The only enduring legacy of this stimulus will be the deficit it's left us with," Rubio said. "I don't care how much money he raises -- he will never convince Florida Republicans that the stimulus package and his embrace of it, and his campaigning in favor of it -- hand in hand with the president -- was a good thing for Florida, a good thing for their children, or a good thing for our country"

Rubio is frank in his assessment of why Crist went along with the stimulus at the time: Obama was popular.

"I think he supported the stimulus package because Barack Obama was popular at the time, and I think he supported it because he didn't want to have a budget session in Tallahassee where he had to make difficult decisions -- which, quite frankly, is reflective of everything that's wrong in American politics today," Rubio said. "We have too many people that just want to be popular."

Right on the nose. That is also a big reason why I NEVER donate to the NRSC or NRCC. Those two groups pick and choose establishment candidates and fund them, even in primaries.

In 2005, the NRSC ran negative ads against Steve Laffey who ran against RINO Lincoln Chafee. Chafee got the establishment GOP support and won the primary. He still lost in the general in 2006. The NRSC spent money meant to support republicans, not fight them.

In 2009, the NRSC endorsed big spending Arlen Specter for re-election. Specter is now a democrat because the grassroots republicans had enough of him. Pat Toomey for senate. Toomey is an electable (won three times in a district that went for Gore and Kerry) conservative who can win a tough state like Pennsylvania.  

Also this year, the NRSC said they would stay out of the Florida open primary, changed their mind, and supported Charlie Crist. My response? Rubio for senate.

The NRCC isn't much better. In Arizona, they flodded a district with money in an open primary for a candidate that lost. Wasted money.

Those are reasons why I don't give money to the establishment committees. If you plan on donating, the best way to go is to individual candidates, like Rubio, Toomey, Pence, DeMint, etc. Cut out the middleman.

That leads to the Politico article today which was very interesting. Tea partiers turn on GOP leadership. I wouldn't say, "turned" on GOP leadership. Most of the tea partiers I know and talked to never liked the GOP leadership anyway. This is grass roots. These aren't followers, but they chose their own paths. If you give them a big spending republican, they will get opposed just like an Obama democrat.

"It's an outgrowth of the frustration people have had with the Republican Party," said Andrew Moylan, director of governmental affairs for the National Taxpayers Union, another group that has played a large role in organizing the tea party movement. "I think a lot of people have been angry at Republicans for betraying our trust."

"I think the GOP establishment has ignored their constituents and the feelings of their constituents for years," added Meckler.

It's an unusual predicament for the Republican Party, since the conservative-oriented issues that animate Tea Party activists once seemed destined to make the movement a valuable auxiliary to the Republican Party.

While there's little evidence of tea party activist support for Democratic candidates, the specific notion of electing a GOP majority hasn't ranked high on their agenda either.

Trust has to be re-earned. This was the major damage done to the GOP after Gingrich and Armey left, and after the arrival of President Bush.

One of those activists, Canyon Clowdus, an Army veteran who is taking on third term conservative Rep. Michael Conaway (R-Texas), has blasted the incumbent for making "a horrible mistake" in voting for Troubled Asset Relief Program.

"He has put a financial burden on my four children that will amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars each," Clowdus says of Conaway on his campaign website.

"I think it was a bad, bad political decision," Armey said of the 34 Senate Republicans and 91 House Republicans who voted for the TARP bailout, "and if you talk to grassroots activists, it has become a political test for them."

Moylan agreed that TARP is "really kind of the flash point that started all of this."

The bailout, supported and OWNED by Obama, Bush, and McCain. The stimulus package. Cap and trade. One after another. ALL of it is bad. Pete Hoekstra has mostly a good record, but he voted for the bailout the second time it was in the house. I can't get past that, and it cost him a chance at my primary vote (I'm supporting Mike Cox) for governor. Hoekstra's a good guy, but on fiscal issues that are tough decisions, I now have big doubts about his ability to handle pressure.  

More:

For some, supporting insurgent campaigns or waging primary bids just isn't a strong enough signal to send to a Republican Party that has abandoned core conservative policies.

Erick Erickson, founder and editor of the influential conservative blog RedState, has urged Tea Party activists to "put down the protest signs" and stage takeovers of local Republican parties.

"Grassroots activists need to start infiltrating the party," said Erickson. "The only way to start getting [the establishment] back is to start pounding them with every fist we have."

While I'm more judicious with the fists and pound them when I must, I don't believe in fighting blind. Know the rules of the game and use them to your advantage. I agree with the general premise, which goes to Rubio's comment about getting a new establishment.

In Michigan, our GOP committees are elected. It starts with precinct delegates. There are also usually more openings than spots filled for this position. That is an elected position in the August primary election. I've run for the position, and won every single time without even running a campaign. The primary job of the precinct delegates is to seat people at the state convention and elect people to the county executive committee. It's relatively easy, at least here, to seat people at state convention. I've been a state delegate every time I wanted to be. State delegates vote on district committee (where I currently serve), state committee, state chair/vice chairs, RNC committeeman, and candidates for some offices on the November ballot, including Attorney General, Supreme Court, and Secretary of State. It's a big deal. Those are the rules of the game, and also remember this. Washington establishment is the big problem. Many, many, mid and low level establishment figures in the GOP away from Washington are good friends of fiscal conservatism. Not everyone in the party is a RINO.