Bachmann not pulling punches as Iowa Caucus nears

​With the Iowa Caucuses less than a week away, the 2012 Presidential campaign's preseason is not for long, and Michele Bachmann is far behind Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry and Ron Paul in the polls.

Republican candidates will begin to drop like punch-drunk boxers as the primary process moves from Iowa to New Hampshire to South Carolina to Florida in January alone. But Bachmann, for one, apparently plans to go down swinging.

Our favorite Congresswoman must have taken a big gulp of Haterade yesterday morning, because she spent the rest of the day unloading on some of her Republican competitors.

At a press conference, Bachmann blasted Texas Gov. Rick Perry in response to a Perry TV ad that paints Bachmann, Gingrich, Paul and Rick Santorum as "Washington insiders."

"Just because he's held office outside of Washington, D.C. does not mean that he is not a political insider," Bachmann said, according to the Des Moines Register. Citing reports that Perry gave government grants, contracts and appointments to political donors, she added that "Gov. Perry has 27 years of practice at being ready to be a Washington crony capitalist."

Bachmann also took some serious swings at current Iowa frontrunner Ron Paul, saying the Texas Congressman would be "dangerous as president" because he wouldn't support military action against countries like Iran that she perceives to be national security threats.

Bachmann's angry Wednesday came a day after she questioned Perry and Romney's pro-life credentials while on the campaign trail.

"Mitt Romney has defended gay marriage and even signed marriage licenses for same sex couples and Ron Paul doesn't believe the government should protect the institution of marriage," Bachmann said Tuesday morning during a stop at a coffee shop in Council Bluffs. "I have a record of defending life, marriage and the family and I'll protect them as president of the United States."

Bachmann's attacks come as she finds herself mired in a discouraging four-way dead heat for third in Iowa with Gingrich, Santorum and Perry. According to The Times' Five Thirty Eight blog, all four of those candidates are currently projected to clock in with between 11 and 14 percent of the vote. Ron Paul currently leads the pack with a projection of 25 percent, with Romney on his tail at 22 percent.

After winning August's Ames straw poll with 26 percent of the vote, the last few months have clearly not been kind to Bachmann's candidacy.

But never fear, those of you worried that Bachmann might drop out of the race if she finishes off the podium in Iowa next week -- according to the U.S. News & World Report, she'll likely stay in the race at least through Jan. 21's South Carolina primary.

In a press release touting her paid field staff in the Palmetto State, Bachmann said "they're working around the clock to ensure that a consistent conservative wins the nation's first-in-the-south presidential primary." Although the release doesn't name names, one can only assume the "consistent conservative" she's talking about is her.

In other words, the most entertaining presidential campaign based north of Texas should be a part of our lives for at least a few more weeks.