The Tea Party has succeeded in marginalizing one of its own. In doing so, however, it may have created a bigger headache for itself--or at least its favored candidates.

First, why did I phrase it as having “succeeded?”  Because in reality, this was a move that was just waiting for the right excuse, and Mark Williams handed it to his adversaries.  Here’s what I’m referring to:

Over the weekend, you probably saw the dust-up over comments made by Williams of the Tea Party Express. Because he used the word “coloreds” in what was supposed to be a satirical essay, the rest of the tea party groups in the rather vague “Tea Party Federation” expelled both Williams and his group, the Tea Party Express.

A purely ideological move? Maybe.

A wise move by the tea parties? Also unclear.

First, understand the back-story. Over a year ago, the biggest tea party group on the landscape seemed to be the Tea Party Patriots (TPP), but a power struggle within its ranks caused a splinter group to form around Mark Williams, who managed to convince a few former TPP leaders to join him. This new group became the Tea Party Express (TPE).

Having spoken with a number of the inside players at the time and since, it’s clear that a fair amount of both animosity and jealousy have remained—and likely  helped fuel this weekend’s move.

Understanding the history of these two leading tea party groups, it’s clear where the animosity stems from, but the jealousy? Simple: after it formed, Williams' Tea Party Express proved much more skilled at fundraising, and it turned itself into a financial juggernaut virtually overnight. How powerful? Check this out: the group’s “Our Country Deserves Better PAC” has raised nearly $5 million in the 2010 cycle (WHOA!), putting it in a league of its own in terms of fundraising and, I’m told, in the collection of valuable member email addresses.

Other tea party “leaders” who would like to find a way to earn a living from their political efforts still seem to be searching for the golden goose the Tea Party Express found early on and continues to exploit.

So, was the expulsion of Williams purely about purging “racists” from its ranks? Even prior to his “coloreds” post Williams had said some cringe-worthy things, so for quite a while there were those tea partiers who were concerned about his acting as some sort of spokesperson for the group. Fair enough. But there’s a difference between having a loose mouth, as Williams no doubt does, and being a racist (true bigots are rare, in my opinion).

So here’s the problem that will linger from Williams’ expulsion: by condemning one of their own as racist, the other tea party groups have now also tacitly given credibility to the charge that these groups are made up of a bunch of racists.  Or, at a minimum, that label has now been firmly planted on the rest of the good people who consider themselves part of the Tea Party Express.

Don’t think so?

Just look at how one Democrat—the lone Democrat to have earned a Tea Party Express endorsement—has seized on the opportunity to reject the group: Minnick Rejects Tea Party Endorsement

Ahhhh, that dreaded law of unintended consequences.

So now, what do Sharron Angle, Marco Rubio and other TPE-endorsed candidates supposed to do now? They’ll certainly face calls from the Left to do what Minnick did and repudiate the entire Tea Party Express. Not a fun dance for these candidates, who are also preferred by countless other tea party groups around the country.

One wonders whether the other large tea party groups much care, though. After all, so badly damaging a competing group might have been in their own best (financial) interests.

There might be a reason to question the TPE (more on that here at Red County tomorrow), but those remarks from Williams were not it. Understanding the history, and knowing about the behind-the-scenes power struggle for the hearts (and dollars) of tea party members nationwide, though, it’s easy to understand why the reaction from competing tea party groups was so swift.

Politics. Everywhere politics.