And some Democrats — Powers included — don’t hesitate to compare Bachmann with the aforementioned Palin, another conservative lightning rod in her mid-40s who speaks with an upper-Midwestern accent, is the mother of a large family and touts a stridently socially conservative agenda that Democrats regard as outright right wing.

“She is so principally and diametrically opposed to the core principles that we have,” Donald McFarland, a Minnesota-based Democratic strategist, said of Bachmann. “She is further to the right than Attila the Hun.”…

The DCCC and the Minnesota DFL denied to POLITICO this week that they were working behind the scenes to clear the field for Clark, but strategists for both parties say there is little question the national Democratic Party will take an active role in the 2010 effort to oust Bachmann…

“I think that you’re going to see Democrats put serious resources forward,” said Matt Burns, a Minnesota-based GOP strategist.