By Jeff Zeleny, Richard Coolidge and Jordyn Phelps
The Fine Print
Rep. Michele
Bachmann is “sorry” that Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed a controversial bill in
Arizona that would have allowed businesses to legally refuse service to
same-sex couples because of religious objections.
“I
believe that tolerance is a two-way street, and we need to respect
everyone's rights, including the rights of people who have sincerely
held religious beliefs,” Bachmann, a Minnesota Republican told “The Fine
Print.”
Many prominent
Republicans, including former Republican presidential candidates Mitt
Romney and Sen. John McCain of Arizona have backed Brewer’s decision to
veto the bill, but the tea party leader said they are wrong on this
issue.
“Religious liberties and
the protection of our religious liberties is right,” she said. “Right
now, there's a terrible intolerance afoot in the United States, and it's
against people who hold sincerely held religious beliefs.”
Bachmann was recently quoted
as saying that she doesn’t believe there’s a “pent-up desire” for a
female president. When asked about the remark, Bachmann said her
position comes from her own experience as a presidential candidate in
the Republican 2012 presidential primary.
“Obviously,
I believe that a woman can be president; I believe that a woman will be
president,” she said. “I just don't think that it will be Hillary
Clinton for obvious reasons. She's proved that she would be incapable of
being commander-in-chief. She's the godmother of Obamacare, and she
represents the third term of a Barack Obama presidency.”
On
the topic of 2016, Bachmann said there are many Republicans
presidential hopefuls who, “without a shadow of a doubt,” could go
head-to-head with the former secretary of state in a presidential
contest.
“There's a lot of them
out there … but I think it would be a real mistake to focus on 2016,”
she said. “We've got the 2014 election in front of us, just months away.
We need to focus on that because that will change the table, rearrange
the table here in Washington.”
Though she is not personally
seeking reelection this year, Bachmann forecasts that Republicans will
have a strong showing in the midterm elections and gain a majority in
the Senate -- a prediction that she credits in part to President Obama,
who she says has “fundamentally transformed” the country in a way that’s
unrecognizable.
“We didn't'
want a third world nation; we don't want a so-called banana republic,”
she said. “We want to be the economic powerhouse of the world. We want
to be the military powerhouse of the world and President Obama is
gutting us on both of those fronts … that's why I think President Obama
and his party are going to do very poorly at the polls this fall.”
The
congresswoman, who is credited with helping to start the tea party in
Congress five years ago, rejected the notion that the Republican
establishment and tea party are at war with one another, and said the
party should work toward unity as it progresses into the election year.
“What
we're trying to do is embrace each other as much as we can because the
greatest politician of modern times was Ronald Reagan, and his advice
was find someone who you can agree with 80 percent of the time and agree
with them,” Bachmann said. “And we've got that between the tea party
and the so-called establishment.”
Some tea party groups have called
for a primary challenge to Speaker John Boehner, even holding a contest
to find a candidate. She said she did not support such a move and said
it’s time for the conservative activists to be more pragmatic in picking
their battles.
“I really think
that the bigger issue that we'll be focused on by Republicans, by
conservatives, and by tea partiers will be the challenge to Harry Reid
in the senate as opposed to John Boehner,” Bachmann said. “Right now,
the House of Representatives is in conservative hands. That's really the
goal. And we have to keep our eye on the prize.”
For
more of the interview with Bachmann, including what she points to as
the tea party’s major accomplishment over the last five years, check out
this episode of “The Fine Print.”
ABC News’ Betsy Klein, Alexandra Dukakis, Tom Thornton, Chris Carlson, and Mary Quinn contributed to this episode.
Rep.
Michele Bachmann is “sorry” that Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed a controversial
bill in Arizona that would have allowed businesses to legally refuse
service to same-sex couples because of religious objections.
“I believe that tolerance is a two-way street, and we need to respect everyone’s rights, including the rights of people who have sincerely held religious beliefs,” Bachmann, a Minnesota Republican told “The Fine Print.”
Many prominent Republicans, including former Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain of Arizona have backed Brewer’s decision to veto the bill, but the tea party leader said they are wrong on this issue.
“Religious liberties and the protection of our religious liberties is right,” she said. “Right now, there’s a terrible intolerance afoot in the United States, and it’s against people who hold sincerely held religious beliefs.”
Read More: http://news.yahoo.com/
Read more at http://minutemennews.com/2014/03/michele-bachmann-jan-brewer-wrong-veto-arizonas-anti-gay-bill/#rRtQfqg83k6h6ePO.99
“I believe that tolerance is a two-way street, and we need to respect everyone’s rights, including the rights of people who have sincerely held religious beliefs,” Bachmann, a Minnesota Republican told “The Fine Print.”
Many prominent Republicans, including former Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain of Arizona have backed Brewer’s decision to veto the bill, but the tea party leader said they are wrong on this issue.
“Religious liberties and the protection of our religious liberties is right,” she said. “Right now, there’s a terrible intolerance afoot in the United States, and it’s against people who hold sincerely held religious beliefs.”
Read More: http://news.yahoo.com/
Read more at http://minutemennews.com/2014/03/michele-bachmann-jan-brewer-wrong-veto-arizonas-anti-gay-bill/#rRtQfqg83k6h6ePO.99
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