The battle over how to avoid the looming cuts and tax increases known as the fiscal cliff is a frustrating one for the Tea Party. The movement is still a force within the GOP, even as its popularity has fallen over the past two years.
But in the current debate, there have been no big rallies in Washington, and Tea Party members in Congress seem resigned to the fact that any eventual deal will be one they won't like — and that they'll have little influence over.
Ryan Rhodes, who heads the Iowa Tea Party, doesn't see anything to feel good about as he watches Washington from afar.
"Well, frankly, the way that Republicans are getting beat, and beat essentially from a media perspective ... It's starting to get kind of embarrassing," he says.
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