Washington--In a bold bid to reignite her presidential campaign, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) announced today that she was introducing a bill to return leaded gasoline to America's pumps.
Dubbed the "Gasoline Freedom of Choice Act," the proposed legislation would repeal federal laws and regulations, begun in 1973, phasing out the use of tetra-ethyl lead as a gasoline additive. The bill closely resembles legislation Bachmann introduced earlier this year to repeal the phase-out of incandescent light bulbs mandated in Bush-era energy laws.
"Americans are tired of socialistic, nanny-state government telling them what they can put in their gas tanks. Our founders fought to end tyranny. We've got to keep up that fight," the congresswoman said to a Tea Party rally in South Carolina.
"First they came for the brightest light bulb, but I wasn't the brightest bulb, so I said nothing," she continued, an apparent reference to Martin Niemöller's famous poem about the Holocaust.
When asked by reporters why she championed leaded gas, despite its negative health impacts and the damage it causes catalytic converters and other automobile systems, Bachmann replied, "It's about liberty. And tradition. Our great traditions have been eroded by years of government meddling and it's time we drew a line in the sand."
Before leaving the podium, Bachmann added, "And whatever happened to those hoses that would ring the bell when you drove over them? Those made America great, too."