Michele Bachmann
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann represents Minnesota’s 6th congressional district, and is a Republican candidate for President.
She has served as a representative in Congress since 2007 and has been an avid and outspoken opponent of President Obama’s healthcare plan, reproductive choice for women, and of marriage equality and LGBT rights. She is a Tea Party favorite and has often been compared to former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and celebrated for her fiscal and social conservatism.
She founded the Tea Party Caucus in Congress and is the first Republican woman to represent Minnesota in the House of Representatives. With her often controversial remarks, Bachmann quickly earned notoriety and won the Ames Straw Poll with 28.5% of the vote. Ron Paul came in second with Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty finishing third.
Analysts attributed Bachmann's rising star status, particularly among Tea Party Republicans, to her hard line stance on social issues—in particular, her anti-equality stance in regard to gay and lesbian Americans. As a Congresswoman and a state Senator, Bachmann was a vocal opponent of LGBT rights. However, since entering the national spotlight, Congresswoman Bachmann’s talking points on LGBT rights has gone from vitriolic rhetoric about "dysfunction" and "bondage," to early campaign quotes supporting California's Proposition 8 and Minnesota's proposed marriage ban, to claiming that she "isn’t here to judge anyone," and, "is simply running for the Presidency of the United States." Recent negative media attention surrounding her husband's "reparative therapy" clinic that claims to counsel lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender men and women out of their sexual orientation, may have contributed to Congresswoman Bachmann's revised talking points on marriage equality. Nevertheless, her position on gay and lesbian Americans is clear.
Since the Ames Straw Poll, Bachmann’s numbers have slipped considerably. In a Des Moines Register poll conducted before the Iowa caucus, Bachmann only holds 7% support. Mitt Romney led with 24%, Ron Paul second with 22%, and Rick Santorum third with 15%.
At the Iowa caucus, Bachmann had dismal results with only 5% of the votes. Mitt Romney barely won with 24.6% of the votes, Santorum second with 24.5% of the votes. Ron Paul came in third with 21%. Bachmann has since dropped out of the race for the presidency.
One Iowa is committed to holding our political leaders accountable for their words and actions while on the campaign trail. We support fair minded politicians who value all families, and over the next few months One Iowa will be working to make sure you have the information you need to make an informed choice.
Help support One Iowa’s work during this caucus season.
Keep checking back with us for the latest information on Michele Bachmann and marriage equality.
On FOX News Sunday:
"Marriage, historically, for all human history has been between a man and a woman. It hasn't been the same-sex marriage. And remember that in Iowa, it was judges that made the decision -- not the legislature, which are the people's representatives, and certainly, not the people. That's why the people of Iowa threw out three of those Supreme Court judges. That's something that should give pause to all judges. The people of Iowa are sick and tired of the judges tell them what their laws are. They are not a super legislator. They are judges. And they need to act like judges. As president of the United States, I will only appoint judges that will apply the strict construction or the original intent of the Constitution of the United States."
12/4/11, Huffington Post
Watch video:
Bachmann debates marriage equality with Waverly High School students:
JANE SCHMIDT [ Waverly High School student and president of the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance]: One of my main concerns is government support for the LGBT community. So my question is what would you do to protect GSAs in high school and support the LGBT community.
BACHMANN: Well, No. 1, all of us as Americans have the same rights. The same civil rights. And so that’s really what government’s role is, to protect our civil rights. There shouldn’t be any special rights or special set of criteria based upon people’s preferences. We all have the same civil rights.
JANE SCHMIDT: Then, why can’t same-sex couples get married?
BACHMANN: They can get married, but they abide by the same law as everyone else. They can marry a man if they’re a woman. Or they can marry a woman if they’re a man.
JANE SCHMIDT: Why can’t a man marry a man?
BACHMANN: Because that’s not the law of the land.
JANE SCHMIDT: So heterosexual couples have a privilege.
BACHMANN: No, they have the same opportunity under the law. There is no right to same-sex marriage.
JANE SCHMIDT: So you won’t support the LGBT community?
BACHMANN: No, I said that there are no special rights for people based upon your sex practices. There’s no special rights based upon what you do in your sex life. You’re an American citizen first and foremost and that’s it.
ELLA NEWELL, a junior at Waverly High School: Wouldn’t heterosexual couples, if they were given a privilege then, that gay couples aren’t, like given that privilege to get married, but heterosexual couples are given a privilege to get married?
BACHMANN: Remember every American citizen has the right to avail themselves to marriage but they have to follow what the laws are. And the laws are you marry a person of the opposite sex.
11/30/11, Des Moines Register
Watch video of this exchange between Waverly High School students and Michele Bachmann:
On social issues:
“I just want to let it be known that I will not be forgetting these important fundamental issues of life, marriage and family.
...My message is this: Why would we settle? Why would we settle on a moderate, someone who’s not clear on issue of life, on the issue of religious liberty, on the issue of marriage between a man and a woman? If there is any election when we can have it all, it’s this election.”
10/7/11, The Des Moines Register
On Ralph Reed’s Faith and Freedom coalition:
“We also believe that God has a design for marriage between one man and one woman. I was the chief author of the marriage amendment in Minnesota and we persisted, and after seven years, in a very hostile liberal state, we finally passed that marriage amendment and it will be on the ballot and I believe it will pass in 2012.
"...I think of all of the candidates that are running in this race, I have been very vocal about this [Don't Ask Don't Tell]. I would reinstate the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. It worked before and what it says is the issue of sexuality is one that doesn’t come up and people aren’t allowed to be open about it because the United States military is unique, its not a social experiment.”
10/5/11, The Minnesota Independent
On Meet the Press:
"I'm not judging anyone... I think my views are clear."
8/14/11, The Advocate
“My view on marriage is that I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. That’s what I stand for. But I ascribe honor and dignity to every person, no matter what their background. They have honor and they have dignity.” 8/14/2011, Meet the Press
"Well, I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. And I also believe -- in Minnesota, for instance, this year, the legislature put on the ballot for people to vote in 2012, whether the people want to vote on the definition of marriage as one man, one woman. In New York state, they have a passed the law at the state legislative level. And under the 10th Amendment, the states have the right to set the laws that they want to set. ...That is up the people of New York. I think that it's best to allow the people to decide on this issue. I think it's best if there's an amendment that goes on the ballot where the people can weigh in. Every time this issue has gone on the ballot, the people have voted to retain the traditional definition of marriage as recently as California in 2008. ...I do support a constitutional amendment on marriage between a man and a woman, but I would not be going into the states to overturn their state law. ... States have, under the 10th Amendment, the right to pass any law they like. Also, federal officials at the federal level have the right to also put forth a constitutional amendment."
6/26/11, Fox News
"In 5,000 years of recorded human history... neither in the east or in the west... has any society ever defined marriage as anything other than between men and women. Not one in 5000 years of recorded human history. That's an astounding fact and it isn't until the last 12 years or so that we have seen for the first time in recorded human history marriage defined as anything other than between men and between women." 4/11/11, Politico
"And again, don't misunderstand. I am not here bashing people who are homosexuals, who are lesbians, who are bisexual, who are transgender. We need to have profound compassion for people who are dealing with the very real issue of sexual dysfunction in their life, and sexual identity disorders. This is a very real issue. It's not funny, it's sad."
"Any of you who have members of your family that are in the lifestyle — we have a member of our family that is. This is not funny. It's a very sad life. It's part of Satan, I think, to say this is "gay". It's anything but gay."
"It's profoundly sad to recognize that almost all, if not all, individuals who have gone into the lifestyle have been abused at one time in their life, either by a male or by a female. There's been profound hurt and profound things that have happened in almost all of their lives." "Because the first thing that will occur, once the legalization occurs, is that if this curriculum is not being taught already, it will be mandated, it must be taught in the schools. You cannot get out of it. Why? If you would not teach this, it would be considered discriminatory."
"It leads to the personal enslavement of individuals. Because if you’re involved in the gay and lesbian lifestyle, it's bondage. Personal bondage, personal despair, and personal enslavement. And that's why this is so dangerous."
11/6/04, published by CBS News on 7/13/11About same-sex marriage:
"[Same-sex marriage] is probably the biggest issue that will impact our state and our nation in the last, at least, thirty years. I am not understating that."
On a proposed Minnesota state constitutional amendment to ban marriage equality:
"This is an earthquake issue. This will change our state forever. Because the immediate consequence, if gay marriage goes through, is that K-12 little children will be forced to learn that homosexuality is normal, natural and perhaps they should try it." ... "This is a very serious matter, because it is our children who are the prize for this community, they are specifically targeting our children." ... "This is not about hating homosexuals. I don't. I love homosexuals."
What would happen if a proposed Minnesota state constitutional amendment to ban marriage equality would fail to pass:
"It isn't that some gay will get some rights. It's that everyone else in our state will lose rights. For instance, parents will lose the right to protect and direct the upbringing of their children. Because our K-12 public school system, of which 90% of all youth are in the public school system, they will be required to learn that homosexuality is normal, equal and perhaps you should try it. And that will occur immediately, that all schools will begin teaching homosexuality."
"And what a bizarre time we're in, Jan, when a judge will say to little children that you can't say the Pledge of Allegiance, but you must learn that homosexuality is normal and you should try it."
"Our children will be forced to learn that homosexuality is normal and natural and that perhaps they should try it, and that'll be very soon in our public schools all across the state, beginning in kindergarten."
3/20/04, as a guest on radio program "Prophetic Views Behind the News," hosted by Jan Markell, KKMS 980-AM
Click here to go back to Caucus Tracker Home
