You say these people are "imposters" yet time and time again the Tea Partiers INVITE these people.
Cyrylek demonstrates perfectly why I think that the Tea Party movement, and the general sentiment from it that's permeated a large portion of the base, is one that is very well suited to work excellently as part of a regional focused electoral strategy but fails as you move to more of a federal one.
This is why I've suggested for some time that the Tea Party will have it's most success in the House, have a more difficult time in the senate, and would be hard pressed to garner anywhere near the same level of support and fervor for a Presidential election.
The movement builds off the notion of a unifying "foundation" that is closely tied with traditional notions of Fiscal and Governmental conservatism...low taxes, empower business, control spending, restrain and clean up government, etc.
This is a baseline foundation that amongst the "big tent" of conservatives you'll generally find every disparate group will support to a certain degree. Libertarians, Constitutionalists, Reagan-Democrats, the Religious Right, Fiscally Conservative Hawks, Paleoconservatives, even Neo-Conservatives to a point could all get behind this general message.
However, the issue is that elections and platforms don't just focus on Fiscal and Governmental issues. There are other issues that must be talked about and addressed and stances must be taken. Additionally, there is a measure of balance...how much focus one facet gets over another, and when those two facets conflict which one is weighted heavier.
The beauty of the Tea Party movement in terms of motivating a conservative base in regional situations is that you can take this unifying foundation...and then you build upon it for that region. A "Tea Party" politician in rural Alabama is likely supplementing that foundation with strong "traditional" Social Conservatism and allowing that to override some of the governmental tennats of the tea party when it conflicts where as one in Vermont is likely very socially liberal, being open to things like removal of drug laws and gay marriage. A candidate in Hampton Roads VA may be a bit of a Hawk and have no issue spending money on the Military as part of the core jobs of the government, while one in California may be advocating for the reduction of the Military Industrial Complex to cut the debt.
When they get to congress they may class on some of those exterior things, but the thought process would be that in terms of the Tea Parties foundational message that they'd have a unifying voice. And by and large, in the House, that's what's happened.
The problem is that as you expand from regional to state and from state to federal, those "add-ons" become more tricky. Especially at the Federal Level. A Vermont Tea Partier probably saw Ron Paul as their perfect candidate and what a "true" tea partier should be because his "add-ons" are more in line. An Alabama tea partier probably said Michelle Bachman while a guy in Hampton Roads went with Herman Cain and the Californian went with Huntsman ... and all think THEIR guy is the REAL tea partier.
Why?
Because they mistakenly assume that their regional "add-ons" that are important to them...but are entirely non-existant within the foundational message of the tea party...is what makes a "REAL" tea partier.
That's why I think this fight is going to be so fascinating from a political science stand point. I actually think the Tea Party mentality, even if it breaks down from an actual "named" movement, is one that I believe can continue to have long standing success within the House of Representatives. What will be interesting is to see how it continues within the Senate, which has been a mixed bag. The biggest question however is going to be whether or not a charismatic candidate can emerge for the Presidency that can bring with him a right mixture of those "add-ons" that satisfies the desires of, and doesn't turn off, enough of the movement on a national level to keep the fervor and support at the necessary level to reach success. That's the big question.