The Tea Party could have become Perot '92, an anti-government movement that spurned the Republicans, went third-party and cost George H.W. Bush reelection, ending 12 years of Republican rule.
GW Bush and the GOP cost the republicans the election. Bush clearly didn't want to win, you could see it in his lack of energy, in they way he said things. If the GOP had delivered what the people wanted they wouldn't have looked to Perot for it. And for many, a vote for Perot was an attempt to put a shot across the bow of the GOP...but they were oblivious.
Had the Tea Party gone that route, it would have drained the Republican Party of its most mobilized supporters and deprived Republicans of the sweeping victory that awaits them on Nov. 2.
Wrong again. Now obviously, a good number of tea partiers are republicans, but I, for one, am not, nor have I ever been a republican. It is erroneous to assume that the tea party consists of just republicans and if they went elsewhere the GOP was being drained. The GOP has no "right" to my vote or my energy...they need to EARN it. And with the series of Scazofazza, Murkowski and other RINO mistakes by the GOP they're on thin ice. The GOP continues to count on votes on the basis that they're the lesser evil in the room...that doesn't float any longer. Fortunately, there is the tea party, which had the decision to go independent or try to change the GOP into something that'll be good for the nation. I'm not interested in being co-opted or incorporated into the GOP...if they present viable candidates (and they are in some areas thanks to the tea party) then I'll vote their way. But the GOP better not take my vote for granted.
The tea parties are the dog, the GOP Establishment is the tail. The GOP Media Establishment would be wise to remember that.