This post at Reality Check about the TEA Party movement asks a couple of great questions about the movement. Permit me to give a couple answers to these questions:

Unless we are able to foresee this limitation of the Tea Party movement and take concrete measures to prevent it we will see the passion and engagement of these millions of Americans frittered away until just cynicism is left.

Passion about politics is great and likely the fervor of Tea Party participants will help fuel a 2010 resurgence of Republicans in the midterm elections. But what after that? In fact, what during it?

The best way to avoid the cynicism is to get politicians understand that TEA Party activists demand accountability and fiscal restraint. The politicians I’ve talked with understand that already. In fact, it’s their identity as politicians. In fact, most are bigtime supporters of the Live Within Our Means movement.

Another way to channel the energy into a productive political force is by reminding the TEA Party faithful that there’s alot of bureaucratic crud that’s built up over the years, crud that’s going to take lots of time to undo the damage. In other words, this isn’t a one-and-done type thing. It’s important that TEA Party activists preech vigilance, persistence and making common sense arguments on the issues we care most deeply about.

Here’s an interestin observation on the TEA Party movement from the post:

Here’s the problem and, as I see it, it’s a problem that is actually sort of built right into the Tea Party movement from its inception. That would be its essentially leaderless nature.

The beauty of the TEA Party movement is that its activists don’t pledge allegiance to a group of politicians. RatherTEA Party activists pledge allegiance to the U.S. Constitution and to the liberty our Founding Fathers put their highest priority on.

Isn’t it past time that we dropped the petty Cult-Of-Personality politics and reverted back to the principles that made us the freest, most prosperous nation of the last 2 centuries?

If there are any political leaders of the TEA Party movement, they’d be Gov. Sarah Palin, Reps. Mike Pence and Michele Bachmann and Sen. Jim DeMint. Having watched Rep. Bachmann speak at the 9/12 TEA Party in St. Cloud, it’s obvious that she gets it in terms of what the TEA Party movement is about.

Rep. Bachmann understands that it’s about returning to first principles, especially respecting the Constitution and, as a result, limited government. Based on her speech, it’s apparent that she understands that it’s about accountability and being a public servant.

There’s no way I can agree with this statement:

There was no unifying single goal of the Tea Partiers and no agency or party directing them.

It’s true that the two major political parties don’t control TEA Party events because they’re bottom-up in nature. It’s totally false to say that there’s “no unifying single goal.” The single biggest goal is to return to a federalist, limited government federal government. The Obama administration’s out-of-control spending, its bailoutmania and its takeover of CM and Chrysler.

The TEA Party mocvement will continue to confound those who aren’t part of it because we’re living in a top-down, control freak political environment. The TEA Party movement is a bottom up movement, which is why it confuses people.

Technorati: Activism, TEA Parties, Grassroots, Leaders, Sarah Palin, Mike Pence, Michele Bachmann, Jim DeMint, First Principles, Constitution, Limited Government

Cross-posted at California Conservative