Michele Bachmann Ad: 'I Will Not Vote to Increase the Debt Ceiling' (VIDEO)

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn. highlights her small-town credibility and her big time fiscal conservatism in the first official television advertisement of her presidential campaign.

I will not vote to increase the debt ceiling, Bachmann says emphatically at the end of the advertisement, enunciating each word carefully. She also touts her opposition to the bailout -- she never mentions which one -- and to the stimulus package, charging that we can't keep spending money we don't have.

Bachmann has become a leading Congressional voice for the Tea Party, ferociously attacking the health care overhaul and criticizing what she sees as government overreach in everything from Americorps to federal education laws. In her speech announcing her candidacy, she rejected the notion that government can create jobs, and make a better life for all of us, even make us healthier.

Her unconditional opposition to raising the debt limit continues this tradition. Republicans have expressed their willingness to vote for a raise in the debt ceiling if it is tied to subtantial spending cuts, but Bachmann has proposed simply paying the interest on America's debt.

See the video below: