Tea Party: return to basics or divisive force on right?

In recent time since the Tea Party has established itself as a political contender in the United States, they have grown in popularity through the media. Their extremist views are starting to cause a divide between the Republican party because they have chosen to back candidates who were not backed by the GOP and others that were. Instead of acting as a group to promote and help Republicans get what they want in an extreme matter, they may actually be hurting them because splitting up support. While the Tea Party system has made moves to boost voter registration and encourage voters to get involved in the system, it's third party ideology might be their downfall. Because the Tea Party is too extreme for most Republicans, they will not be able to conform the majority. This will cause people to leave the GOP, resulting in less votes for the Republicans, causing them to potentially lose this election while the Tea Party risks not being able to gain enough votes to win themselves.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/09/26/tea.party/index.html

The Tea Party: Product of Neglect

In April 2010 the New York Times wrote an article on the Tea Party that surprisingly despite their normal bias didn't tear the movement to pieces. It described the movement as one stemming from dissatisfaction with the big government policies that have been passed recently. The Stimulus Bill, cash for clunkers, and most recently the Health Care reform have all dramatically increased government spending.
This is a clear example of American frustration with the current philosophies that are at the heart of current American politics. That there are many politicians in both parties that aren't honoring the constitution. Unfortunately (for a Libertarian like myself) the majority of this movement is not interested in a third party according to NY Times, however they are focused on getting rid of many members of the Republican party that aren't holding true to their platforms. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out in this years elections.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/15/us/politics/15poll.html