Michele Bachmann

Michele Marie Bachmann, /ˈbɑːxmən/; née Amble; born April 6, 1956 is a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Minnesota's 6th congressional district, and a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2012 U.S. presidential election. She previously served in the Minnesota State Senate and is the first Republican woman to represent the state in Congress.

Bachmann is a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, a supporter of the Tea Party movement and a founder of the House Tea Party Caucus.

Bachmann earned a Master of Laws degree, worked as a tax attorney, and was a foster mother for 23 teenagers.

Early life, education, and early career

Bachmann was born Michele Marie Amble in Waterloo, Iowa, "into a family of Norwegian Lutheran Democrats" who moved from Iowa to Minnesota when she was young. After her parents divorced, Bachmann's father, David John Amble, moved to California, and Bachmann was raised by her mother, Jean (née Johnson), who worked at the First National Bank in Anoka, Minnesota. Bachmann grew up in Anoka, graduating from Anoka High School in 1974.

After graduating from high school, Bachmann spent time working on a kibbutz in Israel. In 1978 she graduated from Winona State University with a B.A.. In 1986 she received a J.D. degree from Oral Roberts University, followed by an LL.M. degree in tax law from the William & Mary Law School in 1988. She was a member of the final graduating class of the Oral Roberts University law school, and was part of a group of faculty, staff, and students who moved the ORU law school library to what is now Regent University.

From 1988 to 1993, Bachmann was an attorney representing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). She left her position with the IRS to become a full-time mother.

Family life

She married Marcus Bachmann in 1978. They have five children (Lucas, Harrison, Elisa, Caroline, and Sophia), and have also provided foster care for 23 other children.

Bachmann and her husband own a Christian counseling practice in Stillwater, Minnesota.

Bachmann also has an ownership stake in a family farm located in Waumandee, Wisconsin. Since the death of her father-in-law in 2009, the farm and its buildings have been rented out to a neighboring farmer who maintains a dairy herd on the farm.

2012 presidential campaign

In early 2011, the media speculated about a Bachmann bid for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 2012. The New Republic called her "a serious contender for 2012." Her visit planned for January 21 to the state of Iowa, which holds the first caucuses of the season, raised suspicions after several aides let slip her intentions to make a bid for the White House.

During the first New Hampshire Republican presidential debate on June 13, 2011, Bachmann announced she had filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) earlier that day to become a candidate for the GOP nomination.

Speech to Iowans for Tax Relief

In the midst of much speculation that she would make a run for the presidency in 2012, Bachmann visited Iowa on Friday January 21, 2011 to address the conservative group Iowans for Tax Relief. Bachmann declared "There's been no decision about candidacy, but I want to be a part of the conversation. She stated that one of the questions she wants candidates to address is "Will we remain a nation of sovereign citizens where we make our own decisions or will we be ruled by self-appointed, bureaucratic elites? Bachmann, born in Iowa and close friend to Rep Steve King, declared her happiness that Iowans would be the first to weigh in on the candidates "I'm so excited. Because I feel like I know you. Because I was born here. I was raised here. These are my values. I feel like we understand each other and I trust you to make that decision. But I also charge you with that decision today. Gov. Terry Branstad stated he was impressed by Bachmann's speech and stated that even if she didn't run he felt "she'll certainly have an influence on the debate. Steve Scheffler an RNC member and head of the Iowa "Faith and Freedom Coalition" said of a possible Bachmann run that "she could take a serious look at it. She certainly would bring a lot of enthusiasm to the base. Dave Funk, a tea-party sponsored candidate in the 2010 election, liked Bachmann's talk of American exceptionalism, "It was almost like 'a new day in America' speech, like Reagan. Everybody else is talking policy, issues, ideas - she's talking about motivating the people to get out and do something.

Bachmann had a strong turnout for her speech which led the Des Moines Register to declare that if she "is considering a run, this first trip to Iowa has to be considered a success", but they went on to note that "She'd still have work to do to turn favorable interest and curiosity into support. In addition to the speech, Bachmann visited the governor, Iowa's legislative leaders, and the state's GOP headquarters. Reflecting on the trip Bachmann stated "I am very encouraged by what I heard and the level of support that I saw today. Bachmann is set to return to the state "to participate in a series of lectures for presidential candidate prospects held in Iowa in April.

Also in her Iowa speech, Bachmann said "...our ancestors had different cultures, different backgrounds, different traditions. How unique in all of the world, that one nation that was the resting point from people groups all across the world ... it didn't matter the color of their skin, it didn't matter their language, it didn't matter their economic status ... once you got here, we were all the same. Isn't that remarkable?