Personally, I’d prefer to see the Tea Party remain a mostly fiscally conservative, small government group. I think that is something a lot, if not most, Americans can agree on. I think the other issues will be pulled along by the coattails of this movement.
Agreed. IMHO, the ONLY thing that will change the direction of the country is if the electorate becomes more engaged. As you probably know, roughly half of eligible voters in the country don't even make the effort to vote. I submit MOST of them are conservative, even if they don't realize it. What would get them to the polls? Somehow getting the primary powers back to state and local governments would go a long way in making that happen I suspect.
To be sure, the TEA Party groups, if they are to remain a force, will have to resist the natural urge to splinter via single issue politics and continue to coalesce around the larger goal of reining in the federales.