No one could have predicted, when the group Tea Party Patriots posted the personal cell numbers and email addresses for incoming Republican congressmen online, that the incoming Republican congressmen wouldn't appreciate this. Who wouldn't want hundreds of confusing, unsolicited calls?

The Tea Party Patriots — which is basically an email list — are in a war entirely of their own making with the conservative Claremont Institute. Each is hosting a raucous GOP orientation program to "educate" all these crazy people they've just sent to Washington. So last week, an organizer with the Patriots sent out an alert to its followers with this endearing plan: call and email all of the incoming GOP freshmen to warn them that the Claremont Insitute's orientation will be ten million times lamer and more Establishment than the Patriots' orientation, which, by any objective standard, will be rad.

We are on the Tea Party Patriots mailing list and had the good fortune of watching this play out. After the initial call to action, this followup came on Friday, asking followers very politely to stop dialing all of those phone numbers they'd released:

Freshman Orientation:
You are Being Heard!

Thank you for making calls to your Congressmen-elect urging them to attend our freshman orientation this weekend.

We have had reports from Congressmen-Elect's staff that they have received 500+ phone calls in less than 24 hours. When the Tea Party decides to make its collective voice heard all at once it's a bit like dropping a nuclear bomb. The government fears us, which is good for freedom. You are making your voices heard and they know that you are watching and will continue to do so.

For the moment, we are asking you to stop making calls.

The polite approach apparently wasn't very effective, because a few hours later, a new email, "PLEASE STOP CALLING THE FRESHMEN," came in:

If you forwarded our original email asking you to make calls, or if you posted it on your site, please let folks know to stop. You've made your point, and it's time to let the Freshmen get to work.

Shortly thereafter, "FRESHMAN ORIENTATION CLARIFICATION" arrived. It first issued an apology to the Claremont Institute for childishly insulting over nothing. Then, the payoff:

Clarification Regarding Communications with Congressmen-Elect

For the last several weeks we have been asking our members to obtain and provide us the phone numbers and email addresses of the candidates they were supporting. The intent was to use them to invite the Freshman class to our orientation, and to communicate with them prior to the assignment of "official," government-issued phone numbers and email addresses.

Unfortunately, it appears that some of the numbers we obtained truly were "private" phone numbers and email addresses, and those private phones and emails were flooded with requests for the freshmen in question to attend the Tea Party Patriots Freshman Orientation event. This was not our intent, however, this was our only way to communicate with them since they do not have an "official" line of communication at the present time.

Jesus.

The GOP freshmen found this all perfectly understandable, except when they didn't:

"Nobody received any type of (invitation), it was just 'this is what's happening, please don't go here,' but I'm a big boy and I can choose where I need to go and where I need to be," incoming Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) said in an interview on Sunday afternoon before heading into a meeting at the Capitol Hill Club, a Republican unofficial headquarters in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol, with members of his freshmen class.

"I didn't know it was happening until I started getting inundated with emails and (messages) filling up my voicemail," West's colleague told The Hill.

One irate incoming member told The Hill that the Tea Party tactic to release personal contact information of the new class was "extremely counterproductive and, in all honesty, an incredible violation of privacy."

Oh dear, sneering at the Tea Party activists en route to Sunday afternoon's tea & hookers at the Capitol Hill Club? That was a quick co-opting from the Establishment. Well done!