Ten days ago, in the course of chiding The Washington Post for being slow to the Tea Party story, I made a passing reference to Dave Weigel’s stellar coverage of the movement for The Washington Independent.

So while I had no idea this was coming, I think it makes all kinds of sense: according to Michael Calderone, Weigel will soon be joining the Post with a reported blog focused on the Tea Party activists, the broader conservative movement, and Republican preparations for the midterms. As Calderone notes, the models for Weigel’s new role seem to be Chris Cillizza, who has forged a reporter-blogger position at the Post, and Ezra Klein, a more recent hire whose blog mixes left-leaning commentary with reporting and detailed policy analysis. In fact, according to Calderone it was Klein who brought Weigel to the paper’s attention.

Congratulations to Weigel, and kudos to the Post on a smart hire.

Update: Via Weigel’s soon-to-be former colleague Spencer Ackerman, there’s another new contributor to the Post: Jeff Stein, late of CQ, has found a new home for his SpyTalk blog.