
Blue State Blues: The Tea Party’s Last Chance to Take Power
Since the Tea Party arose in 2009, it has achieved two major goals, but failed to fulfill its third and most important task: taking power.

Since the Tea Party arose in 2009, it has achieved two major goals, but failed to fulfill its third and most important task: taking power.

The emergence of the Freedom Caucus among House Republicans comes as something of a pleasant shock. The organization, headed by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), will act as a kind of friendly conservative opposition within the overall GOP caucus to hold members and leadership accountable to the mandate they received from voters–and to prevent the repeat of past negotiating collapses.

Thursday marked the sixth anniversary of CNBC editor Rick Santelli’s famous “rant heard ’round the world” from the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade. It was the moment that launched a nascent movement, rousing conservatives to stand up to the radical presidency of Barack Obama. As I note in my recent book Wacko Birds: The Fall (and Rise) of the Tea Party, the Tea Party succeeded in stopping much of Obama’s agenda. It has since helped the GOP retake both Houses of Congress.