CNN is calling the Kentucky primary race for Rand Paul; Paul exploited the tea party connection for all it was worth, but the reality is that this is more of a victory for the Ron Paul populist movement and the resurgence of paranoid John Birch Society-influenced ideology.

At this point, you can expect the GOP to move even more in line with the Crazy Uncle’s far right isolationist policies and weird economic ideas, driving out even more conservative-leaning centrists and giving even more influence to the kook wing of the revanchist right.