IN A STORYLINE THAT'S ALREADY PROVIDED PLENTY OF AMUSEMENT...:

It's tea party vs. GOP establishment in Kentucky (ROGER ALFORD, May 12, 2010, AP)

The tea party is looking to the Kentucky Derby state to finish off its own Triple Crown of victories. [...]

A Paul win in Tuesday's primary would be the strongest sign yet that the tea party activists are on a roll after defeating three-term Sen. Bob Bennett in Utah last Saturday and forcing once popular Florida Gov. Charlie Crist to abandon the GOP for an independent Senate bid last month.

It also would be a wake-up call, if somehow still needed, for Republican incumbents facing challenges from movement-backed candidates six months before the midterm elections.

"I have a message from the tea party to those in D.C.," says Rand Paul. "A message that is loud and clear and does not mince words: We're coming to take our government back."

...there may not be a funnier claim than that Rand Paul is anything other than an establishment figure. He was raised on the public dime by a father who has been in Congress since the son hit puberty and was a candidate for his party's presidential nomination. He's an archetype of the degree to which the tea parties are a top-down Beltway project.

Posted by Orrin Judd at May 20, 2010 5:36 AM