The “political left” was not the result of the Tea Party but its cause; that is, after the election of Obama, which was the beginning of the reign of the hard left in the Dem party, the relentless sealing off and suppression of political dialogue or even debate (Reid has prevented the GOP from discussing or offering amendments at twice the rate of all of his predecessors) by Obama and the hard left Dems forced conservatives to express their disagreement outside of the standard political system.
It seems not to occur to the Dems that we had a system that permitted and even needed disagreement and opposing views in order to work effectively. Having a one-party dictatorship headed by a demagogue, which is essentially what we have moved to, is bound to produce reaction and conflict.