than what was already said!! But in her case – still the same old TONE with NO solutions!!
There goes the party of stagnation.
The jump in the unemployment rate, from 7.6% when President Obama took over in January 2009 to its highest level of 10.1%, is 2.5%. This is still less than the 2.7% jump that we saw from Jan. 2008 to Jan. 2009 during Bush's administration. Secondly, Pres. Bush started with a budget SURPLUS. President Obama started with an already huge budget deficit, failing banks, failing industries, housing market tanking and he still managed not to increase unemployment as much as the Republicans did. So if you're going to tell it Bachmann, tell it ALL. Tell the real story, not the one that you can generate by cherry picking numbers. Why don't you show the chart that shows that from Dec. 2007 to Jan. 2009 (under Bush). we went from positive monthly job growth to losing over 700,000 jobs a month, and that since Obama took over we have steadily been decreasing the number of jobs lost monthly and are now actually adding jobs monthly. Where is that chart Bachmann?....rrright.
Bachmann's vision is very one-dimensional: help the richest Americans become even richer and provide the corporate world free reign to garner even higher profits - all at the expense of the economic viability of the middle class while destroying the spirit of those struggling near the poverty line.
Funny, but the iconic image of those men raising the flag at Iwo Jima was a FAKE, staged for the cameras well after the real flag raising ceremony. It was all show, just like her proposals. Politicians are politicians, all of them beholding to special interests.
"..the cost of gasoline is skyrocketing".
That happens in an economic recovery and who supported the oil companies?
Bush and Cheney! More lies from this cult.
This woman is an idiot. Great job by the t baggers by having this goof give ANY kind of speech. Did she even listen to the SOTU? If Bachmann is the leader of that group of nutbags, the rest of the country can rest easy. She is going nowhere but back to the other nuts in MN that continue to vote her back into office.
It's totally unrealistic to believe one can undo all the harm done to our economy after 8 years of Bush's war agenda, in just 2 years. Unemployment was going to rise as the recession set in no matter who was president. I think he saved our financial system when it was really on the brink of collaspe. Overall he's done a good job , especially in bringing an end to the wars in Iraq & Afganistan. I disagree with you entirely over healthcare reform. I think it was an amazing achievement & ultimately will bring American healthcare to the level it's supposed to be. I do agree with you that he has not focused enough on saving existing jobs & creating new ones. In the end it's the American worker who will repair our economy & if we don't help & protect them then we no chance of fully recovering.
Short on facts, long on distortions & outright lies. Who's next, the Klan? The John Birch Society? NAMBLA? Extraordinarily stupid on CNN's part to broadcast the garbage spewing from Bachmann's mouth.
Bachmann's response to the state of the union speech was great. It contained the facts and numbers of the problems America is facing and it listed several steps we can take to reduce our country's debt and bring America back from all the reckless spending and government growing that this currect administration has forced upon us. I was very disappointed that the other networks didn't carry her speech-yet they had plenty of time to criticize her. Why not just let her talk? I had to hunt it up here; that's not right.
The speech is not really worth mentioning except for one tiny bit that stands out.
Hmm, interesting out-of-the blue analogy from Bachmann:
The perilous battle in the pacific (anyone born there we know)... incursion against the Japanese (aka foreign, non-American) ... all of America coming together to beat back a totalitarian aggressor (I wonder whom she meant here...)
Since this lady is also a republican and her message does not coincide with the official republican response (and totally lacks sustenance), I am hopeful the republicans can control her.
She stood firm with the T party. Give her credit to those who voted her in. I think she is on the right tract.
Michelle,
We need ALL Republicans thinking the way you do. If they did I would register as a Republican, once again.
Torrey
Ijust want to thank CNN for airing Michele bachmann's speech. i could not believe FoxNews did not cover it. WOW. I will be honest I have not watched CNN in a long long time and so i just wanted to say: RESPECT !!! It is clear the old guard Republicans feel threatened and FoxNews sold out to them. Bachmann's speech was the Speech of the night clearly, hands down. She eloquently explained how we got here, the reality of today and made suggestions to the President. A speech of Substance , it made Paul Ryan's speech look so lame , so Republicans business as usual, same ole same ole. Very impressed withMs. Bachmann and G-d bless the Tea party, it looks like they are the only ones that really care about this country.
"The perilous battle that was fought in the pacific, at Iwo Jima, was a battle against all odds, and yet the image of the young G.I.s in the incursion against the Japanese immortalizes their victory. These six young men raising the flag came to symbolize all of America coming together to beat back a totalitarian aggressor."
Or - from Wikipedia - Despite heavy fighting and casualties on both sides, Japanese defeat was assured from the start. The Americans possessed an overwhelming superiority in arms and numbers—this, coupled with the impossibility of Japanese retreat or reinforcement and their troops' exhaustion, starvation, and lack of training, ensured that there was no plausible scenario in which the United States could have lost the battle.
Why bother responding when you don't offer anything meaningful? Can a connection be made on why this plan, if we can call this a plan, would lead to a better result?
Apparently Michele Bachmann has forgotten the Great Recession started in 2007, which under the circumstances isn't so very surprising, she living in an alternative reality as she does. Beyond that, to comment is a pointless as her rebuttal ...
Too bad, she could have done so much more. And the inaccuracies in her speech were stunning. Doesn't she realize that TARP was a W program? She placed the responsibility for jobs on Obama and the Fed govt, but then said that the govt should get out of the way? Does she want to say that the govt is or is not able to manage the economy? Laissez faire got us into this mess.
I desperately hope for bipartisanship going forward.
The charts displayed by Bachmann were interesting. The bars are displayed for every other year. One uses odd years while the other uses even years. This maximises the false impression that both the unemployment rate and deficits began their upward leap after Obama took office. In reality, unemployment rates were rapidly increasing well before GWB left office. Deficits were rapidly rising before the end of 2008 and on into 2009 because of falling revenue and the Bush bail outs.
Shes the New Palin ....There plan is too make palin seem more sane lol
"The President could support a Balanced Budget Amendment"
Wasn't that one of Newt's Contract On America items? What ever happened to that and term limits?
are you kidding me.
that unemployment is fabricated. october is not in the spring, as she wants us to believe about the bush years. jan 08 to jan 09, which is when obama took office, unemployment went from under 5% to close to 8%. bush's last year in office saw a close to 3% increase. what a liar. and not a good one.
I am still waiting for the change I voted for 2 years ago. Only thing I have seen is more spending and a health care bill that most americans reject because it should have helped those with no health care, but instead corralled all of us into the program. Still not talking to Iran, when he promised he would. Still in Afghanistan in a no win situation. He should be working hard to work more cooperatively with other allies, trim defense spending by 50%, pull our military from overseas bases and get to replacements for our oil hunger. Still waiting for change I can believe in!
Great speech, and you speak for millions of us Americans, disenfranchised from our government. We can only hope this message is heard and we can all help to set our ship of state out of these perilous waters and chart a new course in the open waters of freedom and liberty!
Putting Ms. Bachmann on the podium must be a signal to all Americans that Sarah Palin has destroyed the last threads of her credibility, even among people for whom she had some to begin with. Since the Tea Party is built on maudlin fiction, left-field lies, and generally regressive thoughts, it's inevitable that Bachmann will do the same. Let's hope that day comes soon.
In a time where conservatives are ascending and starting to make their mark in government, I think conservatives should start fearlessly articulating the philosophy. If they did, I think many who think they aren't conservative would find they have much in common with them.
Check out Gut Feeling by Jon Friesch, a book about who conservatives are and why they believe what they do. You can read excerpts at gutfeelingbook [dot] com. It describes conservatism in a way you've never heard before, but that will make complete sense.
26 states are suing over Obamacare. There was no transparency when the democrats rammed this massive piece of govt legislation down the throats of the American people..there was NO pibartisanship. Obama and the leftwingers are destroying America. Obama wants a windmill in every yard, an electric car in every garage and free college scholarships for illegals...that will solve our problems..NOT Thank God ...Obama will be a one termer.
Dumb broad....the unemployment jumped cause the economy crashed, and the deficit jumped cause of all of the spending to help fix GREEDY BILLIONAIRES MESSUPS....I liked where Obama was going with the State of the Union, but lets just see if it will happen...and see if this Bi-Partisanship will go through...I don't put it past money hungry republicans to do everything in their power to keep tax cuts for the rich...CAUSE THEY ARE THE RICH....LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD!!!
and the deficit chart fails to account for the hundreds of billions of dollars every year that bush called supplementals so they wouldn't be counted in the budget deficit. the actual deficit in dollars under bush were close to double what the official numbers were because of the way the dollars are counted. obama counts every dollar spent as part of the budget now. that's the real change. it doesn't matter. most people aren't too bright and won't notice so i guess she wins.
It's pretty obvious that CNN intentionally let Michele look at the wrong camera the entire time so she would look disconnected from her audiance. Instead, it just made the director look stupid! The director should be religated to sweeping the floor.
Too bad she could not look into the camera. I wondered if she even knew who she was talking to. Most likely to herself in the mirror. She should study her history a bit, she may learn something.
I would like to know why CNN camera people gave Michele improper camera ques? Between you and Fox, you made her look like an idiot. I am not only complaining to you but I will complain to FOX also. I thought news stations were to report the news, be objective and impartial. What a blantant attempt on both networks to discredit an American Congresswomen for what ever games you play to save your sorry jobs.
How about a Constitutional Amendment requiring congresspersons to be literate in the history of our country? Kind of like a reading test to vote:)
Im in the process of loosing my house, the value has dropped over 30% in the past few years, My standard of living isnt improving, I have had to cut back to make ends meet. My taxes continue to raise and so does my energy costs. All i hear about are more government programs to make things better. I think that I like the speach made 50 years ago by another Democrat..."Ask not what your Country can do for you..." and I wonder where the Democrats went that supported that idea
God Bless Michele Bachmann.
"Deficits were unacceptably high under President Bush, but they exploded under President Obama’s direction, growing the national debt by an astounding $3.1 trillion-dollars."
That's because President Obama put the real cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars ON THE BOOKS! Unlike Bush, who not only lied us into war, he lied about their costs, cut taxes during wartime (unprecedented in our nation's history) and told us that "deficits don't matter."
President Obama is not only an adult, he treats the American people like we can handle the challenges that are before our country.
And he has policies that WORK – unlike all of the failure you and your party represent, Bachmann!
You go girl!!! New President in 2012!!
"The President could support a Balanced Budget Amendment."
This is idiotic! All a balanced budget amendment would do would be to hamstring our government in times of crisis.
A better solution is what President Obama proposed: cut wasteful spending and let the tax cuts for the wealthy expire.
It's about time those folks pulled their weight and gave back to the country that gave them the opportunity to make their wealth in the first place!
I hope you run for president Michele, this country needs a true constitutionalist that puts the nation first more than ever.
Least we forget.
"I find it interesting that it was back in the 1970s that the swine flu broke out under another, then under another Democrat president, Jimmy Carter. I'm not blaming this on President Obama, I just think it's an interesting coincidence." -Rep. Michele Bachmann, on the 1976 Swine Flu outbreak that happened when Gerald Ford, a Republican, was president, April 28, 2009
or
"Does that mean that someone's 13-year-old daughter could walk into a sex clinic, have a pregnancy test done, be taken away to the local Planned Parenthood abortion clinic, have their abortion, be back and go home on the school bus? That night, mom and dad are never the wiser." -Rep. Michele Bachmann, on health care reform's potential to dupe parents, October 2009
Like any sane person would listen to anything this nut-case says!
I'm all for repealing Obama-care, but you shouldn't just ram that through at this point. You need a viable alternative that you can sell to the American people. Key word is "sell." Why not get the support before ramming through legislation to repeal. Why not show people a better alternative first? Don't stoop to the same level they did when they put Obama-care in place. What sets you apart?
BTW: Those weren't just "young GI's" that raised the flag over Mount Suribachi in Iwo Jima. They were MARINES!
When did she have time to think about what the President said in his State of the Union speech and then write her response? I watch the address on TV, and there she was in the Chamber.
Oh, that's right! Backmann DIDN'T think, she just pulled out all her over-used catch-phrases to try to bash the President and make her look good in the eyes of her "base."
With a 90 IQ and not a clue about American history – how can she get all this media attention???
Blah...blah....blah.....Bachmann must be related to Palin. Much like her, Bachmann isn't able to provide a complete thought without implicating others in the failures that she and her party are responsible. No one cares what she has to say and she isn't going any where else in politics. She needs to realize that and be happy she has her current job at the expense of the taxpayers.
Why they would let this imbecile speak is beyond fathom.God help us.
Curious that nobody at CNN picked up on GOP Congresswoman Michele Bachmann's Tea Party rebuttal to the President's State of the Union Speech when she refereed to the flag raisers at Mt. Suribachi as "GIs." In fact, the flag raisers were five US Marines and a US Navy Corpsman. I think the Tea Party should spend less time studying the US Constitution and more time studying US History.
She was more fiction than facts. She forgot or refused to admit we were flat on our bellies when the president took over. She simply lied about gas prices. Gas price was close to $5 in some states, when Bush left office. Bush initiated the bailouts of Wall street, his $150 billion dollars stimulus failed. If everything was fine and rosy, why was Bush stimulating the economy? Miss Backman has lost great credibility by being the face of the Tea party tonight.
I believe with you abour American exceptionalism. But as as a 2nd generation Itaian-Irish American, why do you think no health care is a bad idea and why you don't think spending a Trillion $ on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan without payiing for them is a good idea.Pl;ease remember is it was a Republican President who was a 5 star general who said, "Beware of the miliitary industrial complex"
Ok, sorry.. but this lady is a wing nut. The deliberate falsehoods and misleading statements are astounding! I can't believe that CNN put her on the air (look up her history on politifact.org) She implies that the 700 bailout, that was passed by Bush, during the Bush administration was Obama's. She states that unemployment shot up during the first 8 months of the Obama administration, but fails to consider that those losses should be attributed to the financial and housing meltdown from the Bush years. Most of his policies hadn't even been implemented yet! But lets not let facts stand in the way of a good tea party speech!
Wow! I'm impressed and happy to have you in office! A true blue blooded American. The current administration needs more thinking like this. This is the greatest nation on the planet, unfortunately poor decision makings bringing her down and that needs to end. May God bless you and give you the courage and wisdom to continue doing the good work you do.
Nominate this woman for president next year. She makes sense and speaks plain English.
I agree with all she said, however, it wasn't "GIs" who raised the flag on Iwo Jima. It was the MARINES!
I thought it was inappropriate for M. Bochmann to but in on the evening but why am I not surprised...that seems to be her way of doing things. Reminds me of crashing the party when not invited. Kind of wierd!!
I was disappointed that neither the president, nor the two Republican responders paid any significant attention to what is going on in the rest of the world. Since Obama became president, North Korea has become more belligerent, Iran is closer to developing a nuclear bomb, China has increased its military spending by something like 400%, Mexico is becoming less stable by the day, and allies like Israel and Great Britain are repeatedly dissed. It appears that both parties have decided that, if they can't say anything good about our foreign policy, then don't say anything at all. If the Islamic militants in Pakistan are able to take over the government there – which is a definite possibility – then we will have a nuclear-armed country which is run by religious extremists, who believe in destroying the infidels. Certainly, we have economic challenges at home, but we can't ignore what is happening in the rest of the world, and we need to develop policies to address those areas which could pose a threat to the U.S. or our interests abroad.
Ignorant of the issues, Ms Bachmann continues to lie and distort.
Bachmann for president!
Bravo Rep. Bachman. I'm a JFK Democrat and support you fully. When you run for president I'll be there to walk the streets in support of the America I can now only dream of.
Best response/speech made 2nite. Move over GOP establishment! We the people are coming!!!
God bless Michelle Bachmann, and all those who resist the Socialist expansion of a corrupt, self-serving government.
is guess she forgot that all hell broke loose at the end of the Bush era and left Obama with a huge financial system crisis. seriously getting sick of this crap being shoveled just to make the other side look bad. And what really blows my mind is how during the entire GW Bush era and all the spending he did, the Republican party kept voting for tax cuts. That's right, spending went out the window and the plan was to cut the income, taxes. Seriously, were they really trying to blow up the country just to make it look like a mess for the next Presidency or what?
And talk about the government getting it's fingers into the lives of American Citizens, what was up with that Patriot Act? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black, enough already and show you actually work for American Citizens and not for your Party because it is obvious that your Party is not representing the citizens.
Obama inheirited two wars and a nose dive in the stock ,arket and housing prices from George Bush. You are wrongfully expecting him to fiz 8 years of Bush's useless wars, tax breaks for wealthy friends. and a failure to enforce our regulatory laws ( i.e Madoff, Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, etc). Bill Clinton (a Democrat) left the U..S. Treasury with a positive balance. Geoge Bush gave it away to fat cat cronies and the idle rich. Don't blame Obama for not turning this overweight ship of state fast enough. All you are promising is more tax cuts for the wealthy and spending cuts that hurt the average American. I don't really see a plan here, just more "voodoo" economic policies that made our government the bigest debtor/ beggar in the world.
A bunch of right wing misinformation and regurgitated talking points. Started with blaming Obama for the high unemployment and bad economy that he *inhereited* but did not create. And he should be credited for stopping the downward spiral, stabilizing everything and helping the present recovery.
As a minnesota resident who's been out of state because of the military the last 7 years. All I can say is, I am SO sorry. I dont know whats going on in my home state but obviously people don't think there anymore. I am sorry for foisting Michelle Bachmann on America AGAIN.
And another thing: Will you penalize U.S.companies who send American jobs overseas? Note that 90% of the Ipad is assembled overseas and finally made in China. Do you get this? Or should I try again?Peter Klika, Kapaau, Hawaii
Is there a more ignorant person on the planet?
She nailed it! Obama needs to go in 2012 and the Republicans should put a screeching halt to Obama and the big government liberals in congress. Obama has run up massive debt in two years and ballooned the deficit with his unprecedented increase in spending. Now he wants to freeze spending at this unsustainable level for five years. If your car is speeding over a cliff, you don't put it on cruise control, you slam on the brakes!
CNN: What were you thinking to elevate this fringe element's spokesperson to the same level as the official Republican response? I will draw on my English husband's recount of a traditional response to reprehensible public or political behavior and cry "SHAME."
Another uninformed ideologue. These selfish anti-American conservatives who wrap themselves in the flag (and the Constitution – which few of them have bothered to understand), while taking lobbyist payouts and helping the rich get richer at the expense o the rest of us are dinosaurs, and their extinction is inevitable.
I went to college in Minnesota, and all I can say is: Michele Bachmann is an embarrassment. It just goes to show, not all certified are actually in an institution.
It appears that she learned arithmetic from George W.
Her speech was definitely "Tea Party". Who, exactly, is the "totalitarian agressor"?
Wow, she makes a full case for the unemployment rate other than mentioning the almost depression that hit just before Obama took office. How convenient for her to forget what really started us on this path. Lack of regulations that protect from such things. And to Fully repeal Obamacare? So you mean dumping those who have preconditions.. Dropping 25 years olds from their parents coverage. Allowing insurance to be purchased across state lines, trumping state protection laws and harboring bad insurance companies in whatever would be the weakest of the state laws. Also causing a further energy crisis and being further dependent on foreign oil and resources because you want the freedom to drive that 8MPG SUV or use incandescent light bulbs with no regard to what it does to our country and the environment to boot. Sorry, not buying it.
Spot on! Thank you and ... Onwards!
Thank you Congresswoman! Your clear, concise response is exactly what our fellow citizens need to hear at this crtical juncture in our history. God bless America.
That was a really lame address! Referring to the Iwo Jima flag raising to add "substance" to her empty bag comments was right out of the clown playbook. Where was she 'educated"? Is she ANOTHER worthless law "graduate"? Are there ANY REAL leaders in politics or just the usual buffoons. I'm serious! I truly believe that we could dump the lot and randomly replace them from the bottom 10% and still be better off. I am depressed! Stupid. Stupid.
Why was CNN the only network to think this woman was creditable enough to give air time to? Maybe because she isn't...
I find this speach sad! Tonight I had 10 of my neigbors over to watch the state of union...7 republican 3 democrats. We watched adn then watch the congresswomans address. We all felt she miss the mark and tone of tonight and seemed like she wanted another 2 more years of not working together. Also if you look at indepedant poles major of Americans are not wanting what she is subscibing to, we are wanting jobs back, getting off oil, better education for our children, better health care that does bankrupt us. She she will to give up her government health care? The teaparty does not speak for a vast majority of Americans. Our group agread with the President on many items and feel both sides need to work together, roll up their sleaves or in 2012 they will be out of a job. Take a lesson from history, Harry Trumans speach in midterms and see what happaned. We are America and our group feels we can agree and disagree on things but in a calm setting and still get the work done with out siding on party lines.
We need a congress that is willing to earn their pay to help the families of the poor and middle class and get work going again, people trained and our children leading the world with good education.
Possibly the most perfect speech ever written since the Gettysburg Address. Stunningly beautiful and to the point.
No wonder none of the networks ran it. For once: THANK YOU CNN!!!
"I believe that we are in the early days of a history-making turn."
When the people find out what the interest rate is on the borrowed money from China, when they realize we can't pay it without becoming a third world country, when they realize their children will suffer because of it...
Yeah... we'll definitely be in "the days of a history making turn" alright. Riots, cultural "cleansing"... yeah, we'll be making a history making turn.
Stand by ... this is coming in about 8 months.
Call them Lib's Call them Ignorant! The Calvary is on it's way! We the People have had our share! Take your speach and stick it!
Let give NASA a mission to send a satelite probe to what ever planet Bachmann is on. It's certainly not earth.
I wish I had a representative like her, here in Marin county.
Maybe not today but soon.
Have a nice day...
Why would you folks even entertain this non-sense?
I hope Michele Bachmann is our first female president.
Didn't we hear about a drinking game where every time a Republican lied, you take a shot. I'm getting a little drunk and need the designated driver. I notice Ms Bachmann's unemployment rates are from the beginning of 08, not at the end or just before the election when Congress was told that without TARP the world economy would collapse any day and 700,000 thousand Americans were losing jobs every month.
We've know for generations that figures don't lie but lairs do figure. I'm not accusing Ms Bachmann of being a lair but I don't want to pass and let her have her own facts.
Wow do we need MB now. I hope she runs so that I can vote for her.
She's right. What he pushed last night, high speed rail-highways-and electric cars? Just tell me where the average single mom out there supporting her kids is going to benefit from a job here? You don't see many women building roads and bridges or laying down railroad tracks. He will ignore this problem. He don't care!
Go Michele Bachmann. I think you hit the nail on the head. If I were the one making policy I would cut all departments by 20% and let them figure out what worthless programs to cut. The village idiot, Jimmy obama, wants to keep on spending.
-AND STILL not a single mention of our ultra-rich, tax-free, globalist eugenics and RED China enabling
captsone 'charitable' foundations and NGO's that have their fingerprints all over not only our current
problems -but the major conflicts and upheavals of the past centyrty...
Don;t blame Obama for this mess. Reganomics, 2 wars and tax cuts are the blame.
Michele Bachmann is refreshingly straight-to-the-point. Tells it like it is. When Obama and the Democrats use the term "invest" they actually mean MORE GOVERNMNENT SPENDING to increase the size of government bureaucracies. When Democrats talk about reducing America's dependence on foreign oil, they do not mean to do so by increasing drilling in America's own oilfields. They see this as another crisis that should not go to waste; one that gives them a chance to sneak in Cap & Tax investment-killing energy regulations. I'm glad Bachmann and the Tea Party are on-site calling Obama out. We have learned, painfully, not to listen and accept Obama's sugar-coated words. Instead, we look to see what he and his party are actually DOING. By their fruits, we know them!
If everything the Hon. Ms Bachman and the tea party movement comes through, it will be a goode start only. 2012 has to be a year to vote in a consertive senate, someone who thinks like Sarah or Michelle to the white house and who has the sharpest finiancial since Forbes, like Ryan to run the economics. Every single Obombass program has to be overturned the first week, along with all the p[hony and usless regulations he implimented, the military has too berebuilt, all Czars fired, and perhaps a recovery can start taking hold.
If only it would happen. The problem is a Capital full of thieves. They just cannot stop themselves from stealing and stealing the peoples’ money. Obama wants more and more theft so he can pay his friends at ACORN and Planned Parenthood, the baby killers. The Dems want to steal more. And the new Republicans are just now learning how to steal again..
More lies from the GOBP's screaming weasel. America, unfortunately, is not even close to having the world's best healthcare. It's a shame the nutjobs and rightwing cultists are unable or unwilling to acknowledge the obvious.
she is just a stupid lady as sarah palin...a failure...totally...
God bless Michele Bachmann. Please keep fighting to save our country, millions of us are counting on you!
Excellent content. Direct and to the point. Persuasive and concise. Best, clearest, most effective argument on what is wrong in Washington, what to do about it, and how to restore freedom and the virtues of courage and personal integrity in America. Thank you, Congresswan Bachmann.
I think you need to listen to the speech again. You say the same thing he did. The Tea Party Is nothing but a Busch of Bull. It all about two rich brother trying too control want get pass ,and want don't. Michele Bachmann every time I heard you talk , I heard you lie. You would never get my vote ,or any people back by the Tea Party.
Lets get our Country back on limited govt and rain in the unions and money!
You go, Michele! Great response!
Lots of complaints and few solutions. Oh wait... Tea Party... never mind.
Obama will never accept nor understand such a philosophy of government, as Congresswoman Bachmann articulated in this address. Obama intends to destroy our economy and end our sovereignty. His speech writers hijack the rhetoric of a true American and place it in the hands of a cold, calculating anti-American. Americans must remain on the watch. We must oust this danger of a man from the office in November or 2012.