Is there trouble "brewing" for Republicans in 2012?

As we enter the 2012 election season, trouble could be brewing for Republicans in the form of the tea party. Tea party members were swept into power as a result of increased frustration with what Americans viewed as big government and too much spending back in 2010. But could the tea party be the demise of the Republicans in the 2012 presidential election? There is no doubt that the rise of the tea party has led to division within the Republican Party. Traditional Republicans view the tea party as not conservative enough for their liking. I have no doubt that traditional Republicans and tea party members are on the same page when it comes to ideology, but when it comes to putting that ideology into practice, there within lies the problem. We need to look no further than the current debt ceiling debate to prove this point. Speaker of the House John Boehner had to meet with tea party members for hours on end, not to mention changing the Republican debt plan, just to get them to go along with his ideas. Tea party members were not satisfied with Boehner's original plan because they felt that it didn't cut enough government spending, and it did not include a provision for a balanced budget amendment. If you have difficulty convincing members of your own party to adopt your ideas, how can you expect to gain widespread support for those ideas in a general election? In my view, this is the problem that the Republican Party faces heading into 2012. I am sure many Democrats are hoping that the tea party remains viable at least through next year. If so, there is sure to be even more division within the Republican Party. Can the Republicans overcome the current fragmentation within their party? Perhaps they should listen carefully to the words of one of their own who famously said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand."