USA Today is reporting that Mark Meckler, the national coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots (one of the largest groups within the Tea Party movement) points out that, in the video, Schiller “candidly admits” that NPR does not need federal funding before calling NPR a “clearly biased news organization that is out of touch with Americans.”

Hey there, reader! Are you looking for the perfect Christmas gift for your patriot in training? How about the Tea Party Patriots’ coloring book featured this morning on Fox & Friends? It’s fun, educational, and will give your kids something to do during the fifth hour of speeches at the next rally you drag them to. Watch out, though! Liberal bloggers will be looking over your kids’ shoulders as they color to make sure they vary up the skin tones in the group scenes.

In a story that’s sure to draw comparisons to the New Black Panther Party member who brandished a nightstick at a Philadelphia polling place in 2008, a Tea Party group called the King Street Patriots has been accused of “1960s style” voter intimidation during the fist day of early voting in Texas. The group is being sued by the Texas Democratic Party, following the filing of 14 voter intimidation complaints with the county clerk, and another two dozen with the Texas Democratic Party chairman. How will the media, both conservative and “lamestream,” treat this story?

The strife between Republican establishment candidates and their Tea Party rivals continues as the Republican Congressional leadership warns that it may not support a complete government shutdown. To Keith Olbermann, it’s a sign that, even if they do win in November, the infighting will render the Republican Party unable to govern. To his guest, Slate blogger Dave Weigel, it’s more proof that “Tea Party candidates can do no wrong.”

Now that the Tea Party movement has done enough to build conservative careers, some on the right are ready to shut it down. Erick Erickson, editor of RedState.com and CNN contributor, wrote today that he is giving up on the movement because it is being torn apart by attention-seeking pundits and public officials. Apparently no one told Erickson that the Tea Party movement was political.

The Tea Party movement is often seen by outsiders as one big monolithic force, especially by its detractors (who occasionally use nastier words than “monolithic” to describe it). But lately, there has been a mounting civil war between two rival factions of Tea Partiers.

One big bone of contention? The GOP‘s growing involvement with the movement.