Sen. Orrin Hatch survived the Utah primary run-off against Tea Party challenger Dan Liljenquist Tuesday and is likely to cling to his seat for a seventh term.
But despite Hatch’s shameful and shameless attacks on his opponent, there are Liljenquist supporters who see a possible silver lining in the Beltway barnacle’s victory. Throughout the campaign season, Hatch laughably styled himself as a Tea Party candidate, and some conservative Twitterers are hopeful he’ll actually start walking the walk.
Wishful thinking?
@HeyTammyBruce @DanForUtah Maybe Hatch will take the hint! He is not automatic
— GingerC (@GAMac08) June 27, 2012
@exposeliberals @heytammybruce @danforutah Thanks 4 forcing Hatch 2 pretend he=Tea Party 4 2 years. Knowing u may run again may keep him 1
— Vinie Thompson (@SouthVinie) June 27, 2012
@daveweigel Threat of a primary challenge moved Hatch tangibly to the right. That counts as a Tea Party accomplishment, no?
— John Tabin (@johntabin) June 27, 2012
Easy there- we scared him conservative "@daveweigel: Expecting the Tea Party's take on #UTSen to be "Hey, look over there – it's Ted Cruz!"”
— Ed Dudzinski (@ecdski) June 27, 2012
Others will believe it when they see it.
https://twitter.com/SoundsofRain/status/217850240571686912
Congratulations, Utah #Republicans! You've just reelected a man who hates the #TEAParty. Good going. . . #tcot #OrrinHatch
— Stephen England (@stephenmengland) June 27, 2012
Here’s a reminder of the absurdity of Hatch’s claim that he was a Tea Party guy ” since before the tea party came into existence.”
Orrin Hatch is the antithesis of the Tea Party spirit. He is a mascot for big-spending Beltway entrenched incumbency who has consistently joined hands with destructive Democrats.
He slobbered over corruptocrat Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd.
He co-sponsored the $6 billion national service boondoggle and dedicated it to his good friend Teddy Kennedy, with whom he also joined hands to create the ever-expanding SCHIP entitlement.
He supported tax cheat Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner from day one, lavished praise on Joe Biden’s balls, and embraced and defended Attorney General Eric Holder’s nomination because, he said, “I like Barack Obama and I want to help him if I can.”
He was an original sponsor of the open-borders DREAM Act illegal alien student bailout and voted for the massive TARP bailout.
Will Hatch’s courtship of the Tea Party last into his seventh term in office? Forgive us for not holding our breath on that one.
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