AMES, Iowa — Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann heavily targeted her most conservative supporters on Saturday in a speech where she emphasized her Christian faith, her belief in creationism, and her opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage.
“In Iowa we are social conservatives and we will never be ashamed of being social conservatives,” she told a packed stadium in Ames, Iowa. “We understand that religious liberty is the essence and the foothold of this nation.” The crowd cheered.
“God Almighty put his hand — a blessing — upon this nation,” she said, referring to her belief in creationism. “We can never think that we did this ourselves. It was an Almighty God that gave this to us.”
Bachmann, wearing a white linen suit jacket and skirt, repeatedly reminded voters that she was born and raised in Iowa — and said that in her view, Iowans love her.
“I tell people everything I needed to know in life I learned in Iowa,” she said, recycling a favorite line from her campaign stump speech. As she traveled around Iowa campaigning over the past couple weeks, she said, “What I saw were reasonable, fair-minded people who loved me, poured themselves into me.”
As president, Bachmann said she would fight to protect heterosexual marriage and that she would oppose abortion. She also promised a healthy economy.
“I get it, how to turn the economy around,” she said. “I get it, how to create jobs.”
