Republican Presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) came out swinging against rival GOP contenders Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich on Sunday as she aimed to paint them similar to President Obama on healthcare, cap and trade and the bank bailouts, dubbing them "NewtRomney."
"It is very clear that there's not a dime's worth of difference between the two of them because both of them have advocated for the healthcare mandate," said Bachmann on CBS's "Face the Nation" Sunday.
The Minnesota congresswoman slammed former Massachusetts Gov. Romney and former Speaker of the House Gingrich for being "on the same side" of the healthcare issue as Obama a charge she levelled at her opponents during Saturday's GOP debate.
"They both agree with Barack Obama. This is the seminal piece of legislation of Barack Obama. It's the one issue that our candidate has to take President Obama on with and they won't be able to debate him on this issue because they're on the same side as the president," Bachmann said.
Romney has defended his healthcare reforms in Massachusetts throughout the campaign, while opposing the national healthcare law supported by Obama.
Bachmann also claimed other policy similarities between her GOP rivals and the president.
"Also, 'NewtRomney' are on the same side as the president when it comes to cap and trade, the $700 billion bailout, illegal immigration, even the payroll tax this week," she added.
Contenders for the Republican presidential nomination were split on an extension of the payroll tax cut during the ABC debate Saturday night.
Romney, Gingrich and Rep. Ron Paul (Texas) all expressed support for providing another yearlong break for taxpayers although the former governor of Massachusetts took the opportunity to launch into an attack on the Obama administration's economic policies.
"The payroll tax cut will help people," Romney said. "But it's just a band-aid."
Bachmann remains opposed to an extension, saying it "shouldn't have been put in in the first place," during the debate.
"When you take a look and people say this is a two man race I would agree, but the one man is 'NewtRomney' and the other man is Michele Bachmann, the only proven consistent conservative," said Bachmann.
