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 Since 2010, Republicans have harnessed the anti-establishment
energy of the Tea Party movement to win control of Congress and
recruit a deep field of candidates for the November 2016
presidential election.
Now that insurgent fervor threatens the party's ability to govern
effectively and win over new voters, strategists warn. While many
Americans share Republicans' skepticism of government, they also
need to show they are capable of handling power responsibly - or
else face punishment from voters next year.
"I think conservatives are in real danger," said David Bozell,
president of the conservative advocacy group For America. "They kind
of caught the dog by the tail and they didn't know what to do next."
Short-term, Republicans will have to solve a leadership vacuum in
Congress ahead of difficult votes on the debt limit and the budget.
 It is not clear who will be in charge. House Republican Leader Kevin
McCarthy suddenly dropped out the race to succeed retiring Speaker
John Boehner on Thursday, saying he was unable to unite moderates
and conservatives who have clashed repeatedly over tactics.
Like Boehner, McCarthy faced skepticism from a group of 40 or so Tea
Party lawmakers in the Freedom Caucus who viewed him as too willing
to compromise with Democratic President Barack Obama.
It was a surprising fall for McCarthy, who had been quickly amassing
power amid Tea Party successes.
Boehner has not shied from confrontation with the White House. He
led a white-knuckle showdown over the debt ceiling in 2011 that
nearly led to a government default and presided over a 16-day
federal shutdown in 2013. Republican approval ratings plunged after
both events.
But he has also been forced to rely on Democratic votes at times due
to conservatives' refusal to compromise.
Republicans say that while conservative icons such as Ronald Reagan
often settled for compromises that advanced his goals, ideological
fervor has blinded new lawmakers to the incremental reality of
governing in Washington.
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"They've elected an entire generation of members who have little
idea how to actually run the Congress they preside over," said Joe
Brettell, a Republican strategist and former House staffer. "They
are out of ideas, out of candidates and soon, they will be out of
time with voters," he said.
Conservative activists say the party will settle on a successor who
will be more willing to take the fight to Obama.
"You can't force the president to the negotiating table if you keep
capitulating," said Adam Brandon, the head of FreedomWorks, a
grassroots Tea Party group closely aligned with the Freedom Caucus.
That anti-establishment sentiment has also shaped the campaign trail
this year, as political neophytes such as real-estate mogul and
reality TV star Donald Trump and retired surgeon Ben Carson outpace
more experienced candidates like former Florida Governor Jeb Bush,
the early pick of wealthy donors.
Party strategists worry their unvarnished criticism of Muslims and
Hispanic immigrants could complicate the eventual nominee's efforts
to expand the party beyond its base of aging white voters.
If Republicans have one factor working in their favor, it is the
short memories of American voters, who blamed the party for the
government shutdown in 2013, only to hand them control of the Senate
a year later.
"It's going to require the party to do some fixing, but there is
some time," said John Feehery, a former House leadership aide who
now works as a Republican strategist.
(Additional reporting by Jim Oliphant; Editing by Ken Wills)
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