I don't think the Tea Party is dead. I think the GOP may be, but the Tea Party has evolved into an electoral force.
Look at what happened in 2010. It's easy to see the hamstrung congress flailing and failing under the old leadership and party apparatus. But do not forget what took place at the state level. To call the massive tsunami that swept state legislatures and governorships anything but a paradigm shift ignores the evidence. That is our farm team. And the people who drove that paradigm shift have not fallen back into a comfort zone. They have become the local grassroots of the GOP, and they see that the Leftists have not rested, so they do not rest. It hasn't filtered up to DC yet, but it will. The question is, is it too late.