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Bachmann speaks at conference

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Mar 17, 2013 at 3:44 pm

OXON HILL, Md. (AP) U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann has returned to the spotlight after keeping a low profile since her narrow re-election win last November.

Bachmann spoke Saturday before the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in suburban Washington. She sought to soften the edges of her brand of conservatism, recasting it as a "movement of love, movement of care."

But Minnesota Public Radio News reports Bachmann did not stray from her past positions, with references to the importance of the family and her commitment to outlawing abortion.

The Minnesota Republican and one-time presidential candidate also criticized President Barack Obama for what she described as failures of leadership. And she touted government-backed medical research such as the polio vaccine and said the government isn't doing enough to fight diseases such as diabetes and Alzheimer's.