Meet the New Sarah Palin

With Sarah Palin gone, Democrats have penciled a new name atop their hitlist: Michelle Bachmann, the far-right Minnesota rep. who once called Barack Obama “anti-American.” Like Palin, Bachmann’s a fierce social conservative with a large family and an upper Midwestern accent. And, of course, she drives Democrats crazy. “She is further right than Attila the Hun,” says one Democratic strategist. A party official calls her, “just an utter embarrassment.”

After nearly unseating Bachmann in 2008, Democrats are redoubling their efforts for 2010, calling in heavy-hitter Tarryl Clark—a popular state senator who’s been mentioned as a gubernatorial candidate—to oppose her. “They'd like to think they can beat her,” says a GOP strategist. But the district leans right, going solidly red in the last three presidential races. “I don’t think they can do it.” (More Michele Bachmann stories.)