If the objective is to form a political party, give it a different name, separate it, and let people meet in both places.
Why? Because forming the TEA party movement into a political party will do the following:
It will allow that party to be villified by the actions of a few, stifling the entire movement with more of that we seek to avoid in the first place.
There will inevitably be points of disagreement which will break the TEA party groups down, and eliminate the effectiveness of having people who largely agree on the issues work independently in concert to achieve objectives.
It will effectively 'Perot' the GOP and Conservative vote, allowing the real enemies of the Republic a pass to get back into office.
By forming a separate political party, the group would be easily marginalized in the press, it's candidates branded 'unelectable', and any influence brought to bear on the GOP marginalized by being a separate organization and not prospective GOP voters.
Very well said and I agaree with you completely! All excellent reasons why the Tea Party movements needs to remain local to have an influence on elections in the Congressional Districts and Senate races not to mention the local State Legislature and statewide offices.