Bachmann borrows from Palin playbook in GOP debate
Earlier this month in Iowa, Sarah Palin railed against the "crony capitalism" in both parties and suggested that the "permanent political class" needed some shaking up.
Picking up where Palin left off, Bachmann seized on a question by CNN moderator Wolf Blitzer about an executive order signed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry that required all 11- and 12 year-old girls be vaccinated for a sexually transmitted disease that may lead to cervical cancer. She was unequivocal.
"To have innocent little 12-year-old girls be forced to have a government injection through an executive order is just flat out wrong. That should never be done. It's a violation of a liberty interest."
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But Bachmann didn't stop there. She pointed to the fact that Perry¹s former chief of staff was a lobbyist for the drug company that made the vaccination at the time of the order and suggested that Perry's assertion that he made the order to protect life was dubious.
"The question is, is it about life, or was it about millions of dollars and potentially billions for a drug company?" Bachmann pointedly asked the Texas governor.
Given a chance to respond, Governor Perry explained, "The company was Merck, and it was a $5,000 contribution that I had received from them. I raise about $30 million. And if you're saying that I can be bought for $5,000, I'm offended."
But it was Bachmann who got the last word.
"Well, I'm offended for all the little girls and the parents that didn't have a choice. That's what I'm offended for," she said.
Almost immediately, Bachmann¹s campaign issued a press release offering support for her line of attack. The headline unabashedly borrowed Palin's recent turn of the phrase for a headline: "Rick Perry's Crony Capitalism: The 2007 Vaccination Executive Order Fiasco."
Palin seemed more flattered than irked by the imitation. In an appearance on Fox News' On the Record with Greta Van Susteren following the debate, the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee gave Bachmann credit for standing up against "the big guns," and offered no defense of Perry ¬ for whom she campaigned in his 2010 reelection bid. Instead, she indicated she shares Bachmann's interpretation of Merck's decision to hire Perry's former staffer.
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"That's crony capitalism!" Palin said. "That's part of the problem that we have in this country is that people are afraid, even within our own party, to call one another out on that. True reform and fighting the corruption and fighting the crony capitalism is a tough to do within your own party."
But she also had a warning for the Minnesota congresswoman. "Watch, she's going to get, potentially, she's going to get crucified by some in party who say 'don't violate Reagan's eleventh commandment and don't call somebody out in your own party on something like that.'"
Perry defended his decision on the vaccinations, saying he was trying to save lives, but said he regrets his failure to consult with Texas lawmakers before making it.