The tea party movement has received wall-to-wall coverage since the election of Scott Brown for Senator of Massachusetts almost two weeks ago. However, this was not the first time I had heard of this ever-growing grassroots political movement. It was sweeping America, and yet I barely understood it at all.

The movement began in response to the stimulus package and shifted to include other governmental policies members were unhappy with. “Tea party protests” began to spring up all over the country in the last few months. It evolved into a movement of “No,” a loosely-organized national organization of disgruntled radical Conservatives who are opposed to everything from Obama to the stimulus package and bailouts, and even to moderate Republicans.

To really understand the tea party movement, one must understand that it does not actually stand for anything; it is all about opposition. It is an unorganized grassroots movement, which could destroy the Republican Party’s chance at making a comeback in the upcoming midterm elections. By refusing to endorse the Republican candidates they see as weak because of their moderate beliefs, the movement effectively splits the Republican Party’s base of support in two.

Moderate Republicans won’t win because they’ll be unable to garner the support of this large grassroots movement or, even worse, a Republican with uncompromising radically conservative beliefs will be elected. The last thing we need is more radical ideologies in Congress.

For a year since Obama was first elected, the story in the Senate has been consistent. Democrats effectively controlled the Senate, holding 60 seats, the minimum number needed to break a filibuster. That said, little was accomplished. But the more unfortunate story lies in the uncompromising nature of the two parties.

Voting in the Senate, especially in regard to health care reform, is divided exactly along party lines. This means that not a single Senator from either party was able to work with the opposing party to ensure good legislation was passed. The widening rift seems quite childish, almost like neither party learned in kindergarten that it is important to work together to achieve goals.

And, of course, the tea party movement is not helping.

By exacerbating the existing political divide, the tea party’s ideology has been persistently annoying, at best. While I certainly support popular political participation, the tea party movement is effectively destroying any hope of reconciliation between the two parties. To attract this growing base of support, a Republican candidate must prove that he has abandoned any interest in compromise. There is no such thing as a middle-of-the-road Republican for tea partyers.

Whose idea was it to promote the candidates from the far right of the political spectrum when Congress is stuck in a partisan standstill? This tea party would be a lot more fun if everyone was invited.

Whatever your political leanings are, it’s impossible to deny that both parties are at fault for the political hopelessness pervasive in this country. Democrats are obstinately pushing whatever legislation they can through Congress, hoping for a quick victory, while Republicans are stubbornly opposing any Democratic political measure. Democrats have forgotten that any health care legislation is not necessarily good health care legislation. Republicans have forgotten that the effectiveness of government rests on compromise, not political stalemate.

We need to be instilling a sense of cooperation in this country to solve the many problems facing America, not discord and disunity. So why can’t Congress just learn to play nicely together?