by Henry Case

Created on: October 21, 2010   Last Updated: October 25, 2010

The Tea Party has been an amazing phenomenon in recent American politics. Thousands of regular Americans took up the Tea Party banner and marched on the streets in protests and attended rallies. They have made their voices heard and have given a huge boost to the struggling Republican party, which was reeling after huge losses in the 2006 and 2008 elections. But while many think the Tea Party and its ideals are the future of the Republican party, they could also be the death of the Republican Party.

The reason why the Tea Party is dangerous for the Republican Party is because of the hard-line policies those in the Tea Party want to pursue. The Tea Party does not really have any new ideas. They have simply taken right-wing ideology and made it more extreme. And while that works to get the conservative base riled up and enthusiastic, it is not a winning strategy over the long term and in general elections.

The shortcomings of the Tea Party can already be witnessed in the 2010 election cycle. Republican primaries for Senate candidates went to Tea Party favorites such as Christine O'Donnell in Delaware, Sharon Angle in Nevada and Joe Miller in Alaska. These three races alone could have made the difference in giving the Republicans control of the Senate. But with right-wing conservative candidates who do not believe in the same things a majority of Americans believe, they are more likely to go to the Democrats.

The reason why Tea Party candidates perform well in the primaries is because often they are not career politicians and they portray themselves as outsiders coming in to change the system. But being inexperienced, these candidates often make so many mistakes and have things they have said or done in the past come up to hurt them. Politics is a tough game, and when you have been on TV before talking about dabbling in witchcraft and saying masturbating is a sin, you will be made to look like a crazy person.

But the most damaging aspect of the Tea Party for the Republicans is what happens when Tea Party ideas go nowhere? What happens when the healthcare law is not repealed, when the deficit is not slashed, when Social Security is not privatized, when taxes are not cut? What happens when Tea Party candidates get elected to office running as Republicans, and quickly realize that the Republican party has no intention of actually working towards the goals of the Tea Party?

When that happens, there is a very good chance that the Tea Party will be established as a third political party for the 2012 elections. And that would take away a majority of the hardcore conservative base without which Republicans are unlikely to be a majority party. If the Republicans don't swing far to the right to appease the Tea Party, they risk alienating them and splintering their base. If they do swing far to the right to pursue the types of policies favored by the Tea Party, they risk alienating the rest of America, which is far more centrists. Either way, the Tea Party presents big problems for the future of the Republican party.

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