Tea Party has influence only when obstructing

     The Tea Party has been given a great deal of press lately for having such an influence in the recent chaos revolving around the question of whether or not to raise the debt limit. At first, I thought- well, in a way that's good news for other caucuses that have a minority number of members: The Hispanic Caucus, The Black Caucus and so forth. Just as quickly though, I realized that one distinct difference.

     While the other minority caucuses are usually trying to accomplish something or advocating for some positive change, the Tea Party, on the other hand is successful only because it exists simply to obstruct, not accomplish anything positive. They have no other value to the American system of government nor to the vast majority of the American people.