A slice of what campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination in Iowa looks like: Michele Bachmann expressing her deep, personal connection with the home version of an M-16 rifle.
Republican voters love guns in general, and Iowa is firearm country. The political pheasant hunt has been a key campaign stop for Rick Perry and Rick Santorum and Tim Pawlenty on the Iowa campaign trail. Bachmann’s set to go on her own pheasant hunt Friday.
So that’s how you get to Thursday morning’s segment on WHO-AM radio in Iowa, where Bachmann talked up the virtues of her favorite assault rifle like a pro.
“I went through gun safety when i was 12. My favorite is an AR-15,” Bachmann said. “I scored the best of my class of any of the men, too.”
The WHO host was impressed.
“That’s a combat weapon!” he said, referring to the AR-15, which is the civilian version of the US Military’s go-to M-16.
Bachmann explained the semi-automatic assault weapon reflects her personality.
“I like being accurate,” Bachmann said. “And that is a great gun.”
Bachmann’s campaign is not going well in Iowa these days, but the moment on WHO shows Bachmann still knows now to play an Iowa conservative electorate like a fiddle.
Watch Bachmann talk weaponry on WHO:
Evan McMorris-Santoro
Evan McMorris-Santoro has covered politics for TPM since 2009. Before that, he was a reporter at National Journal’s Hotline covering election 2008. He started his career covering local politics at newspapers in TN and his native NC.
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