Former state Sen. Tarryl Clark said she hasn’t decided what her next move will be after losing to Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann in November, but the Minnesota Democrat is keeping her e-mail list alive.
 
In an e-mail titled “Stopping the Hate,” Clark called for unifying rhetoric following the weekend shootings in Arizona.

“Instead of calling on us to be ‘armed and dangerous’ or to ‘reload’, and instead of name-calling and conspiracy theories, elected leaders ought to be bringing people together to solve the major challenges we face,” Clark wrote. “They ought to bring out the best in all of us by inspiring us to see the world as it can be, not as it is today.”
 
Clark’s e-mail doesn’t name Bachmann, but the reference to the Republican was clear. Talking about “nefarious” activities in Washington in March 2009, Bachmann told a radio show, “I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of this energy tax because we need to fight back. … We the people are going to have to fight back hard if we are not going to lose our country.”

Those remarks have been repeated in recent days as contributing to an environment where violent rhetoric has become the norm.

Though their race wasn’t close, Bachmann’s high national profile meant the 2010 campaign got a lot of attention from conservatives and liberals across the country. Bachmann raised more than $13 million and defeated Clark 53 percent to 40 percent. Clark raised plenty of cash herself, drawing $4.6 million from national donors. It was the most expensive race in the country last cycle.
 
Clark finished her time in the state Senate earlier this month and has been talking to local leaders about job creation and bringing people together, she said. Another election could be in her future.

“I absolutely believe I’m not done with public life,” she told Roll Call.
 
Bachmann also seems to be considering her options, telling ABC News recently she is considering a run for president and planning a trip to Iowa.

Clark said she suspected Bachmann had higher ambitions even as the Congresswoman ran for re-election, and the Clark campaign put together a Web video speculating on Bachmann’s future plans in September.