RIP, Tea Party

While Putz amusingly continues to write about the Tea Party like it's some national force in politics, the reality is that it's on life support.

Today, the membership page for the caucus is defunct. The caucus hasn't met since July 2012; it has posted no news since July 2012. In the press, "Tea Party caucus" has become an offhand way to refer to conservatives. In her speech to CPAC, which included a typically Bachmann-ian error about how much TANF money is wasted on administration, Bachmann didn't mention "the Tea Party." But the new relaunch date for the Tea Party Caucus is April 15, and according to Bachmann's spokesman, "the main purpose of the Tea Party Caucus is to listen to Tea Party leaders and activists, not be a mouthpiece for the Tea Party." 

There's no way to un-spin this. Nationally, the Tea Party flag is so tattered that it's not in a Republican's interest to maintain it. (This isn't true in some states; the Texas Tea Party caucus is alive and well in Austin.) At the same time, the fade of the "Tea Party Caucus" itself is a positive development for Republicans. Ideological conservatives always had their qualms about the group. It allowed members who didn't have movement bona fides—Denny Rehberg, Todd Akin, Dan Burton—to "Tea-wash"* themselves.