Michele Bachmann on Tuesday said her
positions on gay rights are not important issues of the presidential
race.
Bachmann, who has fallen in the polls
since her Iowa Straw Poll win in August, appeared on CNN's
Starting
Point just hours before the Iowa caucuses are set to begin.
When Soledad O'Brien asked, “Your
stance on homosexuality. And I want to read a little bit of what you
said. You said, at the Educators Conference in 2004, 'gays live a
very sad life,' and that 'it's part of Satan.' And that's a quote.
You've taken a lot of flak for that. Do you pull back on any of
that?” Bachmann responded that the question was not appropriate.
“It's a bizarre thing to bring up.
Today is the election, what people recognize is that the most
important issue that people will be looking at is, 'Who is the best
person to deal with the economy?' Probably someone who's created a
business from scratch,” Bachmann said, referring to the Christian
counseling clinics she runs with her husband Marcus Bachmann. The
Bachmanns have been accused of attempting to “cure” gay people of
their sexuality at the clinics.
“I don't think it's a bizarre
question,” O'Brien replied. “I think it's a fair question.”
“It's a gotcha question coming way
out of the past,” Bachmann snapped back. “I stand very strong
for marriage between one man and one woman. I believe in protecting
human life from conception until natural death. I believe in the
family, I believe in religious liberty and for people to practice
their faith freely. That's important. It's also important we get
rid of Obamacare.” (The video is embedded in the right panel of
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