(Above: MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” team discusses Bradley Byrne’s victory in AL-01)

Members of the national media have said for weeks that the outcome of the Republican runoff in Alabama’s first congressional district should serve as an indication of whether the GOP is moving away from so-called tea party candidates and toward so-called establishment Republicans.

Whether or not that’s true, MSNBC “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough said Wednesday that he saw Byrne’s victory as an important win for the GOP establishment.

“I tell you, it is an extraordinarily conservative district,” Scarborough said of AL-01. “This sends an important message to Republicans in the House of Representatives. You can be conservative. We want you to be conservative. Bradley Byrne is conservative. But I tell you… what will scare these House members? …When business money starts moving away from crazy candidates and starts going for establishment candidates who are — hold on friends — pro-life, pro-family as defined by conservative Republican Party, for tax cuts, for deregulation, but also are pro-business and are going to keep it in the middle of the road when it comes down to working to get things done… I think Republicans owe the Chamber of Commerce, Joe Ricketts and other people that went in there strong and hard … and the NRA, they owe them a big debt of gratitude because Bradley Byrne is going to be a great member of Congress. You know, people down in Alabama were telling me [Dean Young] would have made Michele Bachmann seem like a Minnesota liberal.”

Long-time political commentator and Bloomberg columnist Al Hunt saw the outcome much differently.

“I think the celebration is premature,” Hunt said. “This was a perfect storm, if you will for that side. This guy Byrne… was running against a guy who — how should I put it charitably — was bonkers and really, really was crazy. The money poured in galore. Everything was in his favor and he won by four points. I don’t find that terribly convincing.”

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