Bachmann: no personal antipathy towards Obama
GOP Congresswoman Michele Bachmann told MPR that the various rallies she participated in this past weekend in D.C. were not motivated by harsh feelings towards President Obama.
Bachmann held a "Tea Party Rally" on the Washington Monument grounds Saturday. It was one of several conservative gatherings she attended. According to the Star Tribune, Bachmann encouraged the crowd to shout the phrase "You lie!" during her rally. South Carolina Republican Joe Wilson had yelled the phrase at President Obama during an address to Congress.
But at a festival in Woodbury yesterday, Bachmann described the D.C. rallies as being about unity.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
What I saw this weekend was not so much an antipathy towards President Obama on a personal level, what I saw was a great unity. People are saying 'We love this country. We want this country to succeed. We want to see prosperity. We want to see growth. We want to see people's lives improve for the better.' That's what I saw this weekend.
She continued:
And it's a question now of policy difference. What can we do to make that happen? And there's legitimate policy differences that we have, and that's I think that's what November will be all about.
Bachmann's address in D.C. came on the heels of conservative broadcaster Glenn Beck's rally on Saturday. Beck, a fierce critic of President Obama, has accused the president of racism towards white people.
Bachmann's opponents in the sixth congressional district race were also working the crowds at the Woodbury festival Sunday. DFL State Senator Tarryl Clark walked the parade in Woodbury and shook hands with well-wishers afterwards. Independence Party candidate Bob Anderson also set up a booth at the Woodbury fair and talked with voters.
Tarryl Clark has criticized Bachmann for spending too much time outside of the district at events like those held in Washington this past weekend. Bachmann told me such criticisms are "despicable" and says she's home every weekend.