>>16
That doesn't implicate who hijacked what, though. As I mentioned, the Republican Party was the only one to take the Tea Party even slightly seriously. Maybe some other indepeddents and few Blue Dogs, but mostly the Republicans. Even today, it's obvious that there's still a distance between the informal Tea Party(ies) (as it has splinter group organization to begin with) and the Republican party.
A presumption: you belittle them because they did not form their own formal political party or handle themselves like any of the obvious political parties.