GOP Establishment Can't Control Tea Party Energy

And it drives them nuts.  That explains, better than anything, the outburst by Karl Rove on Fox News when Christine O'Donnell won the nomination in Delaware, and the groanings from people like David Frum who just want us all to get along with Democrats.  People like Rove and Frum were upset when Tea Party candidates won the nominations in Delaware and Nevada because they saw those as easily won seats with the "right" Republican.  However, without the Tea Party many other seats might not have been possible at all:

If the GOP picks up eight Senate seats and loses Delaware and Nevada, the establishment will blame the Tea Party for losing the majority. But that ignores the fact that the Tea Party -- and not John Boehner or Mitch McConnell -- has provided nearly all the energy for the GOP takeover.

Were Republican voters as well behaved as Frum would like, Senate seats in Washington, Wisconsin, California, and West Virginia would not be within reach. Without the enthusiasm ginned up by the rowdy conservative populists, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Ohio, and North Carolina would not look as good for Republicans as they do now.

Had conservative leaders somehow tamped down -- rather than stoking -- the Tea Party flames, the GOP would be looking at a three- to five-seat gain including Delaware and probably Nevada. Instead, Republicans will gain six to 10 seats this fall -- with a much more conservative caucus.

In other words, the Tea Party may mean we get Sen. Coons instead of Castle, but it also probably means Marco Rubio instead of Charlie Crist, Joe Miller instead of Lisa Murkowski, Mike Lee instead of Bob Bennett, Rand Paul instead of Trey Grayson, Ken Buck instead of Jane Norton, and maybe even Ron Johnson instead of Russ Feingold -- just to name a few.

Rove and Frum would somehow like the energy of the Tea Party without the willfulness. They want the force of the flood, but they want it to go in a direction of their choosing.

Rove and Frum are smart people, but they don't understand the conservative rage in the electorate. They'd still like to be able to pull the strings and move voters in the direction they wish them to go, but conservatives are tired of being told what to do by people who don't always share their values.  Rove hurt himself with conservatives with his rant on Fox and he'll have a hard time getting them to listen to him again.