Video: S.C. Key for Campaign, Bachmann Says

Danny Byrnes is a 41-year-old Swansea resident who has been out of work since the start of June. He's not happy about that, and he's not real pleased with the course his country is on, either.

But Byrnes said he heard a lot to lift his heart on Thursday, when the firebrand Republican presidential candidate and conservative Tea Party sweetheart, Michele Bachmann, rolled through Columbia for an outdoor campaign rally that drew an estimated 200 people. 

It was Bachmann's third Palmetto State stop of the week as she tries to shore up an early primary state she called "key" to her chances of winning the party's nomination. 

Too many times to count, Bachmann reminded the crowd upon her entry, her speech and her exit, that "I will be back, South Carolina. I will be back a lot!"

Numbers-wise it was an intimate affair as campaign rallies go, but it was boisterous and approving nonetheless, and drew supporters from well outside the Midlands.

"We came a long ways to hear her," said an elderly Mary Kyle, who along with her husband, Marvin, drove down from Salem, in the northwestern part of the state, to brave the heat and cheer on their candidate. "Our whole family supports her," Mary said. "She's our woman."

Disdainful of President Obama, Bachmann's address touched on everything from the nation's economic woes to foreign policy, and to her and other cultural conservatives' fervent belief that "there is nothing wrong, absolutely nothing to be ashamed of" for believing in values that support traditional marriage, oppose abortion, and  profess a strong belief in God.

"We believe that life should be protected from conception to natural death," she said. "We aren't ashamed to say that we believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman. And we aren't ashamed to say we believe in the family. … We are this winning coalition that cannot be beat if we stick together. Fiscal conservatives, national-security conservatives, social conservatives, and the Tea Party movement -- you put us all together, and we're a team that can't be beat."

For folks like Byrnes, that was prime red meat, and music to the ears.

"I most definitely heard what I wanted to hear," Byrnes said, as he stood beside his girlfriend's mother, Ruby Baker, of Pelion. "I look at it this way: It's about time that somebody stands up … for what this country was founded on and how things are supposed to go. 

"I'm out of work right now," he added. "I've been working since I was 16, and I'm 41 now. I'm looking at everything that's going on and it's hard for me to find another job at this point. And that's just the worst thing in the world."

While Bachmann's tough talk on foreign and military policy, and her conservative-Christian views on social issues drew loud cheers, her supporters and potential supporters who spoke with Patch indicated they want a strong leader and a fix to a slew of pernicious economic woes that include record deficits, taxes, and high unemployment.

"Like she said, Obama leading from behind doesn't work," Byrnes said. "We need to have someone as strong as Ronald Reagan was … and that's one of the things I see Michelle doing, without a problem."

Alan Kelso, of Columbia, and a Tea Party member, said he isn't ready to commit yet to Bachmann, but told Patch that Bachmann's speech resonated with him and touched on everything he values. 

"For me, it's about the pocketbook," he said. "It's about where we're slipping. … I think of all the people we've seen so far, she's one of the ones that really encompasses what the Tea Party is all about," said Kelso, who added he probably won't know for quite a while whom he will vote for. 

Kelso said he planned to go to Lexington after the Bachmann speech to hear candidate Herman Cain speak, whose early prominence seems to be slipping with the rise of Bachmann, current favorite Mitt Romney hanging on, and the recent splashy entry of Texas Gov. Rick Perry into the race. Regardless, Kelso said he planned to give Cain a chance.

"He also embodies a lot of those same [Tea Party] principles we all hold dear and talk about," Kelso said of Cain.

Lee Adams of Columbia, who attended the rally with his grown son, Ben, believes his mind is made up.

"I think she's energetic," said Adams. "I think she's on target, and I think she has a lot of good things to communicate to people in the areas she spoke about, and I agree with her and I think she's a good spokesman for the conservative people of our country."

Adams said that while he would vote for Bachmann right now, he's also realistic about her chances of winning the Oval Office.

"I have some reservations as to whether a woman can be elected," he said. I really believe in what she stands for. She has a lot of charisma. She really speaks from her heart -- she's passionate. I haven't seen that from any of the other people on the Republican side that are running.

"But if a man emerges with equal values and equal passion and the ability to communicate, I would consider him," Adams said. "But I must say that Michele Bachmann is in front place in my mind for getting my vote."