Those who are interested in, and/or alarmed by, the Tea Party phenomenon often struggle to understand the welter of groups and individuals who seem to be influencing this movement. This has been particularly true during the controversy over the National Tea Party Convention that's getting underway today in Nashville, which has been characterized by lots of insults thrown back and forth and by shifting alliances of various organizations. Who are all these guys?

Fortunately, TNR's Lydia DePillis has put together a handy-dandy guide of key dates, individuals and organizations in the Tea Party Movement. Aside from improving your knowledge-base, her guide also implicitly shows the close and intimate links between the movement and all sorts of previously-disreputable right wing organizations.