[H/t scarce]

This is one makeover that's starting to look like something the cat dragged in.

We all know that the Tea Parties are conservatives' attempt to rebrand themselves in the wake of eight disastrous years of Republican governance, and of course Republicans have largely up to now eagerly embraced the effort.

But TeaBircher candidate Christine O'Donnell's upset victory in the Delaware Republican primary last night seems to be pitting Republican Party operatives against the Tea Partiers -- and it couldn't happen to a nicer bunch.

The wingnutosphere is particularly worked up into a froth after Karl Rove's O'Donnell-bashing appearance last night on Sean Hannity's Fox News show. Rather typical was Michelle Malkin's lament:

Expect more Washington Republicans to start sounding like Tea Party-bashing libs as their entrenched incumbent friends go down.

Then there's the Instawanker, who writes that "the real question is whether people will pull together and strive for harmony now. Will they? That’ll be a major test for the opposition’s seriousness this election cycle."

Bwahahahahahahaha.

You add that to the ongoing drama in Alaska, where now-outgoing Senator Lisa Murkowski may actually be poised to come out and support the Democrat, Scott McAdams, and in Washington state, where the results were reversed -- losing Tea Partier Clint Didier has pointedly refused to endorse GOP Establishment candidate Dino Rossi -- and the GOP's hopes of taking over the Senate in November look pretty grim.

Indeed, I wager we'll see this same dynamic playing out in a number of House races too. Because one thing the makeover artists failed to take into account is the reality that, while there are very few real Republican moderates left among the political class, there are many millions of moderate Republican voters who are not going to be coming out to vote for these nutcases.

I dunno about you, but I'm actually starting to look forward to November.