Has the tea party been tamed?

“Every single Republican ran as a conservative,” Brent Bozell, chairman of ForAmerica, told The Hill. “Name me one moderate issue that won. Moderation was defeated everywhere.”

The numbers don’t bear that out. The national party made an early and aggressive play to neutralize conservative challenges and make sure the most electable candidates won the party’s nominations, to great effect.

“We said we were going to be the Nick Saban of recruiting, we were going to recruit the best candidates, put them in the right position,” National Republican Senatorial Committee Political Director Ward Baker told reporters Thursday. “We decided we couldn’t be Akin-ed anymore. No more witches, no more gaffes.”