They're not just angry, they are organizing in a new way into the Tea Party, a movement that confusingly, has nothing to do with tea and isn't a party either.
Despite all the headlines about their impact on the upcoming midterms, I have a theory that out in the political heartland, the trashing by the Tea Partiers may be preparing the battlefield for a much more profound second wave of disaffected, independent voters, who could make the Tea Party look like, well, a tea party.
Republicans who had previously decried the sequester and the threat it posed -- warned about job loss, warned about negative effects on our national security -- turned around and then said it was a good thing and a victory for their party and a victory for the tea party and a home run.
Marco Rubio, a tea party-backed conservative considered a rising star in the Republican party, said the goal was to create a "modern immigration system" that treated everyone fairly -- both the undocumented and those waiting to come to America legally.
Without both, limited government will be nothing more than a tea party slogan and a balanced budget will be nothing more than a tax-increase trap.
As Congresswoman Giffords is a Democrat, fresh off a highly combative and nasty congressional race with a Tea Party backed candidate, the first reaction of many liberals will be to point a finger in the direction of the Tea Party.
Designed by fashion icon Betsey Johnson, the pink paradise is complete with pink-and-white striped wallpaper, a table set for a fancy tea party and a closet stuffed with dress-up clothes.
Richard Lugar and Orrin Hatch -- both stalwarts of the GOP who have committed apostasy by trying to work across party lines -- face primaries this season that imperil their survival: A poll Thursday morning found Lugar down 5 points to a tea party-backed challenger in Indiana, and Hatch failed to secure a 60% supermajority at his party's convention in Utah, sending his race to a primary.
But it is spending heavily to send Florida Tea Partier Marco Rubio and Carly Fiorina, a Tea Party favorite in California, to the Senate.
Rand Paul, a tea party favorite who has said he is mulling a presidential run.
Nan Hayworth, a Tea Party representative from upstate New York who lost to a Democrat in November, told me about a Southern Republican who once tried to win her support for a colleague on some internal conference position.
In fact, in the initial round of media stories, Cruz's victory was framed more as a triumph for the tea party than a breakthrough for Latinos.
If you step back, what is somewhat remarkable about it, because you see Republicans calling it a victory -- a victory for the tea party or a victory because they stood up to the President on spending -- but remember what Republican goals are supposed to be.
Even though it is pretty clear that the shooter was not a Tea Party fanatic, it is becoming clear that some commentators are using the shooting as a pretext to further marginalize ideas with which they disagree.
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The idea of actually having a tea party, at least at home, has long been relegated to the world of little girls, as a social occasion with dolls, stuffed toys and perhaps a semicooperative pet or two.
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The IBOPE Zogby interactive poll taken after the deal passed found 53% of all voters and 51% independents have a less favorable view of the Tea Party than a year ago.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said Boehner's plan appeared to be a result of pressure from tea party conservatives opposing a wider deal.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said Boehner's backup plan appeared to be a result of pressure from tea party conservatives opposing a wider deal.
In 2011, Arizona authorized a tea party license plate featuring an image of it.
Moore was engaged in a battle with South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a Tea Party Republican.
The ratio of sweet to savory is important at a tea party, he says.
Dan Patrick, a senator from Houston, announced that he was starting a Tea Party Caucus.
Cincinnati leader George Brunemann said he and his wife were audited after she became a tea party group treasurer.
We're pretty sure nothing like this ever happened at a Tea Party rally.
"Generally I think business investment in politics is reactive, " says Matt Kibbe, president of FreedomWorks, a Tea Party organizing group.
Of course, not unlike a tea-party Republican making the case for small government, Ms Warren paints in over-broad, simplifying strokes.
Perhaps what we need is not a Tea Party so much as an IT Party, which is neither Republican nor Democrat.
But he's a tea party favorite who would energize the GOP base while also signaling Mr. Romney's outreach to Hispanic voters.
Repeal of health care reform, a Tea Party goal, could also upset some businesses that are already starting to plan for it.
Rand Paul, a tea party favorite who is well-known in the district.
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