If you walk by the National Archives on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. you will most likely see a line of people waiting to get just a glimpse of our Declaration of Independence and Constitution. These two aged documents are browned with time and sealed under layers of a secure glass enclosure in the domed lobby of the Archives. But they still manage to impress their visitors. The inked words of the Constitution, many of them carefully penned by Gouverneur Morris over 200 years ago, are now barely visible. While some foreign visitors may struggle to make them out, we Americans know them by heart. “We the people in order to form a more perfect union…” the Constitution starts, and what follows is one of the most awe inspiring and heartfelt treatises to freedom in the history of man. After all, this one document founded the most successful country the world has ever known.

Unfortunately, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg doesn’t believe in the importance of the U.S. Constitution. Ironically, though her job is to “support the Constitution” (Article 6, U.S. Constitution) she instead did everything but uphold it last Wednesday. During an interview with Egyptian television network Al Hayat in Cairo, she was asked to give her opinion regarding the type of government Egypt should adopt as they try to rebuild their country following the Arab Spring. Her response?  “I would not look to the U.S. Constitution, if I were drafting a constitution in the year 2012.” Though she extolled certain parts of the U.S. Constitution, she went on to propose Egypt instead use South Africa’s Constitution as a basis for their new government.

I am deeply saddened and disappointed in Justice Ginsburg’s answer. As a Supreme Court Justice who daily delves into the U.S. Constitution looking for answers to the nation’s top cases, I would hope she would have developed a love for this crucial founding document. Yet instead, she implied its irrelevancy! Why would our Constitution not be just as good a foundation for a nation’s government today as it was in 1788?

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The Roman orator Cicero allegedly once pronounced, “While there is life, there is hope.” Though there is debate over whether or not he uttered that statement, I do agree with its meaning. As the mom of five biological children and 23 foster children, I regularly marvel at the hopefulness each of my beautiful children exude and the boundless potential in each of them. But I’m not being a proud mom about only my children. Hope defines each and every human life around this world. Each of us have unique, God-given lives that not only need to be protected but lived out from conception to natural death.

For the past 39 years, the fight to protect lives has seemed like a uphill battle due to the Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. This tragic decision, along with subsequent other similar decisions, promote the idea that the unborn are nothing more than tumors or blobs of tissue that can be discarded.  No life should ever be considered “inconvenient.” There are simply too many alternatives to abortion for any child to be considered an unwelcome burden that should be terminated.

Ironically, those who advocate for the life of the unborn have been accused of trying to limit a woman’s choice and somehow harm her life. But truthfully, it is the pro-life movement that is fighting the hardest for the rights of women. The pro-life movement is the only group helping women make a truly informed choice for themselves and their unborn child. After all, if mothers are never told of the facts of their pregnancies or the alternatives to abortion, are they really being offered a choice?

I believe pregnant mothers need all the information made available to them about their unborn child. That is why last fall I introduced the Heartbeat Protection Act, legislation that will require abortion providers to make the heartbeat of the unborn child’s both audible and visible to the mother before they choose whether or not to end their pregnancy. I truly believe that once women witness the lives developing inside of them, they will have all the facts they need to make an truly informed choice.

But that is just the latest legislation I have introduced on behalf of the lives of the unborn. Whether it was through voting down continuing resolutions that included funding for Planned Parenthood or introducing numerous bills such as the Positive Alternatives Act in 2009 which ensured that states had the funds to help pregnant women find abortion alternative services, I have fought to protect America’s unborn. We are, after all, the country that claims everyone should have the “right to life.” I am committed to doing everything in my power to protect that constitutional right for every American.

Due to my pro-life stance and beliefs, I am thrilled to see events across the country drawing thousands of pro-life advocates together today and throughout this past weekend. Together, we solemnly remember the 39^th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Though the effects of Roe v. Wade are tragic, the pro-life movement is filled with hope. Through our marches and rallies for life, we are seeing sure success in helping our fellow Americans see life as a gift that needs to be protected and cherished.

The efforts of so many passionate advocates for life inspire me to continue my fight against abortion. Yet in my fight, I cannot help but hope for two results in the pro-life movement. First, I hope that the victims of the pro-choice, abortion agenda will find healing. Second, I pray that our fight for life will serve to ensure future generations are protected. May we all come to understand, as our founders did, that life is a gift that cannot be denied to any human.

Tax Day is over for this year, but that deduction from your paycheck is a constant reminder of the high cost of government. Taxes take a lot from our families, small businesses and from the economy. I believe you are taxed enough already and President Obama needs to recognize that.

The House of Representatives recently signified their support of the Republican’s 2012 budget proposal which will reduce the federal budget by $4.4 trillion. It does so by cutting out unnecessary spending. It would defund ObamaCare of its unspent pre-appropriated funds which are an astonishing tens of billions of dollars that were buried in the bill by Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. Plus, it would make the tax code flatter and simpler, making Tax Day a less dreaded time of the year. I supported that budget blueprint, though I’ve expressed caution about how we approach the issue of Medicare. We must keep our promises to those who receive Medicare benefits, and those who are nearing the age of Medicare eligibility. Our challenge is to reduce the soaring amounts that government spends on health care, without burdening those who are most vulnerable.

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The deal of $38 billion in cuts announced early this morning between GOP Leadership and Harry Reid is a pittance compared to the $3.5 trillion+ we are on pace to spend this year alone. Since Republicans took the Majority, I have been vocal about what the American people sent us to Washington to accomplish. As I said in my last RedState post, we must fight over trillions in cuts, we must fight over defunding ObamaCare and we must fight over defunding Planned Parenthood.

I wanted the GOP to fight for more in this week’s negotiations. I wanted them to fight for significant spending cuts before this debt cripples our children and grandchildren like it is crippling our economy right now. I have demonstrated my commitment to these values by voting “no” on past continuing resolutions and I will continue to oppose any spending measure that fails to take up these crucial issues. And rest assured, I will continue to fight for them when the battleground shifts to the debt ceiling and the 2012 budget.

Since Republicans took the House majority in January I have been calling for our leadership to fight. We must answer the bell that was rung last November when the American people called us to fight for deep cuts in spending, for the full repeal of ObamaCare, for an end to taxpayer funding of abortion, and for a government that will live within its Constitutional boundaries. Those would be the kind of large-scale fights that could change the arc of history. Unfortunately, the fight that’s happening today in Washington is not even close to being on the same scale.

Our federal government spent $3.5 trillion last year, and is on a similar pace this year. On average, our spending adds about $30 billion to the deficit every week. Yet Washington is now embroiled in a pitched battle – that could lead to a government slowdown – over possible spending cuts of just $40 billion. Even the best case scenario would be cuts of $61 billion.

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Last night my colleague Rep. Steve King (IA-05) and I drafted a letter to Speaker Boehner, Majority Leader Cantor and Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers urging them to include language to defund ObamaCare and rescind the $105,464,000,000 in funds already appropriated to implementing the health care law.

Next Wednesday the House will consider another Continuing Resolution. Including language to defund ObamaCare is our opportunity to stop the flow of funds to ObamaCare once and for all. Our suggested language is, “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, none of the funds made available by this or any previous Act with respect to any fiscal year may be used to carry out the provisions of Public Law 111-148, Public Law 111-152, or any amendment made by either such Public Law.”

All members of Congress are encouraged to contact my office to join us in the effort to prevent taxpayers’ money from going to the implementation of this unconstitutional program.

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In the midst of the economic recession, Vice President Joe Biden announced this week President Obama’s $53 billion plan for high-speed rail projects.

Didn’t Congress already fulfill Obama’s stimulus request to the tune of more than $787 billion in February 2009, with little to show for it? Unemployment has been at or above 9 percent for 21 straight months. Writing countless checks with taxpayer money didn’t create the jobs Obama predicted.

Thankfully, Congress – not the White House – has the final say on the federal budget. I will stand for fiscal conservatism during the debate and I expect my colleagues to do the same, especially considering our dire financial state. We cannot dig ourselves out of our $14.1 trillion debt by spending another $53 billion we don’t have on rail projects.

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Today I introduced the “End Tax Uncertainty Act of 2010”. This bill is designed to do just that – end uncertainty. With 141 tax provisions currently needing constant reauthorization by Congress, the marketplace is stuck in a perpetual state of uncertainty.

My husband and I own a small business and we know that Washington hasn’t been putting forth legislation to stabilize the hiring environment. Congress has not even determined the tax tables for 2011, as we quickly approach the New Year. What business would want to hire right now without knowing how much they will be paying in taxes next year?

My bill to end tax uncertainty will help create a pro-growth economy by extending the current tax rates for all Americans, repealing the capital gains and dividends income, and permanently patching the Alternative Minimum Tax. Furthermore, my bill will reduce the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25% and I am especially eager to see the positive results of this change.

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There is no daylight between my position and Speaker-designate John Boehner on earmarks. Period.

I have repeatedly said that I agree with, applaud, and wholeheartedly support Speaker-designate John Boehner’s position on earmarks. I am opposed to earmarks. I recently made that point to a reporter from a Capitol Hill newspaper, but it was left out of their story on the GOP and earmarks.

Some media outlets are trying to show divisions within the Republican Conference at every opportunity. Like a family, differences of opinions may exist from time to time, but in the end, Republicans are committed to standing together for the American people. Our desire is to support the will of our constituents who called for limited government and adherence to the Constitution as demonstrated in early November.

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The Wikileaks debacle is the latest proof that Eric Holder has no understanding of the dangerous times we live in. His ineptness, as head of the Department of Justice, is putting our nation in a vulnerable position.

Earlier this week, the Wikileaks website jeopardized our nation’s security and diplomacy by releasing hundreds of thousands of U.S. State Department documents. The same site put our troops at risk when it released thousands of classified U.S. military documents in July. As far back as March, the Pentagon declared Wikileaks to be a threat to national security. Meanwhile, the Attorney General, our nation’s chief law enforcement officer, has been busy cracking down on dozens of websites that sold things like counterfeit purses. Eric Holder simply has the wrong priorities.

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Today I join millions across our great nation in breathing a sigh of relief. We nearly are out of the era of bailouts, takeovers, entitlement expansion and big government. The American people have big expectations for a return to the nation our founders envision for us. The voters have entrusted Republicans to lead into a time of prosperity. In return, our promise is to work as hard as we can.

The American people may have passed a referendum on the Nancy Pelosi’s job-killing policies of the 111th Congress, but the Democrats’ term isn’t quite over. The existing Republicans need to stand their ground in the approaching lame duck session. I voted against adjournment this September because Democrats refused to pick up the issue of extending tax cuts. They were worried about facing their constituents. Instead they scurried out of Washington, thus providing uncertainly to small businesses and families. In the lame duck, current Republicans must do everything within our power to prevent Democrat tax hikes on January 1st. Our current tax rates need be extended for all Americans because higher tax rates equal more job losses. The American people must also maintain their voice after exiting the voting booth – they can put pressure on their Representative during this time through calls, emails, and letters.

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Today, the Labor Department released data showing 95,000 more jobs were lost, resulting in total unemployment for the month of September at 9.6 percent.  This means for the 14th month in a row, unemployment is at or above 9.5 percent, a marker not seen since the 1930’s.  Additionally, yesterday’s polling by Gallup revealed that unemployment may be worse than what the Labor Department data shows.  With a pointed increase in job losses during the second half of September, a very bad sign just before employers traditionally start hiring for the busy holiday season, total unemployment may actually be nearer to 10.1 percent.  Lastly, figures from a Yahoo News report find that “Government job losses led the declines in September.”  Nearly half of these losses were from local governments, who are predicted to continue cuts as local municipalities struggle to balance their own budgets.

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In data released today, the Consumer Confidence Index has dropped to 48.5, its lowest point since February. The National Bureau of Economic Research determined last week that the recession was over in June 2009, but Americans may not be so sure.

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As the mid-term elections draw near, Presidents Obama and Clinton have been campaigning against Republicans with this central theme: if Democrats don’t run the country, corporations will.

What the Presidents fail to tell us is that Democrats themselves are the inventors and implementers of this very radical idea.

As the Democrats—led by the current and a former president—attempt to rouse the nation’s fears in propounding this “corporate takeover” theme, the hypocrisy of their policies over the past two years can’t be overlooked.

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As you’ve probably heard by now, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called back all House Members to Washington next week so we can vote on $26 billion in more stimulus spending. While it’s being framed as money for state aid, you can bet that this “urgent” rush to Washington by the Democrats is more of a result of their precarious political fortunes this November. In fact, it seems to me like this $26 billion has more to do with fully funding union political action coffers.

Just when you thought Congress was in recess for six weeks, Speaker Pelosi couldn’t even go a week without spending more of your money.

That’s why on Monday, August 9th at 7pm ET, at the same time the House convenes for legislative business, I’ll be hosting, along with my fellow House colleagues, a national tele-townhall to tell the American people what Speaker Pelosi is up to. To take part, visit my website at www.michelebachmann.com.

I hope you will join us because this is your opportunity to make your voices heard once again. It’s time to tell Speaker Pelosi ENOUGH is ENOUGH!

Clearly, the Democrats think they have something here tying together the Republican Party and the Tea Party. However, it seems to me that this political miscalculation is exactly why Congress’ approval rating is at 11%.

What the Democratic Leadership doesn’t seem to understand is that the Tea Party isn’t a political party; it’s a set of ideas shared by the overwhelming majority of Americans.

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For the first time since the current budget rules were established in 1974, Democratic Leadership in the House has announced that they won’t do a budget this year. It was an interesting announcement made by Majority Leader Hoyer, especially considering Mr. Hoyer’s remarks back in 2006, when he then stated as the House Minority Leader:

“The most basic responsibility of governing” is “enacting a budget.”

Apparently House Democrats aren’t even able to deliver on the most basic of responsibilities.

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For a while now, I have been saying America is at a crossroads, or at a fork in the road, or stuck between a rock and a hard place.  But it appears with the debt numbers released on Wednesday, we are now standing at the edge of a cliff.

Reuters reports that:

“The U.S. debt will top $13.6 trillion this year and climb to an estimated $19.6 trillion by 2015…The total U.S. debt includes obligations to the Social Security retirement program and other government trust funds. The amount of debt held by investors, which include China and other countries as well as individuals and pension funds, will rise to an estimated $9.1 trillion this year from $7.5 trillion last year. By 2015 the net public debt will rise to an estimated $14 trillion…”

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For the last few weeks we’ve heard that the Obama Administration is going to focus its attention once again on jobs. Great, because we’ve seen how well that’s worked in the past, spending hundreds of billions of dollars to see our unemployment rate skyrocket to 10%

This “focus back on jobs” line is a symptom of a much bigger problem: the Administration and Democratic leadership not being able to focus long enough on the issues people care about to solve them. And when they try, they act completely opposite of what the American people want and expect.

Leaders in Washington chose to takeover health care, make permanent the bailouts for Wall Street, and now want to drive up energy costs with cap-and-trade.  They could have chosen tax relief for all Americans, pro-job growth business policies or reduced the costs of health care without spending a trillion-dollars and growing the size of government and bureaucracy.

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Here’s a shocker…. Senate Democrats are continuing down the path of job killing and costly energy reforms based on the tried and failed European cap-and-trade system.

Just this week Carlo Stagnaro and Luciano Lavecchia lamented about the cost of “green” jobs on the Italian workforce in a piece for Wall Street Journal Europe:

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