Early on in the movement, I crossed Tea Party Patriots off my list of organizations that I, as a Tea Partier could support. Why you ask? In large part, because Newt Gingrich was one of their spokesmen. I thought it a bad joke to hear Sean Hannity say so many times, "We have to hold the feet of newly elected Republican congressmen to the fire, and now, here to talk about that, is NEWT GINGRICH??????? (Emphasis added.) Newt is one of the more spectacular liars and hypocrites of our time. He pretends to be conservative, yet has little appreciation for the constitution, limited government, and invidual freedom. Newt lionizes FDR, thinks government should be involved in our economy, promoted useless "national greatness" public works projects, and got rich as a lobbyist. NOPE, not my kind of Republican. But given all that it came as no surprise when in a recent straw poll, TPP members gave Newt and Romney more than 51% of votes. In my opinion, only those who are ignorant, or firmly in support of a corrupt establishment could vote that way. Note that Romney is called "Flipper," and not without cause. He has virtually been on all sides of every issue. It boggles my mind that those wanting real change, could ever support him. Moreover, how would one know what policies he will implement as president, since he seems to have little by way of a political compass?

And then there is Americans for Prosperity. I was suspicious of AFP from the beginning. AFP threw around mega bucks holding and promoting "Tea Party" events. When the attempt to unite various Tea Party groups in Wisconsin was initiated, I both asked, and was asked by a number of others, what our thoughts on AFP were. I soon determined that not only I but about 1/3 of the others were suspicious of AFP, and thought them shills for the establishment. 1/3 was not sure, or had no thoughts one way or the other, and 1/3 of participants were quite comfortable with the Republican Bush/cheney establishment types. It is my opinion that roughly those percentages hold true today. And when I got communications from AFP, my suspicions were confirmed, as they forwarded a lot of opinion pieces in support of the Neocon, big government, pro-war agenda, Pro PATRIOT AcT, and therefore anti-liberty, anti-constitution agenda.

AFP and its head, Mark Block obviously had picked a horse in the presidential race, that being Herman Cain. While I like Herman's speaking abilty, and admire his success, there were serious issues that kept me from supporting him. First, he supported TARP/the bankster bailout, Second, he did not believe the FED needed auditing, and indeed was Chairman of the Kansas City Federal Reserve. Third, he had supported Big government insider candidate Mitt "Flipper" Romney in 2008, and fourth, there was Mark Block as his campaign manager, a shill for the establishment if ever there was one. Block was the one who invited Big Government Tommy Thompson to the Madison 2010 Tea Party event, an act which deeply split the movement. (I myself was quoted on Madison TV Channel 3000.com as saying "When I heard that, I felt like I got kicked in the gut. Tommy Thompson is JUST AS MUCH the reason I am here as any Democrat.")

Now comes this from an article in Vision to American today:
"Gingrich seems to be losing some of his traction with Tea Party-supporters to Santorum – a social-values conservative from Pennsylvania."
If Rick Santorum can be considered "Tea Party" in any way, I will eat my hat. Listen to the clip played recently on Freedom Watch, with Judge Napolitano. In it, Santorum in his own words, states that he opposes the idea that government should be limited and small, opposes the idea that taxes and regulations should be less, and does not believe the government should leave us alone. INCREDIBLE!! He just went against every one of the reasons I got involved with the movement in the first place. The fact that he has the support he has among Republicans in general, but especially among those who consider themselves "Tea Party" means only one of a very few things. Either Republicans and Tea Partiers are not very informed, not very discerning, and if we are to believe previous polls, they are also very fickle, or they are misguided about the original goals of the movement. It could also mean that, like a push poll, these articles are intended to push the electorate in a desired direction, and that the only basis for the article and the underlying polls are to support the biases of those who fancy themselves as opinion shapers.

To be sure, at present I identify with the Republican party, but in my mind, the Tea Party and the Republican Party are not, and unless and until the Republican Party is significantly reformed, should not be synonymous. Thank goodness though, there is ONE candidate that I held my own Tea Party event in honor of. Thank God there is ONE candidate who believes in the constitution, limited government, fiscal responsibility, and individual Liberty. Thank God there is ONE candidate whose voting record supports his rhetoric, ONE candidate that the Tea Party, if they mean anything at all, should unite behind. Yes, the one who is least mentioned by the media, unless it is to demean and discredit him through distortions and lies.