"I think it's the last gasp of the 55-year-old generation ... a group of older folks who've seen their lives change dramatically,'' he said. "The country is not the same ... and all of a sudden it's here for them and they don't know what to do. ... Every morning when they see the president they are reminded that things are totally different than they were when they were born and I think that has a lot to do with it."

"Economic uncertainty fuels this but this is the last gasp of the generation that has trouble with diversity,'' Dean added. "The tea party is almost entirely over 55 and white, and the country has changed dramatically as a result of what happened in 2008 and it's not going back. Every day that goes on, the demographic change continues, and that's what a lot of this is about."