That only goes so far in a political movement, and right now the TEA Party is starting to fail because it did not coalesce around a single candidate. Just look who is in the GOP field and who is not. 'nuff said!
Anyone who observed 2010 knows that the Tea Party did not fail. The Tea Party Continues its advocacy. The Tea Party is not solely responsible for giving you precisely the presidential candidate that you wanted. Not every "member" of the Tea Party would have been satisfied with Sarah Palin as a candidate. The Tea Party stood for lower taxes, less government, and adherence to the Constitution. Electing a particular candidate is one approach to that. Influencing candidates is another. Remember that Ronald Reagan was a Democrat. He was influenced by people and events to move in a different direction.