Congress got itself in this mess because a few dozen self-styled tea partiers have refused since last summer to help build a consensus agreement on either short-term stimulus or deficit reduction.
The Tea Party had come to wide public notice that summer, in a series of contentious town-hall meetings with members of Congress who were weighing whether to support health-care reform.
The company innovated by bottling its tea hot, avoiding preservatives and offering it year-round instead of just in the summer as many bottled iced teas had been.