Michele Bachmann courted evangelical Christian voters in Iowa over the weekend, urging a church congregation to pray for God to heal the country from its sins. It seems, then, she’s presenting herself as the sort of religious-based candidate who could be a good fit for a state where former governor and minister Mike Huckabee won the Republican caucuses in 2008.
As the Des Moines Register reports, Bachmann spoke Sunday to worship services at the evangelical Point of Grace Church in Waukee, Iowa. Speaking from the pulpit, she noted that the church has a replica of the famous painting that depicts George Washington praying at Valley Forge, and how she has a copy of the same painting in her Washington office.
“We too are at a crucial time today,” said Bachmann. “And I think it is for us to remember, that if we do as Chronicles tells us, if we humble ourselves, and pray and confess our sins, and turn away from our wicked ways, and ask an almighty God to come and protect us and fight the battle for us, we know from his word, his promise is sure. He will come. He will heal our land. And we will have a new day.”
“What he will do for one, he will do for all,” Bachmann also added. “And it is the same with nations as well. And as we seek him, he’s there for us. I have seen it. I have lived that in my own life since I came to him, out of his grace, in his mercy, back on November first of 1972. He is not partial. … He will do for you, and he will do for our nation. May God bless Point of Grace Church.”
(A note about the painting: While the image has gained something of an iconic status among conservatives, it was in no way contemporary to the events of Valley Forge or Washington’s life — it was made in 1975, to celebrate the nation’s upcoming bicentennial, by illustrator Arnold Friberg.)
