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The defeat of Sen. Richard Lugar (R) of Indiana in Tuesday鈥檚 primary echoed into the lower chamber of Congress, where House Republicans tied to the tea party saw it as a warning shot aimed not only against the establishment, but against themselves.

The message: They need to raise the tea party standard even higher or face voters鈥� wrath.

Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R) of Kansas, a freshman lawmaker elected with significant tea party backing, said 鈥渢he toughest question" he's asked in town halls always is: What difference have you made, Congressman Huelskamp? 鈥淲ell, we can say we changed the debate, but they鈥檙e looking for results, they鈥檙e looking for solutions, they鈥檙e looking for actual budget cuts, and it hasn鈥檛 happened yet,鈥� he says.

鈥淚f we don鈥檛 deliver shortly, they鈥檙e going to be asking for a new crop of folks up here 鈥� I really believe that,鈥� he added at a Capitol Hill press conference.听

Yet Senator Lugar 鈥� a moderate often willing to compromise with Democrats 鈥� suggested in a farewell letter that it is precisely the tea party's attitude to governing that prevents anything from being done in Congress. Taking aim at听winner Richard Mourdock's belief that there鈥檚 already too much compromise in Washington, he wrote: "He will find that unless he modifies his approach, he will achieve little as a legislator."听

Others echo Lugar's sentiments, saying that a doubling down on the tea party agenda could work against the desire for results.听听听
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鈥淕ridlock actually works against what they want,鈥� says Julian Zelizer, a congressional historian at Princeton University in New Jersey. 鈥淭he tea party wants a lot of change and so if they just scare people and everyone stands still and there is no compromise what the tea party is going to get is a Washington that looks pretty much the same a couple of years from now as it does.鈥澨�

鈥淪pending won鈥檛 change. Nothing happens," he adds. "There鈥檚 a bit of an irony in them bringing things to a standstill.鈥�

Yet to Rep. Jeff Landry (R) of Louisiana, another tea party favorite, Lugar's 20-point defeat to state Treasurer Mourdock is a sign that听鈥渏ust because you鈥檙e reaching across the aisle doesn鈥檛 mean you鈥檙e solving the problems.鈥澨�

Congressman Landry says he often asks his town hall attendees whether they can name a single issue Congress has resolved in the last decade 鈥� at time period when both parties have had time in the majority.

鈥淭he question is whether we鈥檙e fighting for the American people or we鈥檙e fighting over the checkbook 鈥� this becomes a credibility issue,鈥� Landry said at the press conference.听

It鈥檚 clear that the activist community weighs heavy on the minds of Republican House members, said Rep. Pete Sessions (R) of Texas at a breakfast for reporters sponsored by the Monitor on Wednesday.

鈥淧eople will hold us accountable for achieving things, and I think it's good for our party,鈥� said Congressman Sessions, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. It's certainly a motivating factor as leaders like Sessions "look to gather votes on the floor of the House of Representatives.鈥�

But whether a tea party-infused ethos prevails in the House in the next session of Congress will hinge on the coming elections. And there, GOP congressmen say,听the anger with Washington that burned Lugar will turn on Democrats.听

鈥淭hey鈥檙e holding those seeking office accountable to a level they鈥檝e never been held before. If you can鈥檛 respond to that and be responsive, you might find yourself in trouble,鈥� said Rep. Greg Walden (R) of Oregon at the Monitor Breakfast. 鈥淭hey are going to have that same energy double when it comes to the fall. If you think they鈥檙e holding us accountable, wait until they get a choice between Democrats 鈥� and following President Obama鈥檚 agenda 鈥� versus Republicans.鈥�

Until then, conservative lawmakers are going to bear their tea party standard even higher.听

鈥淲e shouldn鈥檛 carry of banner of pale pastels but of bold colors, which make it unmistakably clear where we stand on the issues,鈥� said freshman Rep. Jeff Duncan (R) of South Carolina, quoting President Reagan, at the press conference. 鈥淲e are unabashed of that conservatism and we don鈥檛 mind talking about that. Hence, we鈥檙e here.鈥�