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Insisting the Tea Party is a ‘force for good’ Rep. Michele Bachmann blasted health care reform, called for deep budget cuts and blamed President Obama for failing to find solutions to help the struggling economy.
The response to President Obama’s State of the Union address, was on behalf of the tea party movement, and followed the Republican Party’s official response on Tuesday night.
The Minnesota Republican, who’s rumored to be considering a presidential run in 2012, said there was an ‘unprecedented explosion of government spending and debt’ during the President’s first two years in the White House.
Bachmann’s remarks echoed many of the GOP’s policy points – like reducing debt and repealing health care reform. But it also displayed some Tea Party hallmarks – like a debunked myth about the health care reform package, and a rather strange reference to Iwo Jima, complete with photos.
“These six young men raising the flag came to symbolize all of America coming together to beat back a totalitarian aggressor” – said Bachmann, who was armed with charts during speech. “Our current debt crisis we face today is different, but we still need all of us to pull together. But we can do this.”

Michele Bachmann.

Not the president and not even her own party was going to keep Congresswoman Michele Bachmann out of the spotlight for a day. Despite mutterings that the GOP leadership wasn’t too thrilled with her ‘Tea Party response’ to the State of the Union, Bachmann plunged on ahead. There are many delicious moments. For example:
- “Instead of a leaner, smarter government, we bought a bureaucracy that tells us which light bulbs to buy, and which will put 16.500 IRS agents in charge of policing President Obama’s health care bill.”
- And: “We believe in lower taxes, a limited view of government and the exceptionalism of America. And I believe America is the indispensible nation.”
- And: “ObamaCare mandates and penalties will force many job creators to stop offering health insurance altogether, unless yours is one of the more than 222 privileged companies or unions that has received a government waiver.”

In the end, there was little difference (besides noticeable technical issues) between the Ryan response and its illegitimate sibling. Bachmann was a bit tougher on Obama, and Ryan’s rhetoric was more polished, but many of the talking points were similar—perhaps suggesting that the Tea-soaked fringes of the G.O.P., as personified by Bachmann, are more in concert with the establishment-middle than either group would necessarily advertise. See if you can tell the difference between the two responses.
A) “All of this new government spending was sold as ‘investment.’ Yet after two years, the unemployment rate remains above 9 percent and government has added over $3 trillion to our debt.”
B) “Our debt is out of control. What was a fiscal challenge is now a fiscal crisis.”
C) “Unfortunately, the President’s strategy for recovery was to spend a trillion dollars on a failed stimulus program, fueled by borrowed money. The White House promised us that all the spending would keep unemployment under 8 percent.”
D) “In the end, unless we fully repeal ObamaCare, a nation that currently enjoys the world’s best healthcare may be forced to rely on government-run coverage that will have a devastating impact on our national debt for generations to come.”
E) “Last week, House Republicans voted for a full repeal of this [health-care] law, as we pledged to do, and we will work to replace it with fiscally responsible, patient-centered reforms that actually reduce costs and expand coverage.”
F) “The President mentioned the need for regulatory reform to ease the burden on American businesses. We agree—and we think his health care law would be a great place to start.”
G) “We need to start making things again in this country, and we can do that by reducing the tax and regulatory burdens on job creators.”
H) “It’s no coincidence that trust in government is at an all-time low now that the size of government is at an all-time high.”
I) “Last November you went to the polls and voted out big-spending politicians and you put in their place men and women with a commitment to follow the Constitution and cut the size of government.”
J) “Good evening, my name is Congresswoman Michele Bachmann from Minnesota’s 6th District.”
K) “Good evening. I’m Congressman Paul Ryan from Janesville, Wisconsin—and Chairman here at the House Budget Committee.”
L) “In all the chapters of human history, there has never been anything quite like America.”
M) “I believe that we are in the early days of a history-making turn.”
Answers.
Ryan: A, B, E, F, H, K.
Bachmann: C, D, G, I, J, M.