I can't help but assign the tea protests a place in my view that the Right is generally going through the same convulsions that overtook the Left in the late 1970's and continued into the 1990's.
The Left of that era grew to be increasingly insular, ideologically rigid, and dyspeptic. Identifying as a liberal during the Reagan era was a bit of a badge of honor, but the complete lack of power lead to all sorts of nuttiness. With nothing but a record of losing, it became possible for the anyone on the Left to come up with ridiculous policy prescriptions, and the lack of anyone in power listening made the advocate look bold and daring, rather than unstable and silly.
... it leads to a deep intellectual rot, as good ideas commingle with ridiculous ones without vetting, and protests obsessed with self-interest leave vital political action undone. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the run-up to the Iraq war.
... I drove to DC to take part in the ANSWER protest on MLK Day in 2003, hoping that a mass demonstration of opposition might change the media narrative.
Unfortunately, as we now all agree, it was a complete mess. While I'd wager that 95% of the marchers were sane and focused, the stage at the rally on the mall was overrun with every last form of Leftist aggrievement, from slavery reparations to Tibet to abortion access. About halfway down the route I found myself uncomfortably next to a Palestinian group leading chants of "long live the Intifada." I finally lost it when, in the press of the crowd, someone pressed a heavy leaflet into my hands asking us to consider "peace online," advocating for open source software. SOFTWARE! We were trying to stop an insane war, and someone thought it was a good idea to muddle the mess with screeds against Microsoft. (I hate them as much as the next geek, but really!)
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