Tea Partiers, Michael Steele Meet, Greet, Go Home

Turns out the Tea Party on Capitol Hill with national Republicans wasn't such a big bash, after all.

About 50 activists representing the anti-government-spending, anti-health-care-reform movement met Tuesday with Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee at RNC headquarters about a block from the Capitol. But the four-hour get-together was closed to media and the Tea Party folk were not afforded the GOP's news conference room afterward, according to the Washington Post.

Instead, they talked with reporters -- outdoors, in the cold, across the street from the Capitol South subway stop.

It seems Steele wants the support of what is essentially a conservative movement, he just doesn't want the anti-establishment types pushing the old hands around, or trying to take over the party establishment. So, the group got sort of an arms-length embrace.

Karen Hoffman, one of the Tea Party leaders from South Florida, said the four-hour meeting was a healthy one and "the beginning of a relationship," the Post reported.

But the activists, united in their loud opposition to President Obama's policies, are not all on the same page.

"This is not where solutions lie," the newspaper quoted Lisa Miller of Washington as saying after the session.

"We were heard," said Tom Altman of Pennsylvania.

Tea, soft drinks and cookies, reportedly, were served during the sit-down.