It's theoretically possible that the presence of this radical faction will drive a few of the sane Republicans to work across the aisle, but I doubt it. That's a dynamic that only works in the Democratic Party. The tea party has the backing of the whole noise machine and they will be driving the crazy bus into 2012. They won't even allow any members to disagree publicly with Rush Limbaugh. I doubt very seriously that any Republicans who plan to have a career past the next election will cross them.The Republicans may not win the Senate, but the Tea Party could take it hostage, thanks to millions of unaccountable dollars, post-Citizens United.
Of the eight seats that Democrats are given more than a 60-percent chance of losing by Nate Silver of Five Thirty-Eight, four will go to Tea Party-branded candidates if Silver's predictions hold up. But the story doesn't end there.
In another four open seats currently held by establishment Republicans, Tea Party candidates running on the Republican line are likely to win. Taken together -- the seats added to the GOP margin by Tea Party candidates, and the Tea Party candidates likely to be seated in open races that don't affect the current ratio of Dems to Repubs -- these candidates, if they win, represent a shift in power away from McConnell and toward Sen. Jim DeMint, who bankrolled many of these Tea Party candidacies through his Senate Conservatives Fund PAC, and endorsed them all.