U.S. political campaigns are conducted largely via tax-free contributions. Banning 1/3 of the advertisements and rallies most certainly is rigging an election.
There has never been any dearth of Tea Party content since it began. The media has been inundated with their point of view since the last presidential election. Money pours into their PACS. Nobody's stopped any TP group from running ads or rallies. Fox News is practically a Tea Party shill.
To suggest that somehow the Tea Party voice has been silenced or that their point of view hasn't been firmly established in American political consciousness is just absurd. They fail to gain traction because of the extremist nature of their views, not because the establishment is "keeping them down."
Winning elections is about getting out the vote, which is mostly a matter of money. PR firms and canvassers do not come cheap. When the IRS takes a third of your money, you lose a lot of votes.
