ST. PAUL, Minn. — One hand clutches a crisply folded U.S. flag with a concealed weapons certification protruding; the other slides discreetly into a denim coat pocket. Behind the beaming state lawmaker, a silhouette target with bullet holes square in the chest. Next to her nameplate, a “No New Taxes!” sticker.
The photo taken during Minnesota Republican Michele Bachmann’s initial run for Congress in 2006 captures her essence.
In Bachmann’s quick rise from state lawmaker to unofficial tea party ambassador in Washington, her brazen style has kept Republican leaders on edge and appealed to those in the GOP searching for a fresh, unfettered voice. She relishes the spotlight and seldom cedes ground.
Her unpredictable edge was on display during Monday night’s GOP presidential debate in New Hampshire when, out of the blue, she announced that she had filed papers to be an official candidate for the Republican nomination.
“I do what I say and I say what I mean and I don’t change what I do based on a political wind or desire to necessarily move up the next ladder,” Bachmann told The Associated Press this spring in an interview in which she stressed her eagerness to “take on not only the opposing party but my own party as well to do what I think is right.”
Known for piercing and sometimes inaccurate commentary, she regularly aggravates political foes and provides ample fodder to late-night comics. She once falsely claimed taxpayers would be stuck with a $200 million per day tab for Democratic President Barack Obama’s trip to India. She mistakenly identified New Hampshire as the site of the Revolutionary War’s opening shots. (That key American moment occurred in Massachusetts.)
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