U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, a Republican lighting rod who attracts liberal Democrats' bile and conservative Republicans' love, said in an interview with the St. Cloud Times that she's forceful and occasionally inartful in expressing her views. She adds: "I think my critics are fearful that the other side of the story is getting out there."
Still, she said, her values are those Democrats should support: "In some ways I don't understand why the Democratic Party would be opposed to me, because I stand for the same values that my parents stood for when we were Democrats."
In an interesting exchange, Bachmann said that she's absolutely said things she regrets but opines that the media holds conservative women to a tougher standard than it does liberals.
Q: A lot has been made of some of your statements — the "gangster government" comment, the "anti-American" comment. Is there anything you've said that you regret?
A: Oh, gosh, absolutely. Of course, I wish I could be more artful in the way that I say things. But the other thing I've noticed that is kind of interesting is it seems like there's also a double standard and bias in the mainstream media.
Polls today say that the American people more than ever think the mainstream media is biased in favor of the liberal position. And so conservatives, especially conservative women, are held to a completely different standard than liberals.
