Look out establishment: It's not just tea partiers

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Heads up, tea partiers. You're not the only angry outsiders making waves.

In state after state, voters are taking out their frustrations on the political establishment - and no place reflects the depth and diversity of their ire better than Arkansas. Unions, corporate interests and insurgent candidates all are hoping to ride high here on the mad-as-heck tide.

In the home state of former President Bill Clinton, as elsewhere, party leaders and structures are being bypassed - undermined, in some cases - by free-agent candidates who declare their independence from the establishment, even as they align themselves with special interests.

"This is an election like no other," says Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, a union-backed candidate who has forced Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln into a June 8 runoff. "The game is changing."

He should know.

Halter defied Arkansas' wait-your-turn tradition and jumped into the primary against Lincoln, a 16-year veteran of Congress who is backed by President Barack Obama, Clinton and much of the state's political establishment. That left Halter with one ally inside the Democratic family (and, even then, from outside Arkansas): organized labor.

Looking to punish Lincoln for her less-than-perfect labor record - and put other moderate Democrats on notice - unions pumped a staggering $5 million into a campaign against her.

While prohibited by law from coordinating with Halter, unions bought anti-Lincoln ads and used mail and phone banks to boost his candidacy. Labor officials suggest they may spend an additional $5 million on the runoff.

Both Halter and labor are taking advantage of Lincoln's greatest disadvantage: incumbency.

"Fed up with Washington getting nothing done?" reads Halter's ubiquitous campaign flier. "Then check out Bill Halter for U.S. Senate."

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees is airing a television ad that criticizes the senator for moving her family to suburban Washington. Tellingly, they are not centering their campaign on union issues; Arkansas has an anti-labor tradition.

"Blanche Lincoln packed up and left us years ago," says the announcer hired by the Washington-based union. "Maybe it's time for Arkansas to send her packing - for good."

The message may resonate with growing numbers of voters who despise Washington.

"You know what? I think Blanche is very qualified and seems like a decent person. Heck, I like her," says Katherine Nance, a retiree from Marble Falls, Ark. "But she's run her course."

Nance fidgets with a Halter flier at a Little Rock buffet while watching the lieutenant governor move in quick steps between tables piled high with fried meats and potatoes.

"Bill Halter. Appreciate your vote," the candidate repeats before a restaurant manager tells him soliciting is not allowed.

With a smile and a nod to Halter, a man known at the state Capitol for his Clinton-size ambitions and go-it-alone political style, Nance says, "It's time for Blanche to go."

In other states, two longtime Senate incumbents have fallen - Republican Bob Bennett of Utah and Republican-turned-Democrat Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. In Kentucky, a tea party favorite, Rand Paul, knocked out the GOP establishment candidate, Secretary of State Trey Grayson, in the GOP Senate primary.

In several states, tea party candidates also enjoy the backing of conservative special interest groups, raising a question posed in Arkansas about Halter and the unions: After Election Day, who will be beholden to whom? And what are the long-term implications for the political system?

Finance overhaul is being used as re-election tool‘Kick-Ass’: What Happened At The Box Office?