Well, okay: for position in Washington, DC.
While the newcomers will be keeping an eye on the establishment, the tea partiers who elected them will be keeping an eye on them.
A handful of national groups, including FreedomWorks and the Tea Party Patriots, plan to pay close attention to the way the new Congress, and its newest members, vote. Those who don't follow the principles of limited government and low taxes risk primary challenges in subsequent elections, organizers said.
In the Senate, the tea party's influence is likely to be more muted. Although all six Republican newcomers there received some measure of backing from tea party groups, two of the movement's prominent stars - Sharron Angle in Nevada and Christine O'Donnell of Delaware - did not win Tuesday. A third, Joe Miller of Alaska, appeared headed to defeat against write-in candidate and GOP incumbent Lisa Murkowski.
The tension between outsider and insider was evident at [Senator-elect Rand] Paul's victory party in Bowling Green. Viewing the scene from the stage at the front of the room, it could have been any GOP gig, in any election year: a dark-suited pol telling dark-suited supporters that he would return to Washington to address "the serious issues that face America."
In the back of the room, sipping drinks and keeping mostly to themselves, were some of the tea party activists who'd done a lot of the work to elect the new senator. A couple of them wore the "Don't Tread on Me" T-shirts that are de rigueur at tea party rallies. One arrived in a shirt emblazoned with an American flag. They strained to hear one another above the loud music. They did not fit in. Which was precisely the point. ...WaPo
