What they misinterpret as either a beaten-down, cowed foe, or even more mysteriously as an endorsement of the GOP establishment, is neither. What it is, is a recognition that the political phase is over and done. All that remains now is the official beginning of hostilities, which seems virtually inevitable. The only uncertainties are the exact timing and the nature of the particulars that finally set it off.
I mean look at this, the Tea Party phenomenon was a genuine grass roots phenomenon that legitimately held rallies in the hundreds of thousands, in the 2010 midterms the Tea Party was responsible for a shift in Congressional balance of historic proportions. What did we get for that? A nice establishment dagger lodged neatly between our shoulder blades, that's what. The victory of McConnell in Kentucky? Big deal. The establishment preference in North Carolina? Again, big deal. And let me clarify that's sarcasm. I think if there's any wind out of the Tea Party's sails it's merely the wind that was their naive optimism and hopefulness in our thoroughly debased political process.
There's also an argument, not entirely unfounded, that the establishmentarians were forced to adopt many of the Tea Party's positions to survive their primary challenges. If your Senator is the minority leader in the Senate and mouthing the right platitudes, it's unlikely that he's going to be defeated in an intraparty election.
If the Left thinks this is reason to take victory laps, let them. If they want to make little tombstone graphics talking about "hate", then I am merely reminded of Pandora's frequent quote about "assume everything you say about me is true..." because they're going to find out how right for once they are.
