Sen. Orrin Hatch: 'Sarah Palin has helped us all'

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At The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Elise Viebeck reports that Sen. Orrin Hatch — who may be trying to get on the Tea Party's good side — praised the first woman to be his party's vice presidential candidate Wednesday, saying that as a result of her many endorsements, the GOP is "coming through" despite its internal battles.

"There's a lot of antagonism right now between both [Senate] Democrats and Republicans," he said in an interview on the Fox Business Network. "And sometimes between Democrats and Democrats, and occasionally we have a little fight in the Republican party as well."

"But Sarah Palin has helped us all. She's endorsed a lot of people and we're coming through," he continued, prompting host Don Imus to raise an eyebrow.

The victories of Palin-backed Senate candidates like Joe Miller (R-Alaska) and Christine O'Donnell (R-Del.) in GOP primaries have contributed to a growing feud in the Republican party between its establishment players and those, like Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), who support Tea Party outsiders.

Hatch himself maybe be vulnerable to a challenge from the right because of his vote for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and his support for the construction of a controversial mosque near Ground Zero in Manhattan.

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Six of Gov. Palin's candidates have won and two have lost in Republican primaries for the U.S. Senate this year, and only 11 of her endorsees have lost in 32 completed races.

- JP

Ed Rollins: Primaries prove Palin, Tea Party are for real

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Ed Rollins,who was political director for the Reagan White House, is currently a senior political contributor for CNN. He comments on the political primary season which wrapped up Tuesday:

The Tea Party is for real! Sarah Palin is the woman!

Whether mainstream Republicans or the political class like it, she is the darling of the angry, motivated voters out there and her endorsement counts big time, at least in Republican primaries.

Forget Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell's endorsement. In May, he couldn't even get his hand-picked candidate the nomination in a state he is supposed to control. You want to win, get support from Senator Jim DeMint, chairman of the conservative Senate Republican Steering Committee, or former Majority leader and Tea Party activist Dick Armey.

Not every Palin-endorsed candidate won, but she certainly was a major player in taking unknown candidates and getting them across the finish line. The winners in the Senate primaries yesterday in New Hampshire and Delaware yesterday were just added to that list.

I can't remember any political cycle where the Republican establishment took the mugging its taken over the last few months.

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Read the full Rollins political analysis here.

- JP