The Trappings of Office

Old John McCain is finally facing a serious challenger in the Republican primary. That's not to say that J.D. Hayworth is a serious person; not at all. He does, however, pose a legitimate threat to the Senate seat which McCain has occupied since Barry Goldwater left office.

As noted in a previous column in this space, Hayworth would not have much of a chance against the Maverick in a general election. The primary is a different beast altogether, dominated by the hardcore blood-drinkers of the conservative movement, the ones who have long considered McCain a RINO - Republican in Name Only.

In the past year, with the help of highly-paid lobbyists and GOP powerbrokers, those folks coagulated into a "grass-roots" movement known as the Tea Party. They strongly favor Hayworth and other candidates like him, whose anti-government and anti-immigration fervors mirror their own.

McCain is a wily creature, though. Just as he navigated to the center-left in hopes of staving off hope and change in the 2008 race against Barack Obama, he has spent the last few months listing to the right, burnishing his conservative bona fides ahead of a contest which (however illogically) he may well be destined to lose.

A funny thing happened on the way to the ballot box, though. Two of the most revered Tea Party heroes, Sarah Palin and newly-elected Senator Scott Brown of Massachussetts, have both endorsed John McCain. This is bad news for both Hayworth and the tea-baggers who love him.

The Tea Party had just shelled out over a hundred thousand dollars to Palin to deliver the keynote address at their convention. They loudly took the credit for Brown's victory over Martha Coakley, which broke the supermajority the Democrats had enjoyed in the Senate.

Palin's support for McCain was easier to rationalize; after all, for ill or for good, she was on the McCain ticket. What was she supposed to do? Brown, though, has already incurred the wrath of these so-called populists when he voted for a recent jobs bill (some were so incensed as to call him "Benedict Brown" on his facebook page).

Combined, the rejections of Hayworth by Sarah Palin and Scott Brown amount to acid being thrown in the faces of the Tea Party people. If they were just a little bit smarter, they'd have the good sense to feel used, in the seamiest sense of the word.

Oh, well. In all their brilliance, they'll no doubt take out their frustrations on someone like RNC Chairman Michael Steele. All they have to do is find out who's running against him in the next election.

pH 3.o5.1o