Bachmann: U.S. could lose ‘superpower’ status

Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann said President Obama’s handling of the economy has pushed the United States to the brink of losing its role as a superpower, a scenario she said would undermine the country’s military strength and compromise national security.

Mrs. Bachmann, while speaking at the conservative Values Voter Summit in Washington Friday evening, said the nation faces a critical “generational decision point” in order to “secure liberty for the next generation.”

“If we don’t choose the next president of the United States as one who is committed to doing the very difficult, sacrificial things that must be done, then this could be the last election in which the United States is the greatest economic superpower of the world, and that means the last military superpower of the world,” she said.

The Minnesota member of the U.S. House, who is struggling to stay relevant in a race against higher profile candidates, urged the crowd of more than a thousand not to settle for someone who lacks her kind of conservative credentials.

“You don’t have to settle for a moderate,” she said.

If elected she said she would immediately work to repeal Mr. Obama’s health care reforms, push back against gay marriage laws and work to make abortion illegal.

“As president I’ll put our nation out of the abortion industry,” she said. “We can do what needs to be done … and finally advance this noble cause.”

“This president has not compromised his liberal principles on [abortion], and we should not compromise ours.”

Mrs. Bachmann also reiterated her position that more of the Gulf of Mexico and other areas nationwide should be open to drilling for oil and natural gas.

“The easiest place to begin job creation is to legalize American energy production — this is our ticket to our prosperity,” she said.

“America is the No. 1 energy rich nation in the world. There is no reason for us to go begging to other nations for oil.”