DEAR ESTABLISHMENT TYPES: MITCH DANIELS WILL NOT BE ON THE GOP TICKET. PERIOD.

I missed this yesterday, but it's the final nail in the coffin:

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, a Republican, said he'ill support Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) in his reelection bid, despite efforts by tea party activists to oust him.

"I'm for Dick Lugar," Daniels said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "He is the role model I've had." ...

"Folks in Indiana know I am for him and admire him and if he wants another term, he ought to have it," Daniels said.

Whatever Lugar may have done in his political career, he's now been branded a RINO, and that's a stigma that can't be erased. And by the way, if you ask the purists why they damn Lugar this way, the first thing they'll bring up his support for immigration reform, including the DREAM Act. You want to know what's important to teabaggers? You think it's small government or low taxes? Right up near the top of the list is immigrant-hate. That's non-negotiable.