Funny thing is though that the media called the TPers racists, terrorists and you name it. They were viewed as extremists. Guess wanting smaller Govt and a tighter rein of spending is extreme for some.
Actually, big corporate media craves the low tax agenda. This is why they glorified the Tea Party revolt against Obama's Town Hall. They created the impression that this was a grassroots ("salt of the earth") movement rather than pure "astroturf", e.g., funded and organized by big insurance trough "Freedom Works".
Small government? Are you kidding? The Tea Party defends big health Insurance and Wall Street, which is filled with mega-corporations who are wholly subsidized and protected by Big Brother, who bails them out whenever they need it. The Tea Party protects the collusion of Big Business with Big Government by screaming socialist at anybody who wants to break-up this unholy marriage. The Tea Party is, at worse, a corporate invention, and at best, a collection of useful idiots.
(Respectfully: you've been lied to. You are not against centralized power, you are protecting it)