Former Alaska Gov. and tea party star Sarah Palin will have some stiff competition next year when Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., leaves the House after four terms with firm intentions to become the new "anti-Hillary."
As she prepares for her January departure, Bachmann has not been reticent about voicing her plans and rounding up a host of speaking engagements which will keep her very visible as her time in the House comes to an end,
Politico reports.
"I don't know how you'll see me, but I would like to be in a situation where I can offer an opposing viewpoint to Hillary Clinton," she told Politico. "There isn't a dime's worth of difference between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. She will continue foursquare and put Barack Obama's policy into a third and fourth term."
In a recent message on Twitter, Bachmann, 58, reiterated her plans for her post-House future, stating, "I would like to be in a situation where I can offer an opposing viewpoint to Hillary Clinton."
Bachmann has chaired the Tea Party Caucus during her time in the House and been a die-hard opponent of the Obama Administration, blasting its immigration reform policies, Obamacare, the bailout and the use of the Internal Revenue Service to devote extra scrutiny to Tea Party groups during tax time.
Politico notes that Bachmann, a former presidential candidate, has been huddling with another past conservative presidential contender, Rick Santorum, and Family Research Council president Tony Perkins, and is planning to speak at a women's summit at Reagan Ranch Center this month and a Cambridge event next year.
In her first interview in June after she announced her intention to not seek another term, Bachmann told Fox News, "I'm not retiring. I'm not going silent. I'm not quitting my public involvement. In fact, I may run for another public office.
"That could happen, but for right now, I'm going to find another perch in order to be able to weigh in on these matters. Sometimes you can be more effective on the outside than on the inside."
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Former Speaker of the House and presidential contender Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., told Politico, "What we know about Michele is that she is attractive, she is very smart, she’s a very good debater, she’s a very effective public speaker and she feels passionately about a range of issues.
"If she picks three or four key areas, and she works on them, I think she will emerge in the media making a significant impact."
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