Michele Bachmann
GOP presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann Reuters

Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin (who has yet to announce her candidacy) have both come out hard against incendiary comments Teamsters union boss James Hoffa made against the Tea Party and GOP during a raucous Labor Day Rally in Detroit.

While warming up the pro-union crowd, Hoffa declared, among other things, “It is the Tea Party… there is only one way to beat and win that war… They've got a war, they got a war with us and there's only going to be one winner.”

He also stated: President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march. Let's take these son of b_tches out and give America back to an America where we belong.”

In response, Bachmann, the Minnesota congresswoman told her supporters in an email: Hoffa and his well-funded liberal allies are scared of our momentum, and will do anything to try and silence our voices. But, we won't go quietly into the night. Will you follow this link and make a donation to help me defend myself against their profane and vicious attacks?

Bachmann also sought contributions for her campaign, asking supporters to “level the playing field” with labor.

Bachmann, who has sparred with Hoffa before, has referred to him as a “notorious union boss and Obama advisor.” She has blamed unions for job losses, citing, for example, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) filing a lawsuit against Boeing for planning to move a manufacturing plant to South Carolina.

Nikki Haley, the Republican governor of South Carolina, has also bitterly criticized the NLRB as well as Obama for not intervening.

“When they’re not on the attack on CNN, union bosses like Hoffa in Washington, DC, are getting big returns on their election day influence, yielding unprecedented power granted by Obama appointments to the National Labor Relations Board, and costing Americans countless jobs in the process,” Bachman declared, according to the Minnesota Independent.

She has also criticized the unions for disproportionately influencing the policies of the government.

“Big labor policies enforced by unelected and unaccountable Obama bureaucrats cost Americans jobs, while boosting the professional and political prospects of union leaders like Jimmy Hoffa,” she fumed.

“As President, you can be sure that I will respect the right of Americans to work, and enact policies that promote prosperity and economic freedom, not membership in declining unions.”

Similarly on her Facebook account, former Alaska governor Palin wrote: Union bosses like this [Hoffa] do not have your best interests at heart. What they care about is their own power and re-electing their friend Barack Obama so he will take care of them to the detriment of everyone else.”

However, the presumptive front-runner in the GOP Presidential race, Rick Perry refused to condemn Hoffa during an appearance on Fox News, while the hosts tried to prod him for a reaction.