When Tea Party activists joined forces with the Good Ole Party, they thought they were on to something. With the wind at their backs, and God on their side, together with the newly reinvigorated Republican Party, world domination was inevitable.

No taxes! Complete separation of the state and federal government! No assistance for citizens during the worst economy since the Great Depression! They were finally "taking their country back."

Now it's the morning after, and the capitalist love has left the building. It seems as if the "Bridge To Nowhere" is falling down.

GOP Senator Jim DeMint (SC) said Tuesday he'll force a showdown next week with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY) and other old guard Republicans over "earmarked" pet projects that DeMint and other victors last week made a symbol of out-of-control deficit spending.

"Americans want Congress to shut down the earmark favor factory, and next week I believe House and Senate Republicans will unite to stop pork barrel spending," DeMint said.

Not so fast, Senator.

McConnell, in a speech to the Heritage Foundation, said giving up earmarks would provide a "blank check" to President Barack Obama because his administration would determine exclusively where money for popular programs would go. He also waxed poetic about the evils of the executive branch (code word for President Obama) with Rush Limbaugh:

"Every president would like for us to appropriate all the money and send it to them and let 'em spend it any way they want to. The earmark issue is about discretion, about an argument between the executive branch and the legislative branch over how funds should be spent. The stimulus bill that passed last year, the almost trillion-dollar stimulus bill, was riddled with executive branch earmarks."

And the bandwagon keeps rolling:

"The only winner in this thing would be Obama, and I'm just not going to cede our authority to Obama," said Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla. "I can't think of anything worse than to have all these great tea party people who I worked so hard to get elected come in and cede their power and authority to the president."

In other words Tea Drinkers, the answer is, "No."

But DeMint isn't giving up so easily. With the support of various freshmen senators, he called McConnell on his hypocrisy when also speaking with Limbaugh:

"Mitch McConnell has voted twice for an earmark ban that I've proposed in the Senate. Just about every Republican who was running for the Senate this time ran on a no-earmark pledge and we've had a vote where over half of our conference had voted for the ban before. Tom Coburn and I are leading the effort for this earmark ban, and we know John Boehner has committed to it in the House. We're not gonna have earmarks, so it's really silly for some senior Republicans in the Senate to try to block it.

DeMint is in for a rude awakening. Thirty-three of 41 Senate Republicans who supported his proposal then sought earmarks in this year's unfinished roster of spending bills.

Earmarks totaled only about one-half of 1 percent of the $3.5 trillion 2010 federal budget, which is about $16 billion. They include road and bridge projects and community development grants, among many other noble causes; they have also previously included such idiocy as the $200 million-plus, later canceled "Bridge to Nowhere" in Alaska. The "pay to play" culture pervasive in Washington, which allows lobbyists to make huge campaign contributions in return for project funds, has left earmarks with a tainted and ambiguous reputation.

While I am curious to see how this lovers' spat turns out, I'm preparing for classic entertainment.

The Tea Party and the GOP: Dumb and Dumber on Capitol Hill.

The Three Stooges running into each other.

A testosterone fueled stand-off with neither willing to pass the rock.

This is surely the first of many collisions and all the distractions and petty political game playing should make the choice for the American people overwhelmingly simple in 2012. I almost feel sorry for them.

Almost.

With both Parties arguing for more governmental earmarks, albeit with differing motives, one thing is certain. The Tea Party, all rosy-cheeked with optimism and purpose, is realizing with friends like the Republican Party, who needs enemies?