Look, let me clarify that I’m not trashing the Tea Party at all here. My problem is with this dependence we have on them.

Conservatives like to call in to radio shows and say “The Tea Party needs to…!” or ask “Why isn’t the Tea Party doing…?” and complaining and whining and moaning left and right about the liberals and the RINOs staying in power. The Tea Party, God bless them, gets used as an excuse for inaction. If this far away group (and I realize they’re not that “far away”) is out there doing things, you can just sit back and relax because they’ll get it done.

Look at 2010. It wasn’t just the Tea Party that won. It was all of us going out and voting because the government had gone too far. Now, look at 2012. We didn’t go out and vote because we were all told not to worry. Mitt Romney, after all, was the only guy capable of winning. We had this in the bag.

We were urged on in our complacency. And look where it got us.

There are some pretty awesome conservatives getting set up to take out the roadblocks to a better America. Where I live (Louisiana), Rob Maness is a great choice for senator against Mary Landrieu. Matt Bevin is scaring the hell out of Mitch McConnell. Other states have their champions. But it’s not enough to just be conservative and run. You need the backing of the people. It’s not the Tea Party’s responsibility, folks. It’s ours.

I’m not saying the organization is worthless. They’re not. The Tea Party is not just a group. It’s an idea we should strive to be. Yeah, we post and comment and go back and forth on here and other websites, but have you gone out to volunteer with a campaign, even for mayor? Have you stopped and supported a candidate with more than a tweet?

If you didn’t answer “yes” to any of those, this post is directed at you: Do more. 2014 is ours if we put even a little more effort than we did in 2012.