The upcoming Idaho Republican Party convention, which kicks off Thursday and runs through Saturday, will show whether Idaho's tea-party tide will rise further or if it's on the ebb in this election year, writess AP reporter John Miller. Miller reports that at the party's 2008 Sandpoint convention, as well as the 2010 edition in Idaho Falls, mainstream Republicans rolled their eyes as libertarians added planks to the party platform — the GOP's guiding document — urging the Federal Reserve's abolition, the gold standard's resurrection, support for “nullifying” federal laws and abandoning popular elections of U.S. senators. Yet tea party candidates were repudiated in May's GOP primary, with several high-profile challenges to mainstream GOP incumbents falling far short/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.

Question: Will the Tea Party emerge stronger/as strong/weaker from Idaho Republican Party convention?