It's apparent that some of you need a history lesson.
There's growing split in the Republican party between the neoconservatives(Bush,Cheney,McCain,Graham, etc) and the true conservatives(Ron Paul, Rand Paul, Barry Goldwater, Bob Barr, etc). Neoconservatives do NOT represent true conservatism. If you look it up, all neoconservatives are a product of former Democrats who switched partisanship when they become disgruntled with the movement of the Democratic party(Google "Irving Kristol"). The fact is, there is very little difference between liberals and neocon's when it comes to foreign and monetary policy. It's evident that many Americans on both ends of the political spectrum don't(and don't want to) understand this.
As for the tea party; it's a movement, not an organized political party. There are many different groups who are a part of the movement. To try and lump them all together and claim that 'society has matured' beyond their message is laughable. Once people started to hear Ron Paul's message of fiscal conservatism and non-interventionism foreign policies during the Republican primary debates, there was an outbreak of support for his presidential campaign. He broke single day campaign fund raising records multiple times.
Of course, the second he starting gaining momentum, Fox News blocked him from appearing at the New Hampshire primary. It was a very shady move. Once they heard Fox News' decision, the New Hampshire Republican Party immediately dropped it's sponsorship of the event. It's obvious that the neoconservative right(more specifically, the corporate lobbyists that fund them) is deathly afraid of what a guy like Ron Paul could do for this country.
Check out the video below to get a taste of what I'm talking about: