In a state Republican party where sanity is considered dangerous weakness, former GOP standard bearer John McCain is locked in a poison Kool-Aid chugging contest with loudmouth numbskull J.D. Hayworth for the U.S. Senate nomination.
Every day this summer will be another day in paradise for the Dems as the two awkward scorpions grapple to sting each other in the 120-degree heat.
McCain accuses Hayworth of supporting the Alaskan Bridge to Nowhere while Hayworth blasts McCain for supporting Bush's financial rescue efforts.
Joe the Plumber and Sarah are pretty much split, with Joe down on McCain and Hayworth unable to ante up Palin's appearance fee.
The knock on Hayworth is that he lost a relatively safe suburban Phoenix House seat to a Democrat. He didn't so much lose the election as wear out his welcome with Arizonans. The Arizona Republic had this to say in 2006:
J. D. Hayworth is a bully. He may not yet have reached the point where you can't take him anywhere, but you certainly can't take him to a calm, civil discussion.
Now, McCain, who carefully cultivated an image over decades as a moderate not in lock-step with his party, is dancing double-time, trying to get into step.
Grover Norquist supports McCain while Phoenix-area nut job Sheriff Joe Arpaio backs Hayworth. This should result in a debate of the finer points of Totalitarian Nihilism vs. National Socialism, or maybe a lot of hot air and a race to abandon the state capital as a waste or money or burn it down and blame the sane people.
The Republicans are already digging themselves a deep hole in Arizona. The Republican governor and the GOP-dominated Legislature are keeping the state on life support by cutting taxes and stealing money from cities, counties, schools and universities. This is not "stealing" in the sense of cutting appropriations, but rather midnight legislation to confiscate money in their bank accounts.
Democrats are in marginally better shape. The gap in voter registration is down to 90,000 out of 3 million. Democrats have as a candidate for governor Terry Goddard, who is the attorney general, former Phoenix mayor and son of a famous governor.
This all gives a shot to Rodney Glassman, the vice mayor of Tucson. He is smart, articulate and progressive. If McCain and Hayworth can do a good job damaging each other, and the governor's race begins to slip away from the Republicans, we could have a Democratic senator to go along with our five -- count them -- five Democratic members of Congress.