Just a few years ago, the Tea Party was a dominant force in American politics, but you don't hear much about it these days. It hasn't gone away, it just morphed into something else.

Donald Trump was born out of the Tea Party. Trump's dedicated supporters are many of the same folks who made the Tea Party the dominant force in American politics in 2010.

Like Trump, the Tea Party was never overwhelmingly popular but it did have a strongly committed base. Less than half (41 percent) of the people who voted in 2010 said they were supporters of the Tea Party. Coincidently, Trump's job rating usually hovers at the same level.

The issues that fired up the Tea Party are the same things that Trump pushes as president: an anti-establishment view, hostility towards immigrants, opposition to ObamaCare and hatred of federal budget deficits.

It was the Tea Party fanned the flames that led to big GOP victories in 2010. The difference in 2018 is that Democrats are engaged as much Republicans were back then...