Quick Note: Republicans Are Starting to Eat Their Young.

The Republican Party has looked at the results of the last two general elections and the way ultra-conservatives, who cruised to victory in their primary races, were easily defeated when November rolled around.   This year, the GOP's plan is to head off those types of failures by backing establishment candidates early and often.

Republicans have refused to support Tea Party candidates in important races: 

• Alaska, (where Sarah Palin's favorite candidate was told not to bother running because he is "too unpopular to win," no matter who supports him.)
• Virginia, (where Richard H. Black, who mailed plastic fetuses with notes attached that read "Would you kill this child?" to his fellow state legislatures during their abortion debate, dropped out of the primary race when it became clear he would get no Party support.) Republicans there felt he was the next Todd Akin, of "legitimate rape" fame, in the making.
• South Dakota, (where former governor Stace Nelson, who, as a member of the South Dakota legislature, was banned from the Republican caucus for being too combative with fellow members, now finds himself running a primary with essentially no party backing.)
• West Virginia, (where Pat McGeehan, who touted his record for casting the most "no" votes of any member of the state's legislature, dropped out of the primary after the Republican Party decided there was "a bit of an ideological edge to him" that would not translate well to the general election and blitzed the airwaves with support for his opponent.)
• Idaho, (where Bryan Smith, who has the backing of the anti-tax, anti-spending organization Club for Growth, is finding his anti-tax/anti-spending platform ignored by his Party in favor of Mike Simpson, an eight-term incumbent in the U.S. House of Representatives.) 

But, then there is Arizona, where it appears the GOP didn't get the We-Heart-Moderates memo. Republicans there recently censured John McCain for "not being conservative enough."

Primary races usually raise a measure of interest in me that borders on catatonic. This year, the early feeding frenzy looks to be changing my attitude.