COSTA MESA, Calif. — Michele Bachmann, struggling to
regain her footing in the GOP presidential contest, Friday assailed
rival Rick Perry, saying he abused his power as governor of Texas and
rewarded political donors in a manner similar to President Barack Obama.
“It’s
wrong to abuse executive authority with unilateral action, and of
course the governor of Texas admitted as much that he made a mistake,”
Bachmann said, speaking to reporters after holding a rally in Costa
Mesa. “People don’t want a president or a governor making decisions
based on political connections. It’s wrong.”
The
Minnesota congresswoman was referring to an executive order signed by
Perry requiring that young girls be vaccinated against a sexually
transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer that was made by a
company that donated to Perry’s campaigns.
She
compared it to the federal controversy unfolding around Solyndra, a
solar equipment maker that received a $535 million federal loan
guarantee and which went bankrupt last month. Republicans have suggested
that the guarantee was pushed by the White House to reward a major
campaign donor with ties to Solyndra’s biggest shareholder, a charge the
Obama administration denies.
Bachmann also sought
to tie Perry’s effort, which was ultimately blocked by the Texas
Legislature, to Obama’s health care law in a Web video and fundraising
appeal to supporters in which she dubs his efforts as “Perrycare,” a
riff on the “Obamacare” label that some use to describe the president’s
health care reform package.
“Whether it’s
Obamacare or Perrycare, I oppose any governor or president who mandates a
family’s health care choices,” Bachmann says in the video. “Especially
if the decision-making process occurs behind closed doors, bypassing
legislative action and favors campaign contributors over families.”
Bachmann
received credit for calling Perry out on the matter during a debate
Monday night, but she quickly stumbled by claiming that the vaccine was
dangerous and could cause “mental retardation.” According to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention and physicians, even among people
who have the most severe reactions, the vaccine does not cause cognitive
disability.
Bachmann repeatedly refused to walk
back on her remarks, saying she had heard from a mother whose daughter
experienced such a reaction.
“I’m not a doctor, I’m not a scientist. I was just relating what the woman had told me about her daughter,” she said.
Bachmann,
who shook up the GOP field when she entered the presidential contest
this summer but who has been eclipsed in recent weeks by Perry’s entry,
made the remarks to reporters after speaking to about 100 people under
dreary skies at the Orange County fairgrounds. An appearance by Perry
last week in nearby Corona del Mar drew 1,000 supporters.
In
her remarks to the crowd, in addition to castigating Obama’s handling
of the economy, Bachmann said Obama was acting like a “dictator” in
forcing insurance companies to offer contraception, and rebuked him for
allowing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to step on American soil
to attend a gathering of world leaders at the United Nations next week.
“He
has expressed the words of a genocidal maniac. Why would we allow
someone like that to come in and address the United Nations in New York
City and then have coffee with students afterward at Columbia
University?” she said. “I think we can do better than this.”
Bachmann
laid out an aggressive plan for her first 100 days in office, saying
she would overhaul the tax code, repeal the health care overhaul and the
Dodd-Frank banking legislation, and increase domestic energy
production. She urged the crowd to support her.
“We
need to have as our next nominee one tough hombre, or in my case, one
tough hombre-ette, that will stand up for the U.S. Constitution and not
be ashamed,” Bachmann said. “I’m up for it. I think you’re up for it
because I know in 2012 we can take this country back and we will make
Barack Obama a one-term president!”
Bachmann
was on a two-day swing through California. She has been holding
fundraisers, and was scheduled to tape an appearance on “The Tonight
Show With Jay Leno” and keynote the California Republican Party’s
convention on Friday.
Former Massachusetts Gov.
Mitt Romney is also in the state fundraising, but he had no public
appearances planned. Perry released a list of volunteer team leaders in
the state on Friday.
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