By Rachel Hoff

It did not take long for the rhetoric about the death of the Republican Party and conservatism in the wilderness to dissipate after the 2008 elections. The GOP’s sweep of all three major elections since—in the purple to blue states of Virginia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, no less—shows voters moving back to the Republicans (or away from the Democrats—or both) much quicker than many expected.

But, despite recent electoral successes, one question looms from the “Whither the Republican Party” stories of one year ago: Who leads the GOP?

Does Michael Steele or Rush Limbaugh? John Boehner or Mitch McConnell? Mitt Romney or Mike Huckabee? Maybe the leader is Ronald Reagan, whose name conservatives still invoke reverently and often, 99 years after his birth.

Or do the Tea Partiers run things? The vacuum of leadership on the right seems to have created space for individuals around the country to stand up and lead. The Tea Party movement is not a top-down operation, but rather a loose collection of everyday Americans across the nation who decided to get involved, attend rallies and town hall meetings, write letters and articles, and run for office.

While many Americans feel passionately—one way or another—about the Tea Parties, the fact is that the movement still remains an enigma to much of the American electorate.

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