Tea Party Movement Takes the Long View
But as the Republican presidential primary grinds on, Tea Party activists in battleground states say the issue is less whether they would back Mr. Romney if he wins the nomination – by and large, they say they would — as it is whether pouring their energies into winning the White House is the real priority for them now.
Since the movement propelled Republicans to control of the House in 2010, the groups trying to shape it into an enduring force have been focused on building organized grass-roots networks, training local activists and supporting new generations of candidates for local and state offices. With none of the other remaining presidential hopefuls inspiring much more passion in their ranks than Mr. Romney, Tea Party groups are focusing as much on Congress and state and local elections as on the race for the White House, potentially depriving the eventual nominee, whoever it is, of some of the energy that carried the party back to power in Congress in the midterm elections.
“This is the first presidential cycle with a Tea Party movement,” said Brendan Steinhauser, director of federal and state campaigns for FreedomWorks, the conservative group that has been working to turn Tea Party activism into a more organized force. “We understand that in 2016, there will be a better crop of candidates.”
Mr. Steinhauser said the movement had already succeeded to some degree by creating a climate in which Mr. Romney and the rest of the presidential candidates were forced to emphasize commitments to cutting government spending and moving toward a balanced budget.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/09/tea-party-movement-takes-the-long-view/
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