I hate to say this, but the Nazi's came to power in Germany after a protracted period of economic strife and a final catastrophic blow to the legitimacy of German democratic governance--engineered by the extreme right wing (the National Socialist Party). They allied with financial and military interests to overthrow the fragile democracy that was comprised of centrists, moderates, liberals, and socialists. Communists were a third group that further fractured the nation.
Nazis came to power by proclaiming nationalism, patriotism, hatred of immigrants, opposition to communism, and a desire to resolve international conflicts through military force. They believed there was an international conspiracy (led by Jews) of banks against Germany.
Sound familiar? I believe these Tea Partiers, like Nazis, would be more than happy to destroy American democracy to push their ideology.
These guys are extremely dangerous, and they represent chaos and insanity. They now control the Congress--and, unfortunately, we have a weak-kneed President Obama that has not stood up to them in the past. It looks bad.