Bachmann Fever Comes to the Upstate

The momentum that has gathered behind the presidential candidacy of Michele Bachmann came to Greenville earlier today. Fresh off a strong showing in an  and two more polls in Oregon and Montana today, Bachmann drew hundreds to the Magnolia Park shopping complex this afternoon.

 Showing no effects of three days of non-stop campaigning, an energetic Bachmann took the stage after a brief introduction from local leaders.

 She then spoke, without a teleprompter, for approximately 20 minutes. It was a stump speech similar to the ones she gave  at  in the Palmetto State. And it was precisely what the crowd wanted to hear.

 Occasionally straining to see the diminutive Bachmann, the male-dominated audience roared as the three-term congresswoman from Minnesota railed against Barack Obama’s economic, energy, foreign policies and against big government in general.

 Bachmann also emphasized her Christian values and how they align with her political philosophies.

 She also pointedly reached out to the Tea Party, which was not difficult considering she leads the Tea Party Caucus in the House of Representatives and has been one of the leaders of the group since its inception in 2009.

 Although Bachmann’s event did attract a number of Tea Party voters,  not everyone had made their mind up about her.

 Among the undecided were Chet Terry and Mike Geremia, who both described themselves as conservative independents.  Terry said, “I really don’t care whether a Democrat or Republican is president. I was a Truman and Kennedy supporter.”

 The primary issue for Terry is security. He said, “I want someone as president who does whatever they have to do to make the country safe and sound.”

For Geremiah the main issue is spending. And to illustrate the point he tapped his index, middle and ring finger as he spoke, “The first three things we need to do are to cut spending, cut spending and cut spending.”

Julie Mitchell, who described herself as being from a politically-engaged family brought her three children from Spartanburg. “I wanted to show them politics in action,” she said.

Mitchell, who is a physical therapist, expressed concern about Obamacare, but was also worried about the direction of the country and what will be waiting for the next generation. “We need to get back to the way things were. The country is just going in the wrong direction.”

While Bachmann’s speech may have been standard stump fare, the remainder of her stay was not. She and her husband Marcus spent an additional half-hour with supporters. Before the Bachmanns boarded the bus and headed to the next stop in Rock Hill, they made sure anyone who wanted a handshake, autograph or photo got one.

The momentum of Bachmann’s campaign is impossible to deny, but sustaining it is now her challenge. And a challenge it will be, as the supporters who were interviewed by Patch were unable to come up with a specific policy of Bachmann’s that they admired. One attendee inadvertently referred to her as Michelle Obama.  But Bachmann has been light on specifics at this early stage, and has focused thus far on attacking President Obama, rather than on distinguishing herself from the other Republican candidates. She has served notice to her party rivals notice that her candidacy will be nothing if not formidable. Few, if any of them, could draw several hundred citizens to a mall parking lot on a sunny Wednesday afternoon in early summer, which is exactly what Bachmann did today.