by leokef on Wed Oct 20, 2010 4:00 pm
Not really. It's not a political party or even a unified organization. It's just a vague term for frustrated Republicans. As for your second assumption, that there exists a "conservative right" in the GOP: well, highly questionable.
I would say that most tea partiers are just average Republicans unable to get over the fact that their party lost the 2008 election. If the GOP wins back Congress in November, we can expect the tea party talk to dissipate.