After careful consideration, the Steering Committee of the Dallas Tea Party has made two monumental decisions.

FIRST, effective as of today, The Dallas Tea Party will be vetting and openly endorsing candidates for public office at all levels.

We did not come to this decision lightly.  We have considered all points of view, and have given them all due consideration.  On balance, it is our unanimous decision that the voters should no longer be left to find their own way without our reasoned guidance and direction.  From now on, we will be giving voters the direction they need to make the right decisions at the polls.  The stakes are simply too high to risk the chance that voters may make the wrong decisions.

SECOND, it is with great pleasure and pride that we announce Dallas Tea Party's very first endorsement.

This man has been a Senate leader for many years.

He has been in the middle of every key floor battle, standing on his principles.

Whether it was the Senate battle over 'comprehensive immigration reform,' the fight over cap and trade, or any of the other key battles on the Senate floor, the people of South Carolina have had a staunch and unwavering advocate in Washington.

It may be comforting to assume that Barack Obama will be easy to defeat in 2012, but this is by no means certain,  The right candidate to take on Barack Obama will need rock-solid principles and an ability to connect to Americans on fundamentals.  The difference between the right candidate and the wrong one may very well mean the difference between victory and defeat.

On one level, the decision of the right presidential candidate was a tough decision.  On another level, it wasn't that tough at all.

There's a saying, 'when you've hacked off everybody equally, you've probably done it about right.'

On that score, the Senator from South Carolina has done it about perfectly.

In contrast to our current Commander-in-Chief, he rarely, if ever, shrinks from a fight.

He's been a staunch critic of 'birthright citizenship.'

He is a solid defender of the Second Amendment, rated 'A' by the National Rifle Association.

He's been willing to "throw out the playbook" when it comes to getting Republican judicial nominees confirmed.

He has shown himself capable of building effective coalitions and leading the charge for construcive change.

For these reasons and many more, we hereby formally endorse, for President of the United States, the senior Senator from South Carolina...