"Or stated differently, the Tea Party is the poltergeist of American politics. It is angry and destructive. The Tea Party poltergeist was summoned up by a crisis of faith, a decline in America's standing in the world, and a system shock brought about by the combination of the Great Recession, failed misadventures in Iraq and Afghanistan, and poor political leadership at home. Some have suggested that American politics is sick, and that it is suffering from an autoimmune disease: the Republican Party's abandonment of normal politics is a symptom of this illness. "