Congresswoman Michele Bachmann joined me on the program today. Her campaign website is here. She took the opportunity to blast the report that Iranian President Ahmadinejad will be returning to Columbia University on his U.N. visit later this month. The transcript follows.

HH: Pleased right now to welcome back to the Hugh Hewitt Show Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. Congresswoman, it’s great to have you back.

MB: Hugh Hewitt, it is always a delight to be on your show, and I loved being in studio with you. I’ll be in California tomorrow. I can’t wait to get back in your studio with you.

HH: Well, I’m glad we’re out of the penalty box, but let’s focus on the future first. Big question, have you got the finances you need to stay in this race through Iowa and New Hampshire? And how to people help you if they want to help you?

MB: Well, I’d love to have your listeners go to www.michelebachmann.com. We have an area there where people can donate, and we need your help to keep going, obviously. It’s a very expensive proposition to run for president of the United States, but it’s worth it. We have to take the country back in 2012, and I believe that 2012 is it. We can’t just have another politician or anyone in there as the Republican nominee. We have to have someone very different, very bold, a Constitutional conservative. And I am dedicated to making sure that repeal Obamacare, because that will be our one and only opportunity. If we’re ever going to get rid of it, we’ve got to get rid of it then, and the same with Dodd-Frank. And I’m committed to both of them. But I do have a background in the economy. I’m a former federal tax litigation attorney. My husband and I have started a successful company. I get the economy, and the problem of how to turn it around, and I also get job creation. I also want to open up and legalize America’s energy supply. And we have such a great story to tell, I just can’t wait to get in and do it, because we can turn the economy around, and national security, I mean, there are so many issues I’d like to talk about. But it’s really also about this tiny window of opportunity we have in 2012, and why we have to have a completely different kind of candidate running. It just can’t be business as usual. [# More #]

HH: Now let’s go to the story of the day, which is the Gardisil and the HPV. After the debate, you told Greta that a mom had told you it caused mental retardation. That caused quite a lot of controversy and blowback. Do you want to elaborate on that statement, or whether or not it was misunderstood by the media, or what your intention was?

MB: Well no, after the debate, I went down front, and I shook hands with people, and a woman was down there, and she was in the audience, and she was crying. She was sobbing. And she told me thank you so much for bringing this up, my daughter, and then, you know, she told me the negative effects and impacts that her daughter had. I’m not making that claim. All I did is report what this sobbing mother told me afterwards about the impact that it had on her daughter. But that isn’t the point. The point of my remarks in the debate was this. This was an abuse of executive power. And the governor of Texas admitted as much. He admitted he made a mistake in abusing executive power. This happens all the time. It’s not good if Republicans do it. We knock Democrats when they do it. It’s a matter of judgment. That’s the very point. The other point was what, something that they call crony capitalism, and that’s the fact that we have the problem of having political donors, and then with those donations, we see actions that politicians take as a result. That’s a very big issue. I have been fighting this in Washington with Obamacare. The President now has unilateral authority under Obamacare to do something very similar. We saw the President say he ordered all private health insurance companies to offer the morning after abortion pill to all women free of charge. That’s a stunning amount of power. It’s almost dictatorial power that the President has. That’s another reason why we have to get rid of Obamacare. But this is what I’ve been fighting. I’ve been fighting against this misuse of executive power. And then of course, crony capitalism is something that is reprehensive to people all across the United States, whether it’s at the state level or the federal level.

HH: Talking with Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. Her campaign website is www.michelebachmann.com, one L, two N’s. Congresswoman, are there any other examples of which you are aware that you would classify as crony capitalism involving Governor Perry or any of your other opponents?

MB: Well, again, I’m not here to trash any of the other candidates. I was answering a question that I was asked in the debate. I am running against Barack Obama, because he needs to be a one-term president. And I believe that I’m the best candidate in the race to take him on. I think I’m the unifying candidate who can defeat Barack Obama. I’m the first Republican woman ever to get elected out of Minnesota. I get a lot of Democrats and independent and apolitical people who vote for me, because one thing people know about me is that I say what I mean, I mean what I say, and I do it. That’s what sets me apart in this race from all of the other candidates. When I had the chance to go to Washington, D.C. and fight for the principles and values that we believe in, I did it. I didn’t sit on my hands, and I didn’t just vote right. I actually fought and took on Obama on all of these issues. And also, the only vote that was won in this race so far has been the Iowa Straw Poll. I am the only candidate that’s won the Iowa Straw Poll. That was pretty stunning, because no one has ever been in that straw poll for less than 50 days and won. I did that. I’m the first woman to do that. I know I can win this election. I know I can defeat Barack Obama, because my goal is to turn this economy around, open it and legalize energy exploration in the United States, create millions of jobs, and also to keep the nation safe. I sit on the Intelligence Committee. We deal with the nation’s classified secrets. And as nervous as I am about the economy, I’m probably even more concerned about the international situation, and terrorism, and where we’re at in this country. And we need to have a strong president who will stand by our ally, Israel, and stand up against our enemies, like a nuclear Iran. That’s what President Obama has done to so hurt this country. He’s taken his eye off of the real issue in the Middle East, and that’s a nuclear Iran. A couple of weeks ago when President Ahmadinejad of Iran said that Israel should be eradicated from the face of the Earth, I called on President Obama to not allow Ahmadinejad to step one toe in the United States. Now we know that the president of Iran will not only be welcomed, he’ll be having coffee with students at Columbia University. This is reprehensible. He’s a genocidal madman. We need to understand priorities on the foreign policy front.

HH: Should Columbia withdraw that invitation, Congresswoman? I was unaware of it. Should Columbia withdraw that?

MB: I believe they should.

HH: Congresswoman, it’s great to talk to you again. Come back early and often, www.michelebachmann.com.

End of interview.

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