(CNN) — America will eventually have a female President, but Hillary Clinton is not the woman for the job, says a vocal conservative member of Congress and former White House hopeful.
Rep. Michele Bachmann, a Minnesota Republican who has been on the attack against the the former secretary of state and potential 2016 White House contender, sought to energize the faithful at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday in Washington.
“The other party talks a lot about nominating a woman in 2016, and that’s fine. But she’s going to have a lot of tough questions that she’s going to have to answer,” said Bachmann.
Bachmann, a former presidential candidate last time around, highlighted what conservatives contend was Clinton’s failed policy “reset” with Russia and their criticism of the Obama administration around the deadly 2012 terror attack in Benghazi, Libya.
“We will have a woman for President — just the right one,” she added in a comment similar to one made by Clinton earlier in the week about future prospects for a female chief executive.
Clinton, also a former first lady and U.S. senator, is the frontrunner in polls for the Democratic nomination, but she has not indicated whether she’ll mount another presidential run following her unsuccessful candidacy in 2008.
Bachmann, who is leaving Congress, went on to remind the crowd that she was once the frontrunner for their party’s nomination in 2012 and that their party is the only one to have had a woman on the presidential ticket “this century.” Sarah Palin was John McCain’s running mate in 2008.
Bachmann then launched into a red meat attack on President Barack Obama, questioning his trustworthiness and highlighting “Obamacare devastation.”
Bachmann also urged conservatives to not give in on immigration reform, which they have balked at even though many political experts say overhauling the U.S. immigration system would be one way for Republicans to make gains with the important Hispanic voting bloc.
“That is the last thing that conservatives should do — is to help the President pass his Number One goal of his second term, and that’s amnesty,” she said, referring to proposals that would create a pathway to legal status for millions of undocumented workers in the United States.
Instead, she said the GOP needs to, “Keep our eyes on the prize” — the 2014 midterm elections when Republicans hope to retake control of the Senate.
“Taking the gavel out of (Senate Majority Leader) Harry Reid’s hand on the first Tuesday of November is going to feel pretty darn sweet,” she said. “His reign is over.”
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