WASHINGTON — Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) roused a sleepy gathering of social conservatives on Friday with a spirited speech railing against Hillary Clinton, whose record at the State Department “should disqualify her from ever being considered for the presidency.”
“Hillary Clinton reinforces daily to the American people that she is not commander in chief material. She fails to inspire confidence in practically anything that she’s touched,” Bachmann said at the Road to Majority Conference, an annual gathering sponsored by the Faith and Freedom Coalition.
“Mrs. Clinton has to explain to the American people why she repeatedly ignored request after request for increased security in the Benghazi mission compound. She has to explain to the American people why, when Americans were under attack, she failed to pick up the phone and call the commander in chief and demand he send in reinforcements to rescue our brave Americans on the ground,” she added.
The former GOP presidential candidate claimed that Clinton, who is considering a run for president in 2016, bungled a recent interview with Fox News about the involvement of Ahmed Abu Khattala, a suspect in the Benghazi attacks who Bachmann said was “weirdly picked up” by U.S. forces last weekend.
“She can’t keep her story straight,” Bachmann said. “And even though the media obsesses on her, it’s time for her real interview, and that interview will come from accountability of the American people.”
“She’s making so many unforced errors, Barack Obama is seriously considering making her vice president,” she added.
Bachmann, who plans to retire this year, went on to blame Clinton and the Obama administration for the deteriorating situation in Iraq, where Islamic militants have routed government forces on their march toward Baghdad.
“This is a direct result of the foreign policy failures of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton,” she said to thundering applause.
The congresswoman also commented on the debate in Washington, D.C., over the name of the city’s professional football team. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office this week canceled several trademarks for the name “Washington Redskins” on the grounds that it is “disparaging” to Native Americans.
“Thousands of illegals are pouring over America’s southern border,” she said, “but let’s spend our time talking about a football mascot.”
June 21, 2014 6:46 AM
