WASHINGTON, D.C. — Political ads running in at least four states against financial reform legislation closely echo talking points made in December by Rep. Michele Bachmann, a sign that some Washington observers say show that the darling of the Tea Party Right is effectively crafting the message of Republican campaigns.

Bachmann called the financial reform legislation a "permanent bailout bill,"  and similar language was used in a memo by Republican pollster Frank Luntz instructing opponents in language to use to turn public opinion against the bill.

Thus the conclusion being drawn by some in Washington, perhaps best articulated by POLITICO's Ben Smith:

"The notion of financial reform legislation as a 'big bank bailout' appears to have come, before Frank Luntz, from Rep. Michele Bachmann, yet another instance of the degree to which the Republican center at the moment is being led by the grass-roots conservative base."