Bachmann: Obama's ‘phony scandals’ comment is ‘insulting’ and ‘dismissive’

Bachmann: Obama's ‘phony scandals’ comment is ‘insulting’ and ‘dismissive’
By Kyle Balluck - 07-27-13 08:50 AM ET

Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.) late Friday said President Obama’sdismissal of controversies dogging his administration was “insulting” and “minimizing.”

Obama’s comments on Wednesday at Knox College in Galesburg, Ill., marked shift in the way the administration has been dealing with a raft of controversies, many of which the White House has previously suggested were substantive.

“With an endless parade of distractions, political posturing and phony scandals, Washington has taken its eye off the ball,” Obama said.

“It is dismissive. It is insulting. It is minimizing. It's not validating the concerns that people have,“ Bachmann said on Fox News Channel’s “On the Record.”

“Well, I think, clearly, what we've seen for five years now, this administration, is they have a complete inability to take personal responsibility for their actions and their policy decisions,” Bachmann said. “These are ramifications, many of which come directly from their decisions, whether it's from the administration or whether it's from some of their political operatives that have also had impact on these decisions. At no time do they want to take responsibility.”

Wednesday’s presidential address was intended to change the public conversation to the economy and jobs, an issue where the White House sees an advantage. Obama declared the nation had “fought its way back” from the depths of the recession in a speech clearly targeting an outside-the-beltway audience.

“Just economically, the American people, the average household was bringing in $55,000 a year when the president took office. Now, it's $50,000 a year. That's a tremendous drop in personal income,” said Bachmann, who is facing an ethics review said to be focused on the finances of her 2012 White House campaign and will not seek reelection.

“That's having an impact, and especially when you see also the threats that people have to wage reductions, hour reductions because of ‘Obama care.’”

Bachmann blamed the tax code for a lack of job growth, saying she’d “love” to see the IRS abolished and that tax reform would grow jobs and help “small businesses, big businesses, individuals.”

“We have two options. We could go with a fair tax, which is a national sales tax, which is a viable option, and the positive is that everyone would participate in a tax system to the measure of their spending in the economy. Or you could go with a flat tax, where everyone pays the same rate. That's true fairness in the tax code.”