John and Lisa, Sittin’ in a Tree . . .

. . . K-I-S-S-I-N-G!

That’s a link to a June 2009 article pointing out that the downfall of Nevada’s John Ensign resulted in the ascent of South Dakota Sen. John Thune and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowksi in the GOP hierarchy.

A little birdie — my, how these birdies love to sing! — points out that this seeming coincidence might help answer a question we asked last week: Which Senators Are Protecting Backstabber Lisa Murkowski?

It also seems that others have begun to notice that Thune doesn’t much care for his conservative colleagues:

The other day, Thune went on record dinging Jim DeMint for helping conservatives get elected. Thune also sided with Lisa Murkowski on her keeping her Senate seat.

So here we have two new data points in a scatter-chart, and we are beginning to see a pattern that doesn’t seem purely coincidental. Who is the Palpatine who dreams of exchanging the dignity of a senator for imperial power?

Stay tuned . . .

UPDATE: No one has ever accused Dan Riehl of trying to get a gold star for “Plays Well With Others.”

UPDATE II: Brandon Kiser doesn’t get it:

And it’s not like Thune doesn’t support the tea party Republican candidates across the map. I think it would be fair to say he supports Rand Paul, Ken Buck, Sharon Angle, Christine O’Donnell, Marco Rubio, et al. So what’s the problem?

Well, Brandon, the problem is, this ain’t just about John Thune, OK? Let me ask you to consider what happened in some GOP primaries this year, including some that aren’t on your list. Some people got a wake-up call from the Tea Party movement and some people — including senators who weren’t up for re-election this year — just hit the snooze alarm.

If you’re on the Thune 2012 presidential bandwagon, maybe you need to tell Johnny that he should be smarter about his choice of friends.

My hunch? That particular bandwagon’s heading for a ditch.