A Third -- Moderate -- Party?

A Tea Party backed candidate in Florida, Marco Rubio, seems about to force a more moderate (or opportunistic) Charlie Crist to run as an independent. Though the impact has yet to be felt, this could split the Republican vote and hand the Senate election to the Democrat. We've discussed in class as we've considered the potential consequence of the Tea Party movement. Might they be pulling the Republican Party too far to the right? Is the first of other similar moves?