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It is my belief that third parties are largley ineffective. Our strategy this cycle was a hostile takeover of the Republican Party, which began in the primary season. We have to continue to beat the Republicans, as well as the Democrats, if we want to see real reform in Washington.

I think what you're seeing is just the first step. We made a concerted effort to enter races that the Republican establishment in previous cycles would have conceded to Democrats, places like, WA, CA, and WI, and put up a solid fight - even winning in some cases. The goal is to engage people and continue to build a solid grassroots machine that will continue to push back against massive spending and government overreach. I think we accomplished that yesterday.

There needs to be an honest debate about across the board spending cuts. The incoming class will do well to remember why they were elected yesterday. This new class has closer ties to the the people that elected them, and will be held much more accountable than current elected officials. I think that is a gamechanger, and is something that will directly impact what we see out of Washington.

People are ready for an honest discussion about what needs to be cut. We would be willing to put up across the board cuts, with everything on the chopping block. Depending on which Tea Party group you talk to, they will certainly have different ideas about what should be cut. The beauty, and one of the huge wins yesterday, is the strength on the local level, and the focus on empowering local governments to make the choices that are best for their people.

Before we get to 2012, we have to get to 2011 and the legislative agenda. How President Obama reacts to yesterday's Tea Party mandate will impact how we move forward, and how we will approach 2012. From here, we need to work on repealing and replacing Obamacare and continuing to guard against out of control spending and tax increases.

Yes.

Your viewpoint is predicated upon the idea that this has to be a sausage factory. A lack of political experience in DC is not necessarily a bad thing - we need to focus on policy over politics.

The strength of the movement is the focus on fiscal issues, which tend to be a uniting factor among a vast majority of Americans, especially given the current economic climate. Social issues have distracted and proven divisive in close races - like Ken Buck in Colorado.

If the left wants to criticize us for not getting into specifics on spending cuts, will they agree not to demagogue on social security and scaring old people when we do?

You can't really make an argument that the establishment in Washington, DC  is pro-freedom. They just took over health care, car companies, banks and are working on literally regulating the air we breathe (C02). It's appropriate for a reform group like our to embrace the idea that freedom works, because we believe that it does.

There are still too many numbers coming in to answer that accurately. However, there are, as of right now, 67 signers of the Contract from America and 10 more that are too close to call. The Contract focuses heavily on the issues that are at the core of the Tea Party movement, and this is a referendum on the success of those ideas.

Under various reform plans, benefits for current retirees do not change. The issue is what happens to future generations that are dealing with a failing system. A politician who says he's going to protect a system which is bankrupt to win your vote isn't compassion - it is a continuation of the reckless spending policies that have gotten us where we are today.

In short, it's bottom up rather than top town. Today's movement was triggered in response to Bush era policy. The Tea Party movement has taken on establishment Republicans across the country and is truly representative of the average American, who simply wants their government to exercise the same restraint that they are being forced to exercise. If you look at the candidates that won last night, you'll quickly realize that it isn't about race or gender. Tim Scott, Allen West, Marco Rubio, and Nikki Haley are all strongly backed by the Tea Party, and are solid fiscally conservative champions that we are thrilled to support.

That is just inaccurate. For example, Mike Lee, Rand Paul, and Marco Rubio all took on the GOP backed candidate in the primary and handily won the general. What you have to remember is that this movement is based on ideas, and not politicians or short term electoral victories.