WASHINGTON —Conservatism and the tea party are movements of care and compassion, Rep. Michele Bachmann told the annual Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday morning, urging activists to focus their energies on finding ways to help Americans through smaller government.
In her first high-profile speech since her tight re-election last November, Bachmann looked to formulate a new argument for conservatives like herself: Rather than raging against government spending and high taxes, conservatives need to make the case to voters that they simply care more about average Americans than Democrats and progressives.
“This debate has to be about more than just cutting budgets or raising taxes,” she said. “When we adopt a strategy of caring about people, then we’ll legalize American energy production, then we’ll get gas to below $2.00 a gallon, then we’ll make sure that your sister has her Second Amendment rights to keep herself safe against an assailant.”
The government, Bachmann’s argument went, gets in the way of liberty and free enterprise, the mechanisms for making life better for everyone. Bachmann used Alzheimer’s research as an example: Rather than regulating research, the government should scale back its footprint and, in doing so, clear the way for a cure.
“Our government, proclaiming to care so much, has created a cadre of overzealous regulators, excessive taxation and greedy litigators,” she said. “That’s not caring. It’s time we care. Because you see, we don’t need a big government to develop these cures. What we need is big innovation, big growth, big ideas. That’s America.”
Bachmann has been decidedly more low-key since winning re-election by just 4,300 votes last November, but CPAC is her chance to surround herself with the kind of activists that have long made up the backbone of her support. At CPAC, she did interviews with conservative radio hosts and gave out an award, the National Review writes, all while plugging her new message of compassion and care.
That seemed to be Bachmann’s contribution to the big question facing CPAC this year. After a bruising election in 2012, how should the GOP and its most conservative members rebrand themselves for a larger audience?
The advice has often been blunt. Speaking just before Bachmann, fellow former presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said Republicans have to be more than simply “the anti-Obama movement.”
“We don't need new principles, but we need lots of ideas,” he said.
For Bachmann, that means pitching conservatism as the means for making life better for Americans. Early in her speech, she asked the audience, who in your life truly cares about you? Your parents, someone in the audience said, and your dog.
To that, Bachmann added, “I want you to know with absolute confidence who it is that does care about you. It is this movement that is represented in this room, all across the country.”
Devin Henry can be reached at dhenry@minnpost.com