Establishment GOP Has Defeated Tea Party

Regardless of who wins the presidential election in November, it is clear who lost—the Tea Party, reports Politico. The Republican Party, which just wrapped up its annual meeting of state chairmen yesterday, is still all establishment, with almost no Tea Party members on its 168-member governing committee. Tea Partiers may have county chairmanships and seats on state committees, but it will take years for them to work their way up the GOP's ladder.

Which isn't to say that GOP leaders are hostile to the Tea Party—many are quite sympathetic, and they certainly like the Tea Party's enthusiasm. However, many of the Tea Party supporters who did win powerful positions in the GOP two years ago found themselves too inexperienced and in over their heads to make a difference, and many were deposed as quickly as they came in. “The important thing for any group in the party to understand is that you need experience to govern,” says New Hampshire's GOP chair. “Everybody has to start somewhere. It’s just important they learn the mechanics of how the party operates. It doesn’t mean new ideas aren’t welcome.” (More Tea Party stories.)