What kind of reception can Palin expect?

Sarah Palin is scheduled to speak at a Tea Party rally on Boston Common tomorrow. The Massachusetts GOP appears to be distancing itself from the event and Mrs. Palin -- neither Republican gubernatorial candidate will appear at the event and Scott Brown has declined to make the trip from Washington.

Massachusetts is not a natural home for the Tea Party. Republicans in Massachusetts inevitably and necessarily go to pains to distance themselves from the "far right" with which the Tea Party has come to be associated. Many see the Tea Party as anti-government and quasi-Libertarian despite efforts by the Tea Party to embrace both Democrats and Republicans. As a result, Bay State Republicans understandably fear being associated too closely with the Tea Party.

But the Tea Party certainly has embraced Massachusetts Republicans -- at least Scott Brown. As discussed by Fox News, Scott Brown has been heavily criticized on talk radio for not appearing at the rally, but Tea Party leaders have expressed satisfaction that he is doing his job representing them in the Senate rather than attending rallies.

The Tea Party presents something of a challenge for the GOP in Massachusetts because it has the energy and capacity to bring out voters. Brown won his seat by attracting independent voters angry about what they perceive as excess spending by the Democratic Congress. If other Republicans are hoping to win in an all-state election, they will need to win those same independent voters. And the Tea Party at least claims to carry the mantle of those same anti-spending independents.

For GOP candidates who aren't indisposed by duties in DC, there is a stark decision -- appear with the Tea Party, hope to attract independents focused on fiscal sobriety, and fear alienating the blue base, or decline the invitation and risk ceding the high road on the budget.