Maybe you could use a little perspective. First, same sex marriage is not the foundational idea behind the Tea Party. Second, without Rubio running Charlie Crist out of the party and kicking his butt, maybe Mike Lee and Ted Cruz don't even think they have a chance. We may never have heard of Cruz without Rubio's success.
Do I support him for Prez? No no no. But those Tea Party "saps" as you call them who supported him - helped do all of us a lot of favors - even if he's not the answer now.
Ted Cruz didn’t need or benefit from Rubio, all he needed was Governor Palin and the tea party.