Why link this to the Tea Party Movement? The TPM is a non-partisan grass-roots movement protesting big government, waste and taxation. That's why the largest protests were on April 15. It has nothing to do with religion, birth conspiracies, gay marriage or anything else. The Republican administration of the last 8 years was as wasteful as any Democrats could be. I know Democrats and independents who participate.
Because economic frugality is is an issue more often associated with conservatives than with liberals, you're going to find more Republicans at tea parties, and of course, a good number of them are delusional religious wingnuts. Fiscal conservatives who feel the GOP has become infested with theocrats are leaving the party like rats from a sinking ship. I would have been one of them, if I hadn't jumped ship years ago.