The dozens of Tea Party groups I have spoken to over the past 4 years have steadily shrunk. Some have gone completely out of business. There are many reasons: average age of members and complete absence of under 40s was sure to winnow the movement. Disillusion with the 2010 crop of legislators and senators in the failed government shutdown alienated some conservatives while driving off the few independents who wanted reps to “cross the aisle”. Some, like our county GOP, saw a Tea Party coup (good) but the guys we put in, while ideologically pure, were 100% incompetent. That set us back years-—all that tryst wasted.
Pay serious attention to what LS said.
I know nothing about his local political situation, but I do know quite a bit about what happens when people who say the right things and believe the right things don't have enough basic competence and acquired experience to actually run things right.
The liberals value experience in government. Those of us who are conservatives and know the business world understand the value of “time in the chair,” and learning how things work.
For some reason some conservatives think putting inexperienced and unqualified people in political positions will work better than putting inexperienced and unqualified people in jobs in private business.
Competence counts. So does experience.
Obviously a highly competent and experienced person who wants do bad things is dangerous. But getting somebody who wants to do the right things but doesn't know how to do them isn't helpful, either, and can sometimes actually be harmful if it causes voters to turn against conservative candidates.