To anyone who considers her/himself a tea partier:
As I understand it, the central point of your campaign is to reduce the size and influence of government (federal at least, and possibly all other levels). If so, you might want to consider your positions on the following points, to see if they are consistent with that central point:
Do you want an actively enforced physical barrier along the entire border between the United States and Mexico?
Do you want laws at all levels, and their active enforcement, to prevent abortion completely?
Do you endorse the concept and execution of extraterritorial regime change, to serve a perceived U.S. national interest?
If you answered an unqualified "yes" to any of these, I suggest that you may actually desire larger and more influential government. A consistent, libertarian stance, similar to that of Ron Paul, would work fine for a tea partier. Embracing red-meat reactionary causes would make a tea partier a hypocrite.
As appealing as libertarianism may be to me in the abstract, what I know about myself and about people in general leads me sadly away from it. I'm reminded of Steve Largent, a spectacular wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks who later became a far-right but well-meaning House member from Oklahoma. He declared that individuals were better judges of how to spend their money than government is, either dismissing or ignoring the fact that thousands of people routinely carry five-figure credit card debt and have no means to make good on it. Largent eventually became very disillusioned with the Republican Party leadership, which has lately been more eager to concentrate power in the Executive Branch than the Democrats have been (line-item veto, etc.). In the end, it doesn't matter what philosophy you take with you to Washington, the power seduces you. Even tea partiers who, like Largent, could resist the seduction, wouldn't be able to do anything about its effect on others. We may have to accept that government is big, and aim to make it accountable.
Sincere tea partiers should also be wary of being used. I doubt very much that anyone throwing around huge loads of money to stage a convention in Opryland and bring in prospective candidates for the nation's highest office wants government to be small.