Bachmann tags GOP rivals as “frugal socialists”

WASHINGTON - With her poll numbers continuing to drop, GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann has intensified her criticism of the other Republicans in the race.

Before a small crowd at the Family Research Council in Washington, DC, Bachmann first lashed out at President Barack Obama, accusing his administration of engaging in a "massive redistribution of wealth" before turning to her GOP rivals.

"But sadly far too many Republicans aspire to be frugal socialists," Bachmann, who currently represents Minnesota's 6th Congressional District, said. "We cannot preserve liberty for ourselves and our posterity if the choice in next November is between a frugal socialist and an out-of-control socialist."

During a brief question and answer period with reporters, Bachmann declined to elaborate further on her criticism of the other Republican candidates telling reporters, "that's part of the puzzle you figure out."

But it wasn't hard to read between the lines: her attacks focused on all of the three apparent GOP frontrunners, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Godfather's Pizza executive Herman Cain. Bachmann has criticized each candidate for not hewing sufficiently close to conservative principles, in Romney's case for the health care law he enacted while governor, in Perry's case for deviating from GOP dogma on illegal immigration and Cain for not coming out vigorously enough in opposition to legalized abortion.

This isn't Bachmann's first time lashing out at her opponents. She dubbed Perry's proposal to vaccinate young girls against the HPV virus, "Perrycare" and in a dig at Cain, who's currently engulfed in a controversy around sexual harassment allegations, has told audiences that the Republican candidate should offer "no surprises." But so far none of Bachmann's attacks has helped reverse her ebbing poll numbers.

A Washington Post/ABC poll put Bachmann at 4 percent support nationwide, a drop of 3 points from a month earlier and more than 10 points from her campaign's high-water mark in mid-July.

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