The Tea Party is the logical extension of Lee Atwater's old strategy of using fake candidates to attack. At the time of the bailout the GOP was so morally bankrupt and had been caught with its hands in the cookies jar so many times that is only hope of survival and rebranding.

It is the Republican base, pissed off and renamed, led by the same people, using the same tactics.

Understand what Lee Atwater did for Bush I (Willie Horton, southern strategy) and you understand all you need to know about Tea Party strategy.