Michele Bachmann slammed GOP presidential nomination rivals Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney during morning-show appearances on Tuesday, saying that neither of the current GOP front-runners are true conservatives.
On MSNBC’s Morning Joe and CBS’s The Early Show, the Minnesota congresswoman accused both the former House speaker and the former Massachussetts governor of flip-flopping on key conservative issues -- particularly health care, the financial industry bailout, and abortion rights.
“If you take a look at the top contenders, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, it’s very hard for a tea partier to see them as consistent conservatives,” Bachmann said on The Early Show. “On issue after issue that is not reflective of the tea party agenda, they’ve been on the wrong side of the issue.”
On health care, Bachmann pointed out, Gingrich has supported the individual mandate for years and Romney enacted it in his state.
“Who is going to go in and repeal Obamacare?” she said. “Mitt Romney, who put it into place in Massachusetts? Newt Gingrich who had the idea for it and wants to mandate that everyone buy the insurance? Or me, who brought the people to fight it?”
Bachmann accused both Gingrich and Romney of “crony capitalism,” and said that conservatives are looking for a true Washington outsider to stand up for their values. She added that Gingrich is “the consummate insider,” accusing Gingrich of raking in $100 million for influence-peddling in Washington.
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