Lesson From Indiana

The "old guard" GOP is trumpeting its win in Indiana in the primary. Hopefully, we will learn some lessons here, and from the results in Florida.

1. We must generate universal excitement for the principles motivating the Tea Party movement.

2. The insistence on being non-partisan and non-endorsing leaves many non-Tea Party voters (and Tea Party supporters, too) wondering why we exist if we can't take a stand, and opens the door for the "old guard" to take control. If nothing else, the "old guard" are good politicians and good at co-opting under the guise of who has the best chance of winning, and who is "not as bad" as the other guy. We must stop wagging our tails when an "old guard" politician finally reaches down and pats us on the head; instead, we must keep our teeth bared. If we start thinking like a pretty, 25 year-old woman who knows a line when she hears one, we'll be in good shape.

3. The academic approach being encouraged by some Tea Party branches is boring. Leave that to the League of Women Voters and the 912ers, they are good at it and God bless 'em for it. The Tea Party was born to be a POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE, not educators.

4. Individual tangents promoted through Tea Party communications enhance the "kook" label to our movement. Our goal is to elect Conservative candidates to represent us in government.

Please think about this. When a Tea Party group decides not to become a PAC, it remains powerless, which is exactly what the "old guard" GOP and the Democrats want: We remain nothing more than an audience and a tool for others rather than a driving force.

Also, we must watch out for infiltrators by paying attention to the affiliations and associates of newcomers. Because we are beginning to gain political power, it pays to be a little paranoid.

Unless, of course, the parnoids are after you. Come on, smile with me. Together we can do amazing things.