(Editor’s Note: As the end of 2013 approaches, the Washington Examiner is shining a spotlight on its top stories of the year. Today, it’s senior writer Philip Klein’s story on the internal strife of the Tea Party. This story first ran on Sept. 17 and can be found in its original form here.)

Though the Tea Party movement came to a boil during President Obama‘s administration, the burner was first lit while his predecessor was still in office.