It’s no secret that the Tea Party Movement (TPM) and President Obama are diametrically at odds on virtually every issue. In fact, much of the Obama agenda led to the birth and meteoric rise of the TPM. So it is a feather in the Movement’s cap that it was able to put aside its differences with the President and congratulate him for a job well done in taking down Public Enemy Number One, Osama bin Laden.
 

Was Osama’s demise also a result of George W. Bush’s tireless effort prosecuting the War on Terror? Absolutely, and he too deserves praise. But it was the current Commander-in-Chief who pulled the trigger on the operation, and who wisely decided on the ground game versus a bombing attack, which would have obliterated any evidence of the al-Queda leader’s death.
 

While there are fringes in every movement, Tea Party included, their collective voice criticizing the President was vastly drowned out by 99.9 percent of the mainstream TPM who acknowledged Obama’s success. 
 

Giving credit where it’s due, regardless of other differences, is both the right thing to do and a shrewd political move. The Tea Party showed the nation that it is not an “extreme right-wing” organization incapable of setting aside partisan politics, coming across instead as dignified and fair-minded. And while Obama’s stock is on the rise because of bin Laden’s death, so too is the Tea Party’s due to its “grown-up” attitude.
 

However, praising an adversary is a lesson still not learned by some on both the Left and Right, as pride sometimes wins out over common sense --- often at the expense of one’s agenda. A prime example is when conservatives refuse to thank a liberal Republican lawmaker when he votes the “right” way on an issue. The mentality is such that, because the politician may be pro-abortion, his role in sheparding through pro-gun or tax-reduction legislation is ignored by the still “offended” conservatives. 
 

Such a strategy is self-defeating, however, as the lawmaker gets the worst of both worlds and pulls back from conservative positions. And his rationale is simple: “why stick my neck out on issues these folks advocate --- and get pounded by my natural constituency as being a traitor --- when the Right refuses to acknowledge my effort? What’s the point of helping them in the future? I’m better off ignoring them and shoring up the moderates and liberals.”
 

When conservatives thank a lawmaker for voting their way, they are not “selling out.” Quite the opposite. They should view those opportunities as victories, as they succeeded in convincing a moderate to “see the light” on a critical issue. If they have any realistic hope of building on that success, causing lawmakers to trend towards the Right, it is imperative that they possess the common sense to publicly issue a genuine “thank you.”
 

The Tea Party seems to be mastering this lesson, which will undoubtedly pay big dividends in the future.