Rep. Mike Castle (R-De.) continues his “Martyrdom Tour 2011″ with a whine that the Tea Party is dividing the Republican Party:

Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., who was taken out in his primary by Tea Party favorite Christine O’Donnell, expresed alarm at the division the movement had caused within his own party.

“The Tea Party movement really is quite a bit different than the old Republican conservative movementl, ” Castle said. “They’re more than willing to take out Republicans, call us Republicans in name only, or whatever it may be. It was one thing when you were dealing with Democrats and Republicans. Now you’re dealing with divisions within your own party.”

Castle, a known centrist, also said that working with the other party — the Democrats — once seen as the cornerstone of a functioning democracy, has become a punishable offense.

Mike Castle can’t get that Delaware GOP voters just weren’t into him. His charge that working with the other party is now a punishable offense misses the point. No one really has a problem with you working with the other party to further the interests of the American people. The problem with Castle was that he was working to pass things like Cap and Trade.

Castle is right about one thing. The Tea Party is causing tension within the GOP. And it’s something to be thankful. Consider the times of greatest tension within the GOP in recent years. There was the late 1970s heading into 1980 when the New Right rose up and many of the old Rockefeller wing of the Party left along with John Anderson. There was 1994 when folks like Helen Chenoweth and Bob Barr came to Washington, countering the party establishment.

Without creative tension within the Republican ranks, party leaders invariably slide into incompetence and complacency.  See the Administration of George H.W. Bush or the George W. Bush’s 2nd term for examples of  what happens when the establishment is allowed to have its way with both the party and the government, with no grassroots challenge. The type of Republican Party Mike Castle wants is the type of Republican Party that was in the Congressional Minority for 40 years led by people like Gerald Ford and Bob Michel.

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Adam Graham is a Pajamas Media Contributor. He is the author of the Novel, “Tales of the Dim Knight” with his wife Andrea. His personal blog is Adam’s Blog. You can follow him on Twitter and he’s on Facebook and available by e-mail.