This happened yesterday, but when I saw it today I had to post it:

McCain refers to ‘tea party hobbits,’ blasts Bachmann-backed idea

Washington (CNN) - On the same day that House Speaker John Boehner told Republicans to “Get your asses in line” and support his debt ceiling proposal, Sen. John McCain also blasted fellow Republicans.

In a Senate floor speech laced with sarcasm and stings, the Arizona Republican aimed especially harsh fire at the tea party Wednesday.

McCain said the movement is “foolish” to think a balanced budget amendment could pass before the August 2 deadline. At one point, McCain read from an op-ed in Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal. That article referred to activists as “tea party hobbits” – the little people who inhabit Middle-earth in the Lord of the Rings series.

SNIP

McCain talked about Boehner’s plan and quoted the Wall St. Journal piece, which said: “The question now is whether House Republicans are going to help Mr. Boehner achieve significant progress, or in the name of the unachievable, hand Mr. Obama a victory.”

McCain continued reading the article: “The idea seems to be that if the House GOP refuses to raise the debt ceiling, a default crisis or gradual government shutdown will ensue and the public will turn en masse against Barack Obama….Then Democrats would have no choice but to pass a balanced budget amendment and reform entitlements, and the tea party hobbits could return to Middle-earth…This is the kind of crack political thinking that turned Sharron Angle and Christine O’Donnell into GOP nominees. The reality is the debt limit will be raised one way or another.”