Below The Beltway

As the latest round of Tea Party protests reaches it ends with a rally in Washington today, Republican leaders are once again trying to ally themselves with the movement:

With tens of thousands of conservative protesters expected to gather in Washington on Saturday for a “Taxpayer March on D.C.,” Republican officials are attempting to capitalize on a movement that lately has galvanized anti-Obama activists more effectively than the party’s elected leaders in Washington.

Searching for ways to compete with Democrats after two consecutive electoral drubbings, Republicans have moved past earlier uncertainty about the protesters, who organized nationwide rallies this summer that have threatened Democratic health-care plans and eroded President Obama’s standing with the public.

Several key Republican lawmakers, including House GOP Chairman Mike Pence of Indiana, have helped to drum up support for the march and are slated to deliver speeches to the crowd.

But top Republican strategists and many party observers also worry about the impact that the most extreme protesters might have on the party’s image, including those who carry swastika signs or obsess over the veracity of Obama’s Hawaiian birth.

Mark McKinnon, a former adviser to Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and other Republicans, said there is an “opportunity for Republicans” to tap into legitimate fears about an overreaching federal government. But he said that “right-wing nutballs are aligning themselves with these movements” and are dominating media coverage.

“It’s bad for Republicans because in the absence of any real leadership, the freaks fill the void and define the party,” McKinnon said.

And, there are plenty of freaks to worry about:

One blogger who writes regularly for Freedomworks, Ross Kaminsky of Boulder, Colo., compared Obama’s Tuesday address to U.S. schoolchildren to the tactics of Mao Zedong, Joseph Stalin, Pol Pot and other murderous dictators. “Totalitarians of all stripes put great emphasis on brainwashing the young, and Obama is no exception,” he wrote on the group’s Web site under the name “rossputin.”

At the event on Thursday, activists shouted “Liar!” at the mention of Obama’s name, just hours after GOP leaders had condemned Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) for a similar outburst during Obama’s speech to Congress the evening before. Protesters also shouted “No more czars!” — a reference to a line of conservative attack on administration appointments that has emerged from Beck’s show.

Indeed, many activists say in interviews that they look more to conservative commentators for leadership than they do elected politicians. Ryan Rhodes, a leader of the “tea party” movement in Iowa, noted that Beck and radio host Rush Limbaugh had come to the cause years ago

Welcome to the future of the Republican Party.