Appearing on The O'Reilly Show last week, Charles Krauthammer refuted the host's argument that the "uber-left legions are well-coordinated" especially when it comes to attacking the tea party. Krauthammer scoffed, suggesting that O'Reilly was giving the illiberal left too much credit.

I don't think these people have the wherewithal to orchestrate a three-car motorcade... much less an actual media conspiracy. The reason for the repetition is the lack of intelligence...and lack of originality.

Yesterday the "orchestrated" legions hit the airwaves once again targeting the tea party with yet another sexy slogan. Oddly the left proved both Krauthammer and O'Reilly correct. On Sunday's Meet the Press Senator John Kerry started the ball rolling blaming the tea party for suppressing an increase in taxes.

I believe this is without question the Tea Party downgrade... this is the Tea Party downgrade because a minority of people in the House of Representatives countered even the will of many Republicans in the United States Senate who were prepared to do a bigger deal."

Later that morning former DNC chairman Howard Dean and former White House senior adviser David Axelrod appeared on Face the Nation. Dean blamed the downgrade on  "right wing splinter groups" and the "radical right."

If you look at the Standard & Poor's report, three times they mentioned that our unwillingness to raise revenues was going to make it impossible for us to regain our credit rating. That's a pretty clear signal.

The American people are there, the Democrats are there, a lot of reasonable Republicans are there, but they are terrified of these right wing splinter groups, the radical right, because they are so powerful in the primaries.

Dean told CBS' Bob Schieffer that the downgrade was the tea party's "problem." "They're totally unreasonable...I think they've been smoking some of that, not just drinking it."

Moveon.org "set the record straight" on Sunday scapegoating the tea party on its website.

This "tea party downgrade" is a shameful blow to our nation's honor and risks throwing us right back into recession. Worst of all? It was completely avoidable. But when given the choice between extremist posturing and responsible leadership, tea party Republicans chose wrong.

Tea party downgrade? Can't you just see Axelrod, PR man extraordinaire, pulling an all-nighter thinking up that little non-starter?

Read more M.Catharine Evans at Potter Williams Report