WACONIA, Minn. – Former presidential candidate and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann returned to the Minnesota political stage Wednesday night as the keynote speaker prior to a Republican gubernatorial candidate forum.
Bachmann spoke for roughly 45 minutes at the event hosted by the Carver County Conservative PAC and Alpha News. Her speech covered a variety of issues including economics, the refugee crisis, political correctness, and education.
Bachmann criticized opponents of school choice, and told stories of her foster children. While her biological children spent time home schooled or in private Christian schools, Bachmann she did not have that option for her care of foster children.
“About 38 percent of Minneapolis public school students are proficient in Math. Who is going to hire those graduates?” Bachmann asked, “Especially, think of what a travesty this is when an additional $7,100 is spent per student in the Minneapolis public school system, as opposed to what’s spent in the Waconia school system.”
Bachmann was especially critical of the United States’ handling of the refugee crisis. Aside from concerns regarding Sharia law and Minnesota’s recent issues with people joining up with ISIS, Bachmann said Minnesota simply can’t sustain the economic costs of its generous welfare state, especially in regard to an ever growing influx of refugees.
“This is a very expensive proposition and Minnesota is carrying a very heavy financial burden,” Bachmann said. “This is something that we have to be cognisant of and not be afraid of it.”
She also called into question the motivations of Minneapolis Police Officer Mohamed Noor in the shooting death of Justine Damond. Bachmann called him an “affirmative action hire by the hijab wearing mayor of Minneapolis.”
“I’m not condemning this police officer because I don’t know, but I do know in that culture the women are covered from head to toe,” Bachmann said. “But what I’m wondering is this: Will the question that the BCA is conducting, will they ask cultural questions?”
“In Minnesota we have been marinated in political correctness so long, we dare not allow ourselves to think about cultural questions,” Bachmann said.
She also condemned Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) ideology, calling it economic Marxism, and accusing him of wanting to bring the United States down to the level of Venezuela.
“That’s his plan, that’s what Bernie Sanders wants,” Bachmann said. “People are eating out of garbage cans in Venezuela because that’s what economic Marxism does to a society.”
Both the Star Tribune and the Pioneer Press have so far covered Bachmann’s speech, but not the gubernatorial forum which followed involving Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson, State Rep. Matt Dean, former Naval intelligence officer Phillip Parrish, St. Cloud resident Christopher Chamberlin, and Redwood Falls resident Jeffrey Wharton.
