It's easy to dismiss Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) as bomb-throwing back-bencher who is eying a presidential run largely because her attempt to secure a post in the House leadership was stymied. There's a long history of camera-hungry House members making improbable runs that have served mainly to highlight their irrelevance.
But Bachmann is no mere redux of 'B-1' Bob Dornan, the conservative former California congressman-provocateur who took his bombast from the House floor to the Iowa cornfields in the 1996 presidential election only to get less than one percent in the caucuses.
The political universe changed dramatically since then – the rise of cable news, the expansion of talk radio and arrival of the Internet are among the new forces, all of which will work to her political advantage. And Bachmann, who CNN reported Thursday is planning to form a presidential exploratory committee, possesses an array of other strengths that are certain to make her a factor in the GOP primary.
Money
The Minnesotan, who was elected to Congress in 2006, has already established herself as a fundraising powerhouse. She raised a staggering $13.5 million for her re-election last year – far more than any other House member – but, more important, is how she did it. Only 3 percent of her contributions were from political action committees, a low number for a congressional incumbent that serves to illustrate her strong capacity for direct mail and online fundraising.
So Bachmann begins a potential campaign with a national base of support that would seed a presidential campaign and ensure that she's able to get her message out on the airwaves. Keep in mind that it doesn't take a Mitt Romney-like fortune to play in Iowa, where voters demand an personal touch.
Iowa
Bachmann is a good fit for an important bloc of the Iowa GOP electorate. An Iowa-born social conservative and born-again Christian who hails from a neighboring state, she'll appeal to some of the 60 percent of caucus-goers who described themselves as evangelicals.
The history of the Republican caucuses demonstrates that there is always a significant share of votes available for movement conservatives. If Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin decide not to run, she'd have a prime opportunity to compete for that support.
Interviews with Iowa Republicans earlier this month revealed significant interest in Bachmann, with multiple activists volunteering her name when asked who they were considering.
Bachmann is already going to great lengths to make sure other caucus-goers know that she was born and grew up in Waterloo and is showering the state with flattery.
At a fundraiser for Rep. Steve King last year in northwest Iowa, she recalled the precise moment she was taken against her will from the state.
"I will never forget the day in sixth grade when my parents came to tell us that my dad had taken a job at Honeywell up in Minneapolis and they were asking us — not asking – telling us that we were going to move up to Minneapolis and I remember crying," she said, according to a RadioIowa report. "The tears came down my cheeks and I said, 'I just don't want to leave Iowa. I love Iowa,' and I said, 'Des Moines is our capital. How can I move to another state where Des Moines is not our capital?' My tears had no effect on my parents. We moved anyway."
Such talk will warm the hearts of proud Iowans, but the backing of King, a member of Congress who actually represents the state, may matter just as much.
Bachmann is very close to King, who represents the conservative western half of the state, and has made plain he wants to be a kingmaker this election cycle. He has said that he regrets waiting so late to endorse in the last campaign – he didn't get behind Fred Thompson until December 2007 – and his early backing of Bachmann would offer her an important ally going into the August state GOP straw poll.
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