The establishment does not dare, at least yet, openly and systematically campaign against freedom and the rights of the individual. But it does exploit every other characteristic of a candidate that it can to create a diversion from what it is doing, and in particular it homes in on and pounces on religion repeatedly, knowing that common sense voters are turned away by it as a flaky and destructive alternative. Religion is the baggage within but unnecessary for the tea party movement. It is irrelevant to its goals, cannot be intellectually defended, and undermines the defense of freedom. Elections are not about, nor should they be about, atheism versus religion, which is supposed to irrelevant to politics and government. But the establishment will exploit it where it can, only needing to stir up enough of a controversy to turn back enough of a margin of voters and smear the entire movement.

There are no candidates consistently promoting a proper government, and they couldn't be elected if they did because the philosophy of the culture has evolved so far to statism. But it is possible for candidates to move the system back from the progressive statism we now experience in order to reform the philosophy, of the country which is all that ultimately can save us, and that will take generations. There is a lot the tea party movement can do that would help achieve that by buying time and heading off the worst from coming sooner, but not if it continues to be embarrassed by an anti-intellectual obsession with religion undermining elections, what is left of government, and a rational philosophy.

"Shrugging" for a mythical "Atlantis" will do nothing but hasten our own demise. There is nowhere to go to escape the progressively increasing statism that rules everywhere. The best you could do is find some area, most likely in this country, better than the rest in the hope of surviving longer. But any relative success, once noticed, will be the first to be attacked.