Election 101: Ten facts about Michele Bachmann and her presidential bid

With her announcement Monday that she is entering the presidential race, Michele Bachmann has given the tea party a candidate to call its own. Is she capable of running a campaign that can withstand the rigors and scrutiny of the presidential process?

4. Where does she stand on the issues?

Alex Brandon/AP/File
Michele Bachmann speaks at an Americans for Prosperity 'Cut Spending Now,' rally on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 26.

She wants to cut taxes and speaks repeatedly about the need to reduce the national debt by cutting spending: “We can all see this iceberg, and we like fools are pointing the ship directly into it. But we can turn.”

She’s a fierce critic of “ObamaCare,” which she calls “socialized medicine,” and says as president she would not rest until it is repealed. She voted against the Wall Street bailout and has introduced legislation to repeal the 2010 financial-reform act. She strongly opposes higher taxes.

She has called global warming “a hoax,” and says she would eliminate the Environmental Protection Ageny. She coauthored a bill in the Minnesota Senate that would have authorized schools to teach alternative theories to evolution. She is anti-abortion and opposes gay marriage. While serving in the Minnesota Senate, she pushed unsuccessfully for a constitutional amendment that would have prevented the state from recognizing same-sex marriage.

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