I first got active in politics because of the Tea Party. I attended the first ever Tax Day rally in 2009, and again in 2010. But recently, I’ve changed my mind. The Tea Party is no longer what it once was.

The Tea Party was great when it started. It was a grassroots movement made up of people worried about the debt we were accumulating – that the next generation would have to pay for.

Their biggest success was in 2010, when the Tea Party fueled one of the largest gains in Congress in U.S. History. That was fantastic, but even then there were hints that some were taking it too far.

Calls for “purity” within the party cost us the Senate. Several strong candidates were bested in primaries by weaker candidates who were more willing to pander to the outer fringe. Easy races, like Delaware, Colorado and Nevada were lost because of weak, far right candidates getting out of primaries in states not Republican enough to elect candidates like that.

This got worse in 2012, when weak candidates in Missouri, Indiana, North Dakota and Montana cost the Republicans the Senate for a second election cycle in a row. Now, the leading candidates in Georgia’s Senate primary are poised to do it a third consecutive time.

Even when the Tea Party wins, though, they lose. The debt ceiling debate in 2011 was a disaster for the Republican party politically, even if they did get some concessions in the end of it. Ted Cruz beating David Dewhurst was another fantastic victory, and one I personally was very happy with, but Senator Cruz’s new “Defund Obamacare” push is taking advantage of people on the far right who aren’t aware of how impossible the push actually is.

First, Republicans control one half of one branch of government. Passing this measure through the House isn’t hard, but ultimately useless since it will go nowhere in the Senate. Even if the Senate were to pass it, President Obama would surely veto it. No way would he sign off on defunding the most significant law he’s passed. Cruz knows this, but continues to exploit the public’s ignorance of congressional procedure and legislative process just so he can raise more money.

I’m a huge fan of former Senator Jim DeMint as well, and was thrilled when he took over the Heritage Foundation, but his complicity in this “Defund Obamacare” madness marks a drastic change in the mission of what the Heritage Foundation is supposed to do. They’re supposed to craft new policy, to think about issues in ways that Congress hasn’t before. They aren’t supposed to be promoting a hashtag-driven fundraising campaign for the more radical members of the Senate.

I’m not arguing that Obamacare shouldn’t be stopped. It should. But Republicans are virtually powerless to do so before the 2014 election. Further, after it is implemented and the American people start to see just how much of a disaster it will be, the law will be easier to remove. Wasting political capital on another exercise in brinksmanship isn’t a good strategy, and won’t help anyone in the long run.

Between the disastrous “defund” plan and the continued conspiracy-mongering over Benghazi, the NSA and other issues, the Tea Party has lost it. Renew focus on coming up with new policies, stop letting politicians take advantage of the grassroots’ ignorance, and stop keeping the Democrats in control of the Senate with “RINO hunts” and maybe I’ll be happy to support the Tea Party once again. Until then, I’ll happily remain a Republican who probably likes watching “The Newsroom” a little too much.

Keene is a senior majoring in political science, economics and public policy.