Bachmann: Tea Party will leave GOP over spending

Republican U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann says members of the Tea Party will shift away from the Republican party if the GOP supports big government and big spending.

Bachmann appeared on CNN's "The Situation Room" Saturday. When host Wolf Blitzer asked her if there'll be a 2012 Tea Party presidential candidate, Bachmann said no.

"I think that you will see the two-party system intact," she said. "You'd have to have a rise in an entire political party. There's so much that goes along with infrastructure. I really doubt it."

Blitzer also asked Bachmann how she felt about losing the race for a leadership position among Republicans.

"I would've loved to have been able to bring my energy and my ideas, but I'm not disappointed," she said. "As a matter of fact I called Jeb Henserling, my competition, on the day I that I announced I was going to run. I said 'Jeb, my opinion is this, whoever wins, whether it's you or whether it's me, the GOP conference will win.'"

Asked about cutting the federal budget, Bachmann said she'd return to 2008 spending levels, including cutting the Department of Education's budget for the No Child Left Behind program.