You make a good point about capitalizing tea party. It just contributes to the twin problems of lazy citizens looking for others to do their work for them and self-seeking “leaders” putting themselves at the head of a leaderless movement.
Just to be clear:
When I capitalize “TEA” Party, I understand the term to be an acronym for Taxed Enough Already. I capitalize “Party” becuase it represents a collection of nebulous groups that, more or less, fall under a particular set of principles.