john mcardle and ken rudin. >> thanks for coming. i'm very interested in the role of the tea party. my understanding is that they have energized conservatives whose may have sat home during 2006 and 2008. they have made a big impact in the republican party this year. i'm interested in the role of the tea party in the committee. there have been several endorsements, as you have no doubt been reminded of. i think senator cornyn, when arlen specter was a republican, because he was an incumbent. there was the charlie crist, grayson -- is it fair to say that some of your endorsements show that you may have misread how conservative republican party voters are? >> i think it represents the continuum on how the recruiting process takes place. when i got to the chairmanship of the nrsc in january of 2009, we came off a very bad election. republicans were pretty demoralized. i had a hard time getting people agree to see me, much less run for office. over time, things got a little better. i encouraged candidates to get into the race. as circumstances change, a lot more people got into the race