The Tea Party movement in Maine, like in any other state, is an ever evolving collection of people. It's a living organism that is learning its way as it goes. At first, many in the movement believed they had reinvented the wheel and created a new paradigm in American politics. This is clearly untrue and as with any other movement, splits, cracks and rivalries began to appear. There were those that wished to turn it into "the cranky arm" of the Republican Party, while others saw the attraction of keeping it non-partisan so that it would be attractive to all.

Any movement with a such a large amount of membership and profile is going to attract near-do-wells whose goals are not entirely in keeping with the movement's. No Tea Party activist goes a day without an idea, product or scheme under the Tea Party name being sent to them. As capitalists, we understand this is an inevitability and we understand it. The key is to see the wheat from the chaff.

Activists, many of whom have never been politically involved in their lives, are learning all the lessons that those who have been involved learned. The optimism generated by the rush of the movement's prominence does not mean one should let down one's guard or not continue with a healthy dose of cynicism. Politics is politics and some things never change.

One of these lessons is the allure of being too close to a candidate or party. One wag compared his group's experience with a candidate as now understanding how "a used condom felt." A crude, but effective way of describing how some candidates have used to the tea party movement for volunteers, donations and get out the vote only to "distance" themselves from them once they got whatever they were after politically.

Sage advice from more experienced political activists fell mostly on deaf ears for the most part. While it's tempting to say "I told you so" that line of rhetoric risks alienating the burnt activists and driving from the movement. It is far more useful to provide a consoling shoulder and look to the future. There are lots of positive things coming up in the next few months where activists can do good things for their cause while not sullying themselves with party political shenanigans.

It is vital that the Tea Party movement survive this election cycle to continue its efforts to educate and inform into the year 2012 and beyond. Growing pains exist in any political organization, especially one full of so many political neophytes. It is incumbent on the more experience tea party activists to help reassure everyone that "this too shall pass" and get on with the important things that need to be done.

Andrew Ian Dodge is the Maine Coordinator of the Tea Party Patriots. The views expressed in this guest editorial are the author's own.