Political Hotsheet
By

Lucy Madison /

CBS News/ July 7, 2011, 11:38 AM

Michele Bachmann touts Iowa roots, pledges not to vote for debt ceiling hike in first TV spot

In her first television ad of the 2012 campaign cycle, Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann touts her Iowan roots and reiterates her fiscally conservative values, promising outright not to vote for an increase to the debt ceiling.

In the 30-second spot, which runs statewide in Iowa starting Thursday, the Minnesota Representative appears friendly and upbeat as she promises voters "I will not vote to increase the debt ceiling." Cheerful guitar music plays in the background.

Citing her background as a mother and a working professional, the second-term lawmaker pledges fiscal reform and touts her economic record.

"As a mom of five, a foster parent, and a former tax lawyer, and now a small business job creator, I know that we can't keep spending money that we don't have. That's why I fought against the wasteful bailout; against the stimulus," she says in the video, as the camera pans to family photos.

Bachmann, who was born in Iowa (after which the spot, entitled "Waterloo," is named) before moving to Minnesota as a child, also speaks proudly of being "a descendent of generations of Iowans" who was "born and raised in Waterloo."

Bachmann is making a push to win Ames Straw Poll next month in Iowa - and a recent poll by the Des Moines Register suggests she may not be far off. The survey, released in late June, put Bachmann in a statistical dead heat with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the putative frontrunner.

© 2011 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
7 Comments Add a Comment
linkicon reporticon emailicon
RDB1945 says:
I ask each party "Just give me someone to vote for, I do not want to vote for the lesser of two evils in 2012!"
reply
linkicon reporticon emailicon
mit26chell says:
Ummm... Michelle Bachmann VOTED for Pelosi's stimulus bill. She's just like all the other slimy, garbage politicians from both parties, says whatever necessary to gain popularity. Ron Paul is the only one in the race who has a solid record, and actually does what Michelle Bachmann claims she did in this video.
reply
linkicon reporticon emailicon
documemts says:
See if "God told her to run", what's next? God told her to invade Pakistan? God told her to drop her shorts and stick her butt in the air? There is a reason to separate church and state,..........so the rest of us can sleep at night and not worry what some head-case bureaucrat thinks God told them to do.
reply
documemts replies:
linkicon reporticon emailicon
LOL! The God of hell-fire, brimstone, an eye for an eye, smog, traffic jambs, phone solicitors, and the IRS. So, "DJ" you have to put 'American' with your name cuz' you're not sure if you really are one, right?
linkicon reporticon emailicon
royalstar05 says:
Bachmann= Inbred,Cornfed, Braindead.
reply
linkicon reporticon emailicon
winslowe1 says:
Michele Bachman said God told her to run for president ... Sure would be refreshing to see a candidate who believes in reality.
reply
doctor_know replies:
linkicon reporticon emailicon
Wouldn't be the first time god was wrong.....