Yesterday, I exposed the myth that Democrats are for online gambling and Republicans are against it. Even Barney Frank, who is leading the charge to legalize and regulate online gambling, didn’t vote against UIGEA. The truth is, the Democrats and Republicans stand together in opposition of online gambling.

This may come as a surprise, but in recent years there hasn’t been a whole lot of difference between the two parties. Both have favored big government, but for different reasons. Both have had out of control spending, but they spend money on different things. The Democrats were against online gambling because it’s something they can’t control and Republicans were against it for mostly moral reasons – seeing gambling as a potentially destructive habit.

Things are changing, though. You may have heard of the Tea Party movement sweeping the nation. It is a conservative movement that strays from the current Republican party and is focused on the principles of the Founding Fathers – the original conservative Republicans. The Tea Party embraces almost a Libertarian form of Constitutionalism and wants a small government that will stay out of people’s lives. As you might imagine, such a mindset is good for online gambling legislation because the Tea Partiers believe that the government has no right to tell you what you can and can’t do with your money.

Tea Partiers are putting pressure on the legislature, but just as importantly, they’re electing small-government candidates. Look at the recent Republican primaries and you will see the establishment Republican candidates losing (or trailing in the polls) to the Tea Party small-government guy. Rand Paul’s win and Marco Rubio’s annihilation of Charlie Crist that forced Crist to drop out of the primary and run as an Independent are the most recent examples.

If Tea Party Republicans continue to gain power, it brings the perfect storm together for the push to legalize online gambling at a federal level. That is because it allows the Republicans and Democrats to join together on the issue, this time in support of online gambling. The Republicans would be for the legislation because it takes power from the government and gives it back to the people and the Democrats would support it because it gives them another industry to regulate and tax. The Democrats rarely turn down an opportunity for tax revenue.

For that reason, fans of online gambling in America should support the likes of Paul, Rubio, JD Hayworth and even small-government Democrats like Mark Critz.