Speaking on the Senate floor on Wednesday, McCain read from a Wall Street Journal op-ed that referred to "tea party hobbits," saying that the movement was "foolish" to think that it could get the Democratic leadership in the Senate and President Barack Obama to look seriously at including a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution in a debt ceiling deal.
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McCain again insisted Monday that the tea party movement needs to be reasonable in pushing for a balanced-budget amendment.

"For tea partiers to insist that we pass a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution with only one-third of the government is not a realistic assessment, but that doesn't mean we can't do it over time," he said. "We can."