I mean it's getting ridiculous. Maybe I'm getting old, but I seem to remember a time when a conservative Republican defeating a moderate Republican in a Republican primary was hardly the stuff that political tsunamis were made of.
Shall I start with Barry Goldwater in 1964? Or Pat Buchanan's victory in the New Hampshire primary over Bob Dole in 1996? Or Pat Robertson beating out George Bush for second place in the 1988 Iowa primary? Heck, I can remember uberconservative Steve Forbes winning a presidential primary in Delaware (and I'm sure he wasn't endorsed by Mike Castle).
I really think we need to take a step back and a deep breath to put all this in its proper perspective, especially the media which tends to over-sensationalize these things. I mean, every time a conservative wins an election, even a general election, its called a "tea party" victory by the media.
I'm even old enough to remember when James Buckley (yep, that's right, Bill Buckley's brother), running on the Conservative ticket, won Bobby Kennedy's former Senate seat from New York beating out a moderate Republican (Charlie Goodell, appointed by Nelson Rockefeller to the vacancy) and a liberal Democrat.
From my personal recollection over the last five decades observing politics, the "tea party" phenomena is more a media-driven tempest in a teapot (pun intended) than a serious realignment of the American political landscape.
At least let's hope it is.