What are the differences between the Tea Party and the Republican Party?

Question

To Republicans, the Tea Party movement is considered a separate organization espousing some Republican ideals. What are the particular idiosyncrasies that differentiate between the Republicans and the Tea Party?

Answer 1

The Tea Party tends to be further to the political right than the Republican Party and doesn't approach politics with a "big tent" mentality. So, while some Republicans believe it is okay to have more moderate elected officials (like Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska) because they can win in those areas, the Tea Party wishes, rather, to have more ideological purity. This purity means if you are a Republican, you must be a conservative, even if it means the candidate isn't viable in an election. 2010 is a good example of this, as the Tea Party propelled some very conservative Republicans through the primaries who then ended up losing seats more moderate Republicans could have won. The Tea Party also tends to prefer "citizen" politicians--those who haven't been in elected office for a long time and who go against the established order of electoral politics. Examples of this rebellion include not supporting seniority in the legislature and believing that a background in politics isn't necessarily an asset to an elected official.

I'd suggest, however, that the current Republican Party has moved to embrace the Tea Party and has co-opted many of this ideas.