Bachmann: Obama Committed to 'Class Warfare'

Minnesota GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann says President Barack Obama’s call to raise taxes on the wealthy to reduce the nation’s debt shows he “is committed to class warfare.” Asked on Fox News by Judge Andrew Napolitano the reaction of the House Tea Party Caucus to the president’s deficit-reduction plan, Bachmann called it the “same song, second verse.”

“Well, no one takes him seriously with what he's saying because it’s just the same old, same old — the same song, second verse,” Bachmann said, hours after Obama’s speech. “The president is committed to class warfare.

“If you want to see this president irritated — angry or sarcastic — watch what he says about people who he considers wealthy,” Bachmann continued. “That’s people making $200,000 a year or more, or businesses — he has something against businesses — maybe that's why we’re not seeing prior job creation.

“What you didn’t hear out of President Obama is how we create more jobs in the private sector and how we create wealth,” she added. “He’s always attacking wealth creation.”

Bachmann noted if Obama is serious about cutting the deficit by $4 trillion over 10 years, he should “just stop spending the money in the first place,” and she still plans to vote against raising the debt ceiling when Congress tackles the issue in the near future.

“Well, that’s my position — the answer is no — I think it’s quite likely though that the answer will be yes,” she said. “What would happen if we don’t raise the debt ceiling is this: It would take six or seven months before we really start to feel a difference — and it isn’t that money would stop coming in.

“Money would continue to come in — we just have to prioritize,” Bachmann added. “So, we pay our debts first — that is important — and then from there, we just couldn’t pay for everything.

“The political establishment wants to keep this engine going without skipping a beat. I don’t feel that way,” she said. “I’m not a part of the political class, or the political establishment.”

Napolitano asked Bachmann whether she would vote for House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s 2012 spending proposal and does she think it will pass.

“I think the House will vote in favor — I’ll be voting in favor,” she replied. “This bill for 2012, our budget bill that we will vote on, we will pass on Friday, is exactly the right direction — which is cutting spending, and not allowing tax increases.

“That’s a good formula for private job creation.”