WASHINGTON – Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., has been a
prolific conservative legislator despite strong resistance from establishment Republicans,
including leaders of her own party, and despite the considerable challenge of
passing legislation without cooperation from an obstructionist Senate
controlled by Democrats.
And, despite an outgoing personality and political boldness
demonstrated by her willingness to go in front of the cameras to champion the
causes in which she believed, over the years WND has found Bachmann to be
a genuinely humble and modest public servant who has shied from public praise
and honors.
That was evidenced when, informed she had been awarded WND’s
“2014 Lawmaker of the Year,” Bachmann simply replied, “What an honor!”
The firebrand from the snowy state
is retiring from Congress, but has been a reliably conservative voice in
Congress over her eight-year tenure, most recently ranked by the
Heritage Foundation as having the 42nd
most-conservative voting record among 535 lawmakers, the 435 members of the
House of Representatives and 100 senators.
When informed of Bachmann’s award as WND’s 2014 Lawmaker of
the Year, Andrew McCarthy, former federal prosecutor, National Review
contributing editor, New York Times bestselling author, political analyst and
frequent Fox News commentator, likely spoke for countless Americans when he
simply responded, “We already miss her.”
Also expressing congratulations and best wishes were fellow
conservative luminaries Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas,
and political analyst, New York Times bestselling author and talk-show radio
host Laura Ingraham.
But the fondest and most poignant tribute came from
Bachmann’s closest confidante and ally in Congress, Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa.
“She’s a great
friend, and I am an admirer of Michele,” he said. “Whatever she does in the
future is going to be good for this country. I know this lady well. I’ve
watched her operate since she entered Congress and I’ve watched her blossom.”
King described how Bachmann swiftly proved herself an
unusually talented legislator and communicator.
“She is an extraordinarily quick study. She can pour through
material and absorb the salient points and turn it into a statement on radio or
television that looks as if it is tailored just for the audience and the medium
that she uses. It’s an exceptional talent that she has,” King told WND.
He said she stood out from the crowd right away.
“When she came in as a freshman, I saw her as someone who
was paying attention,” he said. “If you watch people, you can see if they’re
picking up on what’s going on around them. Michele always seemed to be the one
who knew what was happening around her, better than most, better than anyone
else in her class.”
King decided to test the freshman’s mettle and invited
Bachmann to do a special order with him. Special orders can be extremely
powerful tools in shaping legislation, giving new members the opportunity to
debate on the floor of the House.
“I gave her the topic, and she’d never heard of it. That can
happen because there are a lot of topics. I told her what it was and she said,
‘OK,’ walked back up the hallway of the House chamber and I thought, ‘Well,
I’ve lost her,’ because any other freshman wouldn’t have come back.”
Bachmann quickly proved to be anything but just another
freshman.
“I started my speech and about 15 minutes into an hour
presentation she came back down, stepped up to the microphone with this
expectant look on her face,” he recalled. “So, I recognized her to speak, and
what came out of her was a full knowledge of the subject matter and good,
solid, well-rounded opinions.”
King was floored, and Bachmann had
set the tone for her tenure.
“She did exactly what I was attempting to do. ‘Wow, what
happened here?’ I speculate she went back on the Internet and did a quick
study, and since she’d committed to being my partner on that special order, she
followed through.
“And that has been the case with her, ever since, on the
many different things we’ve addressed along the way.”
King also complimented Bachmann as a gifted and prolific
legislator, observing she had to be particularly attentive to sign onto so many
pieces of legislation.
Congress has had a particularly tough time getting
legislation to the president’s desk in the last few years, and the mainstream
media have relentlessly blamed Republicans, particularly conservatives, for
gridlock. But, the facts show otherwise.
At a press
conference on July 29, Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Kans.,
remarked, “The president is fond of referring to the House as the ‘Do-Nothing
Congress.’ But we have 352 reasons why it’s a ‘Do-Nothing Senate.’”
She fingered the real culprit as Sen. Majority Leader Harry
Reid, D-Nev.:
- 352 bills are sitting on Harry Reid’s desk, awaiting action.
- 98 percent of them passed with bipartisan support. Republicans and Democrats working together to pass legislation.
- 50 percent of the bills passed unanimously, with no opposition.
- 70 percent of the bills passed with two-thirds support in the House.
- And more than 55 bills were introduced by Democrats.
Jenkins concluded, “352 bills. Why won’t Harry Reid act?
These are good bills; bills that put the American people back to work, put more
money in hardworking Americans’ pockets, help with education, and skills
training.”
Bachmann played a significant role in trying to help those
hardworking Americans.
She sponsored
15 bills during her last two-year term in
Congress and co-sponsored
301 pieces of legislation.
Bills she sponsored included:
- H.R.42 : Military Health Care Affordability Act. To amend title 10, United States Code, to prohibit certain increases in fees for military health care before fiscal year 2016.
- H.R.45 : To repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and health care-related provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.
- H.R.46 : To repeal the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
- H.R.162 : Medicaid Integrity Act of 2013. To amend section 1932 of the Social Security Act to require independent audits and actuarial services under Medicaid managed care programs, and for other purposes.
- H.R.2091 : To amend title 36, United States Code, to require that the POW/MIA flag be displayed on all days that the flag of the United States is displayed on certain Federal property.
- H.R.4989 : Justina’s Law. To prohibit Federal funding of any treatment or research in which a ward of the State is subjected to greater than minimal risk to the individual’s health with no or minimal prospect of direct benefit.
- H.R.5194 : Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act of 2014. To impose sanctions against persons who knowingly provide material support or resources to the Muslim Brotherhood or its affiliates, associated groups, or agents, and for other purposes.
- H.R.5408 : Terrorist Denaturalization and Passport Revocation Act. To amend section 349(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to add certain acts of allegiance to a foreign terrorist organization to the list of acts for which nationals of the United States lose nationality, and for other purposes.
- H.R.5551 : Heartbeat Informed Consent Act. To ensure that women seeking an abortion receive an ultrasound and an opportunity to review the ultrasound before giving informed consent to receive an abortion.
- H.RES.24 : Expressing the deep disappointment of the House of Representatives in the enactment by the Russia Government of a law ending inter-country adoptions of Russian children by United States citizens and urging the Russia Government to reconsider the law and prioritize the processing of inter-country adoptions involving parentless Russian children who were already matched with United States families before the enactment of the law.
- H.RES.231 : Establishing a Select Committee on POW and MIA Affairs.
Those bills are currently under consideration by committees
and may never be signed by the president, but Bachmann never wavered from what
conservatives would consider fighting the good fight.
That fighting spirit led to what
Bachmann told WND was one of high points of her legislative career: passing a tough
border bill this summer after House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, was forced to
drop his own weaker bill.
Most political observers declared the death of Boehner’s
bill to be the last chance for the House to pass any border bill.
But, a congressional aide described to WND how Bachmann
showed incredible resolve and rallied the troops behind the scenes to get the
tougher bill supported by the speaker and other GOP moderates, then passed in
the House.
As WND
reported, the congresswoman called it a
“legislative miracle” and confided she was just astounded she could go from a
“hell no” to a “yes” on a border bill overnight.
Not one to take credit herself, the congresswoman cited the
efforts of grassroots voters who “melted the phone lines” on Capitol Hill,
demanding a stronger bill, one that would do more to secure the border and
discourage illegal immigrants by reducing the prospects for asylum. She also
thanked WND and other conservative outlets for informing the public.
In her farewell
interview with WND, Bachmann reflected, “I think what
I am more proud of than anything is the fact that I was a real person when I
came into Congress eight years ago. I am still the same real person today. I
had no filter over what I said or what I did.”
In fact, she reiterated, while laughing, “I’ve never had a
filter on my mouth at all! No, I was very free. And that’s what got me into
trouble all the time. I don’t know who’s happier to see me leave Congress,
Nancy Pelosi or John Boehner.”
WND contacted both House Speaker Boehner and Rep. Pelosi for
comment on Bachmann’s award as 2014 Legislator of the Year but did not receive
a response from either lawmaker.
Despite her many intense jousts with both Democrats and
establishment Republicans that usually did not go her way, Bachmann said it was
all worth it.
“I mean, I rolled the dice and I
gave it everything I had. I have worked like a maniac for the eight years that
I’ve been here. When my feet hit the ground in the morning, I worked. I worked
until I’d go to sleep. And I think that’s what I am proudest of, because I put
everything on the line. … I couldn’t have worked harder.”
Bachmann didn’t just develop legions of admirers across the
nation, she also left her mark on Congress.
King described what separated the congresswoman from the
herd.
“There are a lot of smart people in the world, and
Washington, D.C., is a magnet for highly intelligent people,” he said. “You can
look at their resumes and a lot of them have master’s degrees, 4.0 grade point
averages, have been active in extracurricular activities and a lot of them come
from good families. You look at them and think, what separates the highly
intelligent, well-motivated, well-grounded people from the others?
“The people that separate themselves and rise to the top
are, in Michele’s case in particular, people with good (political) instincts.
The instincts, along with all the other talents and gifts – and then you have
to have enough confidence to trust your instincts.
“Instincts are something you develop along the way. We each
have different gifts. Michele Bachmann has exceptionally good instincts. Instincts
for what is important, instincts for what is news, instincts for what moves
people.”
King explained, even though he entered Congress four years
before her, “She taught me.”
Particularly when it came to learning to trust his own
political instincts.
“I think if I hadn’t had the privilege of working with her,
I wouldn’t be able to articulate that. And I think there have been a good
number of times I might not have had the confidence in my instincts that I do
today.”
On May 29, 2013, Bachmann shocked Washington, D.C., by
unexpectedly announcing her intention to retire from Congress at the end of her
term.
The scuttlebutt on Capitol Hill was the leaders of the GOP
establishment had had enough of her as a thorn in their side and would not lift
a finger to help her in what promised to be an expensive and grueling campaign.
Democrats, according to Politico, put her “at the top of their target list
after she barely survived re-election.” There was also a pending ethics
investigation into her campaign finances that another conservative congressman
confided to WND was not her fault but the result of “trusting the wrong
people.”
Recapturing the support of Minnesotans may have seemed a
daunting prospect, but to millions of Americans across the nation, the housewife
who went to Washington had become an inspiration. She was a conservative
champion seen as a deeply principled constitutionalist who dared speak truth to
power, especially to those in her own party.
“I’m not done. I’m just going to change arenas now. Instead
of holding elective office, now I’ll be fighting from the outside,” said a
jubilant Bachmann.
She always managed to maintain that upbeat appearance in
public as she finished her legislative career with her trademark zeal, despite
the fact she was put under 24/7 protection by a security detail last summer
after receiving a threat from the terrorist army ISIS.
As WND
reported, Politico may have added fuel to that
fire by incorrectly reporting the congresswoman had called on President Obama
to declare war on Islam.
However, Bachmann was undaunted by the threat, and, in fact,
told WND her only true regret was she did not become more involved in foreign
policy because of what she sees as the clear and imminent threat posed by
radical Islam.
“The goals of Islamic jihad must be defeated. We have the
capacity to do that. We are lacking the political will. And I wish I would have
gotten involved far earlier in that arena so I could have devoted more time to
it.”
Bachmann was unwavering in the face of severe criticism from
many, including members of her own party, after pointing out the possible
connections between the Muslim Brotherhood and employees working in the State,
Homeland Security, Defense and Justice Departments.
She took particular heat for pointing out the Brotherhood’s
connections to Huma Abedin, the top aide to former Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton.
Bachmann responded to criticism from
fellow Minnesotan Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., with a 16-page
letter documenting the evidence.
Sine then, foreign policy analyst
for the Center for Security Policy and former CIA operative Clare Lopez
detailed the Muslim Brotherhood’s infiltration of the U.S. government,
including the Obama administration, in a wide-ranging interview
with WND in August.
Lopez said the closest adviser for the National Security
Council has been an imam named Muhammad Magid.
“He is the son of the Muslim Brotherhood’s grand mufti of
Sudan. He is also the president of something called ISNA, Islamic Society of
North America, the largest Muslim Brotherhood front group in the country. And,
ISNA is an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2008 Holy Land Foundation Hamas
terror funding trial.”
And in July of 2013, former federal
prosecutor Andrew McCarthy (who convicted the jihadist “Blind Sheikh” Omar
Abdel Rahman for his role in organizing the 1993 World Trade Center bombing)
wrote an article
documenting Abedin’s close ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of violent jihad.
McCarthy called Abedin “an influential Shariah activist”
who, among other nefarious activities, “directed an organization, the
International Islamic Committee for Woman and Child, that was part of a formally
designated terrorist organization “led by Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the
notorious Muslim Brotherhood jurist who has issued fatwas calling for the
killing of American military and support personnel in Iraq as well as suicide
bombings in Israel.”
He concluded, “When a handful of House conservatives tried
to draw the attention of the State Department’s inspector general to some of
these matters – wondering how on earth someone with Ms. Abdein’s background
could have qualified for a top-secret security clearance – they were castigated
by the Obama White House and the Beltway Republican establishment.”
Perhaps, Bachmann won’t have to worry as much about the
perils of speaking truth to power.
A devout person of faith, she has always been more concerned
with the opinion of a higher power.
King told WND, Bachmann is so special because, in addition
to her prodigious political talents, “She’s a prayer warrior.”
“That’s a core part of who she is.
We’ve been in a lot of places around the country and around the world together,
and I understand the habits of her heart,” he said. “And if you want somebody
who gets their faith right, Michele Bachmann absolutely is one of those
people.”
WND interviewed Bachmann many times over the last few years
on a wide variety of subjects. She would often speak with heartfelt conviction
and at great length, displaying an encyclopedic grasp of many complex and
important topics.
The congresswoman’s passion for politics was matched by her
deep and earnest concern for people, including the disenfranchised and
oppressed around the world, but particularly for hard-working middle-class
Americans, for whom she always appeared to care so deeply and earnestly.
The following message was sent to WND on the night of Dec.
15, 2014 as Bachmann departed Washington, D.C.:
I’m literally sitting in my plane
seat headed home for the last time as a member of Congress.
While boarding, I was praising God for this unparalleled
opportunity. I never planned to be in politics. I was a mother and tax lawyer.
When I first arrived in D.C., I never thought the journey would lead to so many
legislative battles, much less to eventually running for the presidency.
I’m most happy that I used every moment here. I fulfilled
the mission I was called to and redeemed the time. How could I not be
happy and fulfilled?
Though the ruling class won nearly every political battle,
still we fought back at every turn with the help of real Americans.
Who knows what the fruitfulness of our efforts will be?
At least we know we did everything we could, while we could,
for the maintenance of liberty and to uphold the Constitution.
The first day I arrived in D.C., I visited the National
Archives in order to view the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
In the eight years that followed, I rarely visited anything
in D.C.; I only worked. On my last day in D.C., I returned to stand before
those two documents, most grateful that I did my part, to the best of my
abilities, to remain faithful and true, but most importantly, I labored to contend
for the principles and values they promise to each of us.
This was real for me and I did my best for the country I
love and the people I was privileged to serve.
I then traveled to Williamsburg and to Mt. Vernon this
weekend in thanks, admiration, and appreciation for what earlier patriots did
for us.
God bless!
Source:http://www.wnd.com/2015/01/the-2014-lawmaker-of-the-year-is/
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