The NPR put together a very fair and balanced radio story on the tea party movement, covering specifically the Manassas Tea Party. It emphasizes that the tea party isn’t just about fiscal responsibility, but the importance of our focus on the Constitution as well.

The Tea Parties started as an anti-big government, anti-tax movement — T-E-A stands for “Taxed enough already?” But Tea Partiers have another pressing concern — an obsession, really — the United States Constitution.

Along with the “Don’t tread on me” flags and the George Washington impersonators, the Constitution is ubiquitous at Tea Party events, whether it’s reproductions of the original parchment or pocket-sized copies.

The NPR story goes on to discuss why it is to the advantage and importance of the Tea Party to continue their focus on the Constitution:

the Tea Party is giving a big grass-roots boost to the elite conservative legal movement, whose views of the Constitution are already well-represented on the Supreme Court.”Right now, four and probably five of the justices are much more sympathetic to the Tea Party view of the Constitution than they are to the Obama administration view,” he says.

With more than 20 states currently pursuing legal challenges to the new law requiring individuals to have health insurance, the Tea Party views on that issue will eventually have their day in the highest court. But until then, the Virginia Tea Party Patriots and others like them will keep pushing their case in the court of public opinion.

You can listen to the 5 minute radio spot here. And yes…that is my bellowing you hear opening the piece: