Come Nov 2012, Rasmussen and other pollsters will learn that being a candidate that supports the Tea Party values will lead them to an overwhelming victory.
So Republicans who distance themselves from the Tea Party, does so at their own risk.
Not if a bad economy is the main issue.
People have been conditioned for a century to look to the federal government when times get tough. As the economy enters its next downleg, people fear the loss of those government checks and Dignity Cards, things that I refer to as "free government cheese". As believers in small government, the Tea Party is now starting to be viewed as a potential barrier separating worried Americans from their free government cheese.
It was one thing to oppose Obamacare, which is still unpopular. It's quite another to oppose, or put limits upon, the social safety net, which is now viewed as an entitlement and a necessity.
This is why the Tea Party has suddenly become unpopular.