RightOnline welcomes Bachmann with standing ovation
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GOP Congresswoman Michele Bachmann told a convention of conservative bloggers meeting in Minneapolis Saturday morning that liberals are afraid of the tea party movement. Bachmann told the RightOnline gathering that Americans want their leaders to aggressively cut spending, and she promised she would take on the task if she's elected president.
"And so the question is, when are we going to buck up? When are we going to say no? When are we finally going to say that we're listening to the people and not the politicians who keep telling us we have to keep doing what doesn't work? I'm just here to tell you, as President of the United States, I will make the serious cuts that have to be made so we can finally get our budget to balance so we never have to raise the debt ceiling again."
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Bachmann said what she calls the three legs of the Republican stool; social, fiscal and national defense conservatives, need to join together to defeat President Barack Obama. She predicted next year's election will be about jobs and the economy. Referring to a double dip recession, Bachmann said "it's happening."
At Monday night's 2012 GOP candidates' debate Bachmann announced that she is running for president. She plans to formally kick off her campaign from her birthplace of Waterloo, IA later this month.
When Bachmann talked about her presidential campaign many RightOnlne attendees gave her a standing ovation. She also brought conventiongoers to their feet pledging to repeal the Democratic-backed health care overhaul critics call "ObamaCare."
Following her speech Bachmann told reporters she is not too polarizing to win the GOP nomination or the general election next year. She said she's attracting people other than Republicans, including Democrats and Americans who typically do not vote. Bachmann said people are drawn to her campaign because she is "authentic."
"I don't say things for political value. I say what I mean, and I mean what I say; and I don't back down. That's what people are looking for, someone they believe in and someone they can trust."
Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty was expected to speak at the RightOnline convention Saturday afternoon.
Liberal bloggers are also holding their national Netroots Nation convention in Minneapolis right now.