If Rick Perry is representative of what the Tea Party is, it won’t amount to a hill of beans.
As I (and others) see it, the Party Establishment is worried about the Tea party. They have been on a shopping trip attempting to find a better candidate to market to the Conservative base and/or the Tea Party. It appears they will push Perry and may bail on Romney.
I think you and I are on the same side on this (maybe I'm wrong). I'm not saying the Tea Party will love Perry. I'm not sure Perry will even be liked. All I'm saying is the Establishment thinks Perry is their answer.
They see the Third Party threat which is why they're taking actions, failed as they may be. They appear to be getting ready to back another horse.
It's all noise anyway as I still think another Conservative candidate will declare in the near future.