GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann tells The Brody File that unlike some of the other Republican presidential candidates, “You won't find any YouTube clips in my background; you won't find any policy skeletons in my closet.”
Bachmann also tells me that, “God's law works… And if we abide by His principles, the nation will work.”
Bachmann delivered a speech at the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C., as she tried to position herself as the social conservative candidate whom voters can trust. The Brody File sat down with Bachmann at the Washington, D.C. headquarters of the Family Research Council.
Watch the video clip below, along with the transcription. But first a quick analysis on Bachmann:
The mainstream media has written Bachmann off but let’s step back for a moment. Herman Cain is in potential implosion mode, Rick Perry has been shooting himself in the foot since he got into this race, and Rick Santorum hasn’t caught fire yet. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney doesn’t do it for evangelicals in Iowa and while Newt Gingrich has piqued the interest of evangelicals, Bachman has been the one in the trenches (along with Santorum) all these years.
There is room in Iowa for someone to emerge as the evangelical social conservative candidate so it begs the serious question: Can Bachmann win Iowa?
We know that she has loads of charisma and is well organized within the Iowa church environment and with homeschoolers, two key factions when bringing people out to a local gymnasium on a cold Caucus evening in January.
Also, truth be told, she has been relatively gaffe-free during her run while others have faltered. We’ve seen lots of “flavors of the month” to the point where Bachmann SHOULD NOT be written off.
Michele Bachmann: If we don't get it right with our candidate in 2012, David, we will see the inevitable decline of the United States, and it will be very difficult to pull it back. The good news is, it will be remarkable, how quickly we will turn this country around, if we abide by principles that are in God's Law. God's Law works. And if we abide by His principles, the nation will work.
That's what we did when the nation was founded. We abided by His principles That's what I annunciated today, at the Family Research Council. Those principles that have worked before, and will work again. So, it's ours to choose. Do we choose decline? Or, do we choose America's greatness? It's one of the two.
David Brody: Let me play devil's advocate for a moment and just say, why couldn't some of these other candidates that are running for president come to the Family Research Council and give a speech very similar to yours?
Bachmann: I chose to come today because I think we're at a critical point in choosing our nominee. Again, we've gone up and down with who candidates are. And the voters are constantly getting surprised by the candidates. New information that comes out. What I want people to know is that there are no surprises with me. When it comes to policy, I have been consistent as the day is long.
You won't find any YouTube clips in my background; you won't find any policy skeletons in my closet, because I've been consistent on marriage, on life, on taxes, on foreign policy, across the board. I have been consistent.
This is an election where we can't have any failures. We have to have a nominee who is right on everything. And we have an opportunity to do that, so I wanted to lay that out for the pro-family people in Washington, D.C., this is who I am. This is where I stand. And it's important that they know what the principles are, that I'll govern on.
And also, I have a proven record. That's what sets me apart from all the candidates in the race. I had a chance to fight in Washington, D.C. I've been a private person for 50 years. For an additional five years, I have been a fighter in Washington, D.C., for the family, and for the principles that made America great.
So, of all of the candidates in this race, no one has stood up to Washington and fought more consistently than I have on the issues that people care about in this race. And I want them to know that. That I have been their champion here in Washington, I am proven, I am tested in the fire, and I'm ready to go in the White House, to stand for people.”