It’s compared to the tea party for the same reason every scandal in politics is something-gate.

I mean, how else are we supposed to measure bridges?

The problem is that I don’t know how you’d get a third party off the ground. Modern third parties all seem to fall into the trap of going all in on a presidential at the expense of any potential down ballot races.

I think Bernie’s suggestion of progressives running as independent is an interesting angle as it would be focused on down ballot races by its nature, and if you get enough independent progressives, they could coalesce into a new party down the line.