Republican Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, who’s up against Jeb Hensarling of Texas for the GOP Conference chair in the House, said she’s running for the position because she thinks leadership should reflect Tuesday’s elections results.
“We’ve heard from the American people and I want to take the results of Tuesday’s election and let people all across the United States know that we get it. I think, quite frankly, that the new leadership going forward needs to reflect the result of last Tuesday’s election,” Bachmann said in a phone interview with The Daily Caller.
“The Tea Party is really made up of people who oppose the Obama, Reid, Pelosi election and many of them are apolitical and independent. I really believe that that voice needs and deserves to have a place at the table.”
Bachmann gave credence to current GOP House leadership, but discredited accusations against her “antics” as a reason for Republicans to oppose her.
“I think leadership does get it as far as the economic concerns of the American people, which have been leveled in this election,” she said. “I do believe leadership gets it, and again, I don’t give credence to unnamed sources. I’m very excited about what I’m seeing come out of House leadership.”
Bachmann on Monday sent the second letter of the last week to her Republican colleagues, following up on a request for support she circulated last Wednesday, the day after the election. In the letter sent Monday, which was obtained by TheDC, Bachmann said that she is running for conference chair “to ensure that all voices within the Republican Party are heard.”
“The American people must know that the message they sent Washington on Nov. 2 … will be given a full and fair hearing,” she wrote in the letter (click here to read the full letter).
In her interview with TheDC, Bachmann said she’s the link between the Tea Party movement, including its newly elected representatives, and current GOP leadership, and that’s why she is a better fit for the spot than Hensarling.
“I bring a new and fresh perspective. One thing I want to do as GOP Conference chair is, number one, unify the conference with the new Tea Party enthusiasm as well as with our existing conference, work to really gel our members together,” Bachmann told TheDC. “Second, I want to work more on effective communication. That’s really what conference is about, to effectively communicate the fact that we as conference get it.”
Bachmann cited her recent fundraising successes as another reason she should be chairwoman. She sees her ability to motivate the GOP and conservative voter base as key to keeping the new Tea Party representatives on track with what they’re aiming to do in Washington when they take office.
“I raised more money for the House of Representatives than any other candidate in the history of the United States,” she said. “I raised well over $13 million, and those donations averaged less than $45 apiece. What that says to me is that I have the confidence of people in our base and the people in our party and I think that that shows tremendous strength and credibility among the people.”
If Bachmann doesn’t get the spot, she said she wouldn’t fret over it. She plans to continue her Constitutional education classes with members of Congress, adding that she hopes to bring in the Supreme Court justices to teach members of Congress a lesson or two.
“Well, I’m a big girl and I think others members of Congress are big girls,” Bachmann said. “I’ll make my case and I fully trust the vote of the people I serve with. I’ll continue to give 100 percent of my effort to the people I serve out of Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District so they continue to have a voice and bring leadership into the conference.”