Khimm: Bachmann Has Edge on Palin

Suzy Khimm writes in Mother Jones:

At first glance, you might think you were seeing double. Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann are both hard-right Republican firebrands with a populist touch, a love of the spotlight, and devoted throngs of conservative followers. Though both have been regularly shunned by the Washington establishment, they've proven to be prodigious fundraisers who've competed for the title of "Tea Party Queen"—and have been floated as presidential contenders. The two even bear a passing resemblance to each other.

But though Palin and Bachmann may seem like GOP doppelgangers, there's a lot separating them as well. And the differences have led a growing chorus of Beltway watchers to conclude that Bachmann would actually be the more credible candidate of the two. Having watched the Minnesota congresswoman on the trail for years, Minnesota political operatives on both sides of the aisle warn against simply laughing off Bachmann. "You underestimate Michele Bachmann at your own peril," says Zach Rodvold, the campaign manager for her Democratic opponent in 2010.

Bachmann is expected to form a presidential exploratory committee in the next few months and has already trekked out to Iowa to make early inroads. Though the Minnesota Republican remains a longshot, she also could finally give tea party types a candidate to rally behind in a decidedly lukewarm GOP primary—and could be a (relatively) more formidable candidate than the former governor of Alaska. Here's why:

1) Bachmann's an organizer. Palin may have a huge following, but it's been built on the celebrity status and enormous platform she gained as Sen. John McCain's running mate. Bachmann, by contrast, originally got involved in politics as a grassroots organizer—and she's used those skills to build up ground-level support and attract allies at every stage of her career. In the 1990s, she first garnered attention by organizing anti-abortion protests in the St. Paul area, then moved on to fight state regulation of education as a home schooling advocate. After entering the Minnesota state Senate in 2000, Bachmann organized religious leaders in the state to lobby for a ban on same-sex marriage.

Bachmann has brought the same organizing savvy to Washington. In 2009, Bachmann's ad hoc mass protest against health care reform brought hundreds of thousands to Capitol Hill—and the House Republican leadership followed her to the podium. Last year, she launched Congress' first Tea Party Caucus of like-minded conservative legislators. More than 50 GOP House members have joined so far—and four senators have signed on as well.