The Tea Party political movement is the best thing that has happened in American politics in my lifetime.  For the first time in my life, I found myself swept into a political uprising — called the Tea Party — with passionate focus and desperate determination  — an exhilarating and formidable combination of forces that can only be summoned when one is feeling fully backed into a corner.

Like most of those who would identify themselves as a Tea Party member, in my search for answers, I had to face my role in contributing to the mess our nation is in.  Primarily, I took our freedom and blessings for granted and failed to supervise and hold accountable our public servants. With a gnawing guilt in the back of my mind, I realized that before I could hold any of them accountable, I needed to go back to the basics and really study our founding documents.  And the more I studied, the madder I got.

Evil forces have always loved power.  And while most Americans were going about their lives taking advantage of the privileges and opportunities that abound in America, evil forces have been manipulating, lying, conniving and abusing our system of governance after finagling their way into public office.  The more we allowed it, the more they did it — with impunity.  Both parties.  Democrats and Republicans.  Indeed, more than once, when reading the federalist and anti-federalist papers, the reasoning our founders used to craft our founding documents mirrored my thinking today when considering how to go about restoring what we have lost and making our nation great again.

Some foolishly think the Tea Party has disappeared.  That it was nothing more than a temporary flash in the pan.  Nothing more than a way for frustrated Americans to ventilate their grievances and move on.  But they are so wrong.  The Tea Party has been awakened and recognizes what’s at stake if we fail to stay involved for the long game.  And we are still mad.  Really mad.

We’re like a silent army now.  We don’t need accolades, public recognition or pats on the back. Most of us aren’t paid for our labor.  And now we are better armed.  Millions of others have done exactly the same thing I did and enrolled themselves in crash courses to renew their understanding of the Constitution.  Millions now understand that the Constitution will be the road map back to sanity and we are not discouraged by the setbacks and seemingly slow progress we are making.

If I had to say where I think we are in terms of winning this war, I would wager that we may be about a fourth to a half of the way there.

I’m looking forward to the election next week.  It is one of the most substantive ways we measure our progress.

But no matter the outcome Tuesday, the Tea Party is here to stay. We will continue to get stronger, win more elections and go about restoring this nation.  We recognize that our efforts must expand beyond the political realm to include other spheres of influence in the culture — including the media, public schools and entertainment industry.  And we’re in it for the long haul — for our children and our children’s children’s sake.

So don’t be fooled by the pundits who think we have gone away.  We’re still here.  And we’re here to stay until we win — because America is worth it.