The Tea Party is over

The Tea Party is rapidly losing support:

Support for the tea party has dropped to an all-time low, said a new CBS News poll released Wednesday. Just 15 percent of Americans told the pollsters that they are supporters of the tea party movement today, which is less than half the level of support at its peak of 31 percent in November 2010 shortly after the midterm election when the movement fueled a landslide Republican win to take majority control of the House.

That’s also the lowest level of support gauged by the poll since it began asking about the tea party in February 2010. The polls findings were released the day after primary elections in which Republican establishment candidates beat tea party-backed opponents in key races, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell trouncing tea party-backed Matt Bevin in Kentucky.

The poll found that the tea party had lost significant support among its core constituency: Republicans.

Unlike many right-wing commentators, I didn’t jump on the Tea Party bandwagon because I was always dubious about the genuine nature of its commitment to get American finances in order. The Tea Party became overtly pointless after most of its elected members promptly rolled over on the issue of the debt ceiling, which was its only credible weapon. And what is the point of a political party that demonstrates it is willing to surrender on its sole purpose for existence without even putting up a fight?