Some 14,000 true believers will congregate in Dallas for the state Republican convention on Friday and Saturday for a biennial ritual where, among other duties, they will attempt to distill the soul of the Texas GOP into a party platform — the manifesto intended as the ideal vision for the future of the Texas GOP.

If the rainbow flavors of the Tea Party feature a common taste, it’s that of fiscally restrained government — and the anti-Washington and pro-state fervor that comes along with it. Not coincidentally, that was the overwhelming theme of the Republican Party of Texas’ convention last weekend.