GOP Strategist: The Tea Party Feels Like ‘American Idol, Season 13’

GOP Strategist: Tea Party Feels Like ‘American Idol, Season 13′ (Mediaite)

After tea party candidates suffered defeats in Tuesday’s primaries — including in the Oklahoma Senate primary, where multiple marquee tea party names like Ted Cruz and Sarah Palin stumped for a candidate who lost decisively — former John McCain campaign strategist Steve Schmidt told a Morning Joe panel that “the tide is coming out” on the tea party and outside groups’ influence over GOP nominations.

“Some of these outside groups — I don’t know if they’re vanity plays that they’re doing, when they go in there for McDaniel, go in for Oklahoma,” MSNBC political analyst Chuck Todd said. “You look at Club for Growth this year, they’re 0 for 2 in their big ones. …I think these groups are going to realize they don’t have the juice on Capitol Hill anymore that they once did.”

“It seems like the tide is coming out on this,” Schmidt said. “When I was watching that, it just seemed like it had an American Idol, season thirteen feel to it. You’re watching Ted Cruz in that video, it sounds like he’s talking about a TupperWare set coming with this.”

“Sarah Palin sounded like she didn’t know who she was talking about,” cohost Mika Brzezinski added.