Cillizza: Is the tea party still relevant? We'd suggest you ask Mean Jean, Orrin Hatch and Dick Lugar

Predictable, the WaPo is at the leading edge of coverage of the demise of the most important movement of the 21st Century.  So far at the leading edge, that they are wrong.

The news media, which consistently has been behind the curve in terms of the ascent of the Tea Party is consistently trying to get ahead of the curve in terms of its descent.

They can't wait -- just can't wait -- until the Tea Party implodes, is betrayed by one of its leaders, is disillusioned by the failure of its agenda, or just dries up and blows away.

Still, they quote a GOP pollster accurately:

“The tea party clearly is not as successful in 2012 as in 2010, but it still plays a huge role in GOP primaries,” said Republican pollster Glen Bolger.

The bottom line is that the Tea Party has, continues to, and prospectively will have a strong say in the direction of the national, and some state and local GOPs.

If you're still not sure, we recommend asking Jean Schmidt if the Tea Party means anything, still.