The Washington Post sent a reporter to the Beehive State for an in-depth feature article on all the ways Sen. Orrin Hatch is working to court the support of Utah's tea party. The article details how Hatch sometimes phones Utah Tea Party founder David Kirkham three or more times per day. During one such conversation, Hatch called Kirkham to ask what he thought about a proposed moratorium on earmarks.
"I said: 'Orrin, if you vote for earmarks, you won't get it off of you. B-52s will be circling overhead, and you will be carpet-bombed,' " Kirkham recalled. "He said, 'Okay.' "