Tea Party Movement a Political Force?

Tonight on the Political Pistachio Radio Revolution the founder and president of the Tea Party Movement joins us to discuss how the tea party movement has gained so much steam since the inauguration of President Barack Obama. The Tea Party movement has seen a surge in popularity, accompanied by a string of candidates and officials willing to take up its cause and create a political infrastructure that's starting to mirror that of an actual political party.

The Tea Party movement began as a conservative protest calling for smaller government and lower taxes. What has evolved, however, is something that not even the early organizers expected. Various tea party groups and supporters, including FreedomWorks, are launching political action committees to back candidates financially in the 2010 elections. A Rasmussen poll recently showed that in a hypothetical election more voters would rather elect a Tea Party congressional candidate than a Republican one. And several groups are pulling together a National Tea Party Convention in early February in Nashville, Tennessee where former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is set to headline.

Is it time to move past rallies? Are Americans ready to take the next step beyond standing around holding signs?

The real question is if the tea party movement should form a new party, or try to influence the composition of the Republican Party.

The GOP is rapidly discovering that it is to their advantage to invite tea partiers into the fold, rather than run against them in general elections, as evidenced in Doug Hoffman's independent run against liberal Republican Scozzafava in New York's district 23. And if the tea party mentality enters the Republican Party, and influences the make up of the party itself, many conservatives believe that the Republican Party can indeed be returned to its conservative roots.

Dale Robertson, the guest on Political Pistachio tonight, is the founder of the modern Tea Party movement, and the President of Tea Party dot org. Dale is a family man and a retired military officer. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Washington in Political Science, and an Associate's Degree from Southwest College in Engineering. Dale Robertson is volunteering full time for the establishment of the Tea Party, and he is our guest tonight on the Political Pistachio Radio Revolution. Join us live at 7:00 PM Pacific, or catch the archive later, at BlogTalkRadio.com/PoliticalPistachio.