Retiring congresswoman talks with Free Beacon about national security, spending fights, and her 2016 plans
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R., Minn.) knew the White House Christmas party this week would be her last chance as a member of Congress to speak directly to President Obama. She didn’t waste the opportunity.
Despite the objections of her family members, who didn’t want to be embarrassed, Bachmann said she wanted to give some “substantive comments” to the president. She waited until pictures were taken and her family walked off the stage.
“I turned to the president and I said, something to the effect of, ‘Mr. President, you need to bomb the Iranian nuclear facilities, because if you don’t, Iran will have a nuclear weapon on your watch and the course of world history will change,’” she told the Washington Free Beacon.
“And he got his condescending smile on his face and laughed at me and said, ‘Well Michele, it’s just not that easy.’ And I said to him, ‘No, Mr. President, you’re the president, it will happen on your watch, and you’ll have to answer to the world for this.’ And that was it and then I left. Merry Christmas,” she said with a laugh.
The retiring congresswoman and Republican firebrand sat down for a wide-ranging interview with the Free Beacon on Thursday to discuss national security issues, the latest spending fight on Capitol Hill, and her plans after leaving office. She said she will remain active and give plenty of speeches ahead of the 2016 election, when Republicans will aim to retake the White House for the first time in eight years.
Her top national security concern is Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. Some experts have said that despite negotiations to curb Iran’s program, which were recently extended for another seven months, the Islamic regime could still acquire enough weapon-grade uranium for a bomb in about two months.
Bachmann, a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said she believes that Iran could procure a nuclear bomb in the next two years. Experts have told her that U.S. airstrikes could eliminate the nuclear program in about six to eight weeks, but that window begins to close by 2016.
Budget cuts to the military, as well as the loss of intelligence from the CIA’s scrapped interrogation program and the release of Guantanamo Bay prisoners, leaves the next president with fewer options to address Iran and the threat of Islamic terrorists, she said.
“If we continue on this trajectory of hollowing out our military capacities, and in my opinion our intelligence capacities … then we are looking at a very horrific option, because how long does it take then to build back up, to get that capacity to take them out,” she said.
“On foreign policy … you pay for the sins decades into the future,” she added.
One of the last items Bachmann will vote on before she departs Washington is funding the government. The $1.1 trillion spending bill cleared a key procedural hurdle early Thursday by just two votes, but it was unclear whether the final measure would pass or if the House Republican leadership would need to introduce a short-term funding resolution to keep the government open.
Bachmann joined other conservative Republicans in criticizing the bill for not doing enough to stymie Obama’s efforts on immigration. His recent executive order defers deportation for about 5 million illegal immigrants.
Obama’s order will strain funding for social services in several states, Bachmann said, and is also a political calculation to ensure Democratic gains in the next election.
“I think the president is all smiles, [House Minority Leader] Nancy Pelosi [(D., Calif.)] is all smiles, [Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid [(D., Nev.)] is all smiles, because today’s their 2016 insurance plan,” she said. “That’s what it is, and Republicans will pay for it; we will vote for it.”
Bachmann has frequently sparred with the GOP leadership in the House throughout her four terms in Congress. While Obama “goes further and further left with each election,” Republican leaders “continually kick their base in the shins,” she said.
Now that Republicans have won their largest House majority in decades and recaptured the Senate majority, she advised freshmen lawmakers to “always remember who you are when you come here.”
“This town didn’t give me my identity,” she said, recounting that she used to listen to talk radio as a working mother and wonder “what’s wrong with these knuckleheads” who go to Washington and “completely check their brains at the door.”
Bachmann also urged incoming lawmakers to “never despise small beginnings.” Just before the Affordable Care Act became law in March 2010, she decided on a whim to call on Americans from across the country to come to Washington and express concerns directly to their representatives. More than 40,000 arrived in the capital. Pelosi shut her office doors and told her staff to go home.
Bachmann now plans to travel across the country, giving speeches and writing op-eds ahead of what she called a “consequential” election in 2016. Presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton will simply continue Obama’s widely criticized domestic and foreign policies, Bachmann said. Republicans for their part need to ensure that they do not nominate a candidate who is “changing their stripes just for an election.”
“If we get a very bold conservative who has a strong identification of where they want to take the country, both economically and in terms of national security, we do have a chance to have a major course correction for America in the future,” she said.
@ mar55:Excellent .
@ yamit82:Ditto.
There is talk of a thrid party because there is no hope otherwise. Palin’s supporters are begging her to run. Palin is on record of saying that she is open to running for elected office. She recently said she would like to see the next presidential race as one between two women.
@ yamit82:
I agree with you. Everyone hates Boehner because having no brains he lacks the b—s to do what he has to do. The Republicans are intimidated by the Democrats who still uses platitudes to call them the party of the rich. A recent analysis did prove the statement to be the opposite.
The Democrats are actually the party of the rich.
The public keeps putting their personal interest ahead of the country. They could cut plenty of waste without touching SS or higher taxes. There is a lot of duplication and even triplication in many of the social programs that are being subsidized from different sources.
The foreign aid, not he one with strings attached like the one for Israel. The one that are given as grants for example to refurbish mosques in Africa and so many other aid of the same type should be ended. The United Nations has a tremendous amount of waste. Reason Bolton was fired from his jobs. They did not want to be audited. The same as in the UN is happening in the US.
Populism is what brought Obama into the government. It is to be expected when our educational system has been reduced to instead of bringing the lower performers to a higher standard. We bring the entire system to as you put it the lowest common denominator. I know that you do not agree with me but, the unions have had a lot to do with this decline. They also look after themselves only
As you very well have said, we are never going to be able to pay a debt of 18 trillion dollars. Then you have Cruz.
He stands and say the truth and have been vilified not only by the Democrats but, his own party has done more damage to this candidate than the Democrats have. It does not mean like him but at this point the democrats are not doing anything to discredit him when the Republicans are doing a good job at it. Anything but the truth.
We have a demagogue at the WH and he was elected not once but twice. The ignorance of the majority of the population is scary. People are worry only about how much money they can make and how many material things they can accumulate.
The criminality rate of recent immigration. The Arabs and Hispanics keep coming through the Mexican border and amongst them the criminals have open season on the country.
That alone puts tremendous pressure on our social system.
From free medical, schooling, food stamps, housing and other supplements to maintain a population of millions who do not want to integrate in our society or have our values. We are committing suicide.
It is true. Not a single politician mentions our debt not even in passing. Right now people are more worried about getting rid of the scum we have in government and getting
a new government in Washington. It is going to take years before we can clean all the different departments in the government. Lots of the bureaucracy created by this administration. Worse than the Carter’s Administration.
@ mar55:
Boehner from what I can see from here doesn’t have the brains to be independent rather it seems to me he does what he is told. Why is he still speaker??? One TV talking head suggested that no-one else in the Republican congress wants the job. Since he seems to be unchallenged it’s probably true. If so why??? Speaker of HR is a very powerful position. Since it seems to me he has had his way over the Tea Party and more conservative congressmen it’s apparent the conservatives just don’t have the numbers or the clout or they talk the talk only.
American Elections are not contested over serious issues because some 80% of the voters vote as traditional loyalists to either party and elections are actually contested by 10-20% of the voting public. Issues are rarely deciding factors in who wins. No politician will ever tell the truth to the public (if he knows the truth) because he or she would never be elected.
They all try to sell what they think their public wants to hear.
The public as an interest group places his personal interests over the general good. So we are left with populism, demagoguery and catering to the lowest common denominator.
A very flawed system and will develop into some form of dictatorship.
People do not want the responsibility and are mostly content to let others do it for them until they themselves feel injured.
Conservatives want to reduce sovereign debt but that require higher taxes, and or cutting entitlements and the defense budget if not overall reduction of governments size.
yet when talk of higher taxes is broached they rebel and talk of reforming SS and Medicare they reject cuts in services and higher % of rates etc. all are willing to cuts someone other than themselves programs but not those who effect them personally.
18 Trillion dollar sovereign debt is ultimately unsustainable and I believe it’s Americas greatest threat .
I see no-one willing to take that issue on.
@ yamit82
Since the young is very adept at every electronic gadget in the market, the Republicans should be concentrating in running an electronic campaign. Going in Facebook and Tweeter is indispensable.
yamit82, I am going to offer my humble opinion.
Boehner, the Speaker of the House, Mac Connell and the old tmers are promoting Chris Christie and Jeb Bush for President but I do not think they have a chance. One is a liberal and the Bushes think they are a dynasty. We are tired of the Bushes. Among the Rep. Establishment we can count the Republican governors.
The Republican National committee had a debt close to 23 million dollars. They elected Priebus who is very skillful at fund raising. The debt has been reduced to 11.5 or more. The person who gets the chairmanship is not the most honest or capable. The one who can raise lots of money.
Big conservative contributors to The Republicans Adelson, the Koch brothers, Wynn and others I can’t remember off hand.
Some people are even promoting Romney to run again. In the debate before the 2012 election he could have defeated Obama with facts he never even attempted to mention. Was too tame to even defend himself against the lies and platitudes of Obama. In the situation the Country is right now. I cannot see him as President. Cruz is a big supporter of Israel but they do not want him because he has a big mouth and tells the truth. Too aggressive for the
establishment.
I do not see any of the incumbents winning unless a dark horse from somewhere enters the race.
Young constituents do not read facts any longer. If a Republican came as a populist the people would listen to him. Our educational level has gone down and it is reflected in the general population.
Bottom line. The Republicans are too split right now
if the election had to be decided today.
Thanks Laura. Now who are the deep pockets greasing these pigs???
I have a feeling the GOP may split over the candidate finally selected in the primaries. The differences between the so called moderates and conservatives seem to be widening rather than narrowing. The budget vote is a sign of what’s to come.
I would say Boehner and his ilk. Also those behind the scenes like Karl Rove. These are the people pushing Chris Christie or Jeb Bush for president.
@ Laura:
Who exactly is the GOP establishment???
I’m asking because I actually don’t know.
Whoever they are they are not part of the conservative wing of the GOP. So who are the main string pullers in the GOP??
The GOP establishment threw Michele Bachmann under the bus after she proposed investigating Huma Abadine and for speaking candidly about Islam.