MILT WOLF PHOTOS OF GUNSHOT VICTIMS’ X-RAYS: Scandal, or tempest in a teacup? I note that on twitter the NRSC is clearly hoping it’s enough to knock Wolf out of the race and save incumbent Pat Roberts.

UPDATE: Okay, by NRSC, I really mean the NRSC’s Brad Dayspring. I follow him, and I like his tweets. But he’s been hammering this all day and it’s a dreadful, dreadful mistake. I accept his claim that he’s just interested in making sure the seat goes GOP. But when the NRSC gets out and attacks a Tea Party challenger — and that, make no mistake, is what’s going on — it poisons the well. There’s basically no trust for the GOP establishment among the base. If they stay home in 2014 like they did in 2012 because they feel betrayed by the establishment, what should be a wave election won’t be. Given the importance, in particular, of a GOP Senate in the event of a Supreme Court vacancy, doing anything to foster such a state of events is criminal incompetence.

MORE: Ed Morrissey: “I get that, too, especially on stuff like this. The issue of TARP and Bevin’s position in Kentucky is a real issue of trustworthiness; this Wolf thing isn’t even really germane to policy or politics, and it’s apparently pretty old on top of it. The NRSC should give this kind of thing a wide berth.”

Nothing they do in any particular race is as important as not pissing off the base, which is very unhappy with them and on the verge of staying home/starting a third party. I feel like the GOP establishment doesn’t understand this, though you’d think the 2012 post-mortems would have informed them.