“[W]hy are some Tea Party activists trying to get rid of Senator Hatch? Fair reason? Is it a legitimate disagreement over policy and representation or is it just that someone else is stirring up trouble within the party and just wants his seat?…

“So the obvious question for any Tea Party voter in Utah: is Senator Hatch championing the cause of the Tea Party in Utah or not? If not – vote against him. If he is – vote for him. It is that simple…

“It turns out that Senator Hatch was 12 years ahead of the formation of the Tea Party, and 13 years ahead of the newly elected Tea Party Members of Congress on the issue of ‘balanced budget amendment.’ It is almost as if the balanced budget amendment, whether you agree with him or not, is in his DNA!

“I would think that fact alone would make him the champion (the visionary?) of the Utah Tea Party.”

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“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…

“From day one, the nascent Tea Party movement has always been about holding both parties accountable for their records. ‘Disruption’ of Washington business as usual is the entire raison d’etre of the grass-roots revolts and out-of-control taxing and spending. Token support for a balanced budget amendment means nothing if the BBA sponsor has spent nearly 40 years — as Hatch has — rubber-stamping expansion after expansion of the welfare and entitlement state, then hooking up with corruptocrat Dems like Chris Dodd and Teddy Kennedy to preserve and protect pet boondoggles.

“Most devastating of all, Palin offered ZERO rebuttal of van Susteren’s nonsense and agreed that Tea Party folks should ‘work with’ Hatch instead of “shoving him out.’…

“Is this the same Palin who just a few weeks ago boldly (and rightly) wrote: ‘Everyone I talk to still believes in contested primaries.’

“To quote of my favorite Palinisms: WTF?”

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“Palin’s first break with grassroots/TEA Party orthodoxy came during the 2010 elections, when she endorsed establishment candidates Carly Fiorina and Kelly Ayotte over more conservative challengers Chuck Devore and Ovide Lamontagne. These moves were defended by Palin’s legion of loyalists as ‘smart political choices,’ the reasoning being that Fiorina and Ayotte were the most conservative candidates who stood a reasonable chance of winning the general election. However, whatever the merit of this defense, it certainly did not apply consistently to Palin’s endorsements in 2010, as she nearly simultaneously endorsed the quixotic and doomed candidacy of Christine O’Donnell over Mike Castle in Delaware…

“In this instance, Palin doesn’t even have the excuse that she is endorsing the most conservative candidate that can win in the general; Utah is such a solidly Republican state that whoever wins the Republican nomination will be all but certain to win the general election. Palin’s deliberate shielding of Hatch serves no purpose but to ingratiate the Republican establishment who is terrified of the wave of conservative/TEA Party challengers in safe red states.

“Because I believe that Sarah Palin is actually very politically savvy, I have to believe that she knows exactly what she is doing with these moves, and that their consequences are intended. It therefore saddens me to find that one of the party’s most effective outsider voices is now being used so effectively to serve undeserving insiders.”

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“In a statement, Hatch thanked Palin for her kind words, saying ‘I am grateful for the support of Sarah Palin as I continue to lead this fight. Mrs. Palin is highly respected by Utahns and the national conservative movement and I appreciate her influence to create a united front in confronting the issue of our national debt. It is an honor to have Sarah Palin’s backing for the balanced budget amendment and I will continue to use my time in the Senate to see it passed.’

“Hatch faces a possible primary challenge from two-term Rep. Jason Chaffetz, a favorite of many conservatives and tea party activists.”

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