Not an actual party, my ars*!
There have been some rumors, apparently, that the Tea Party is considering holding their own state caucuses before the 2012 elections. I don't know how much, if any, truth their is to them. But this Bachman rebuttal makes it seem like at least some quarters are getting more serious.
Of course, the trouble is that if they were to break away as an actual third party, and post their own candidates instead of simply scaring local Republican parties into catering to the crazy, then they might not wield nearly so much power.
A split conservative vote would make me do a little happy dance.