I read an article recently, which compared the origins of the Occupy Wall Street movement to the origins of the Tea Party movement. As someone who has paid attention to both movements, I believe nothing could be further from the truth. Below are just 15 differences between the Occupy Wall Street protests, and the Tea Party movement.
1. Occupy Wall Street is a grassroots movement, funded by people around the world, without corporate sponsorship.
The Tea Party is an AstroTurf movement, receiving most of its funding from corporate sponsorship, and Fox News and its supporters.
2. Occupy Wall Street wants less corporate influence over our Government.
The Tea Party wants less Governmental influence over corporations.
3. Occupy Wall Street didn’t receive mainstream media coverage until several weeks after it began.
The Tea Party held rallies across the country sponsored by Fox News, and even small rallies with minimal turnout received attention from other media outlets.
4. Occupy Wall Street protesters are unarmed.
The Tea Party protesters openly carried a large variety of guns, including assault rifles.
5. Over 1,000 Occupy Wall Street Protesters have been arrested.
Zero Tea Party Protesters have been arrested.
6. Occupy Wall Street doesn’t endorse either political party.
The Tea Party actively endorsed the Republican Party.
7. Occupy Wall Street protests have sparked similar protests around the world.
The Tea Party protests were ridiculed around the world.
8. Occupy Wall Street protests have more than 50% approval from the general public.
The Tea Party protests peaked at 18% approval from the general public.
9. Occupy Wall Street protesters represent the poor, the disenfranchised, and the people who don’t feel like they have a voice in our Government.
The Tea Party protesters represented the wealthy, the elite, and the corporations who already have too much influence in our Government.
10. Occupy Wall Street doesn’t want politicians to co-opt their movement.
The Tea Party protests regularly featured speeches from conservative political figures like Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck.
11. Occupy Wall Street protesters signs are spelled correctly.
Many Tea Party protest signs featured glaring spelling and grammatical errors.
12. Occupy Wall Street is supported by the youth in this country.
A majority of the Tea Party’s support came from middle-age citizens and people 65 and up.
13. Occupy Wall Street represents the 99% of Americans who aren’t millionaires and billionaires, and who don’t have a voice in our Government.
The Tea Party represents the wealthiest Americans, and wants the Government to stop trying to tax them.
14. Occupy Wall Street protesters are setting up camps across the country, to get attention from the media and to show that they’re serious.
The Tea Party went home as soon as their corporately sponsored rallies were over.
15. Occupy Wall Street has received endless criticism from the right-wing.
The Tea Party received endless and unconditional praise from the right-wing.
Hopefully this has been an informative list, of some of the more obvious differences between the Occupy Wall Street and Tea Party movements.
The TP is much like the Nazis: coalition of business elites, hangovers of the old regime or party no longer in power whipping up uneducated or incurious rural socially conservative sectors that “their country was stolen” by some “other” boogeyman i.e. Soros, ACORN, SEIU, the Muppets and the Village People (last 2 my sarcasm); not that unfettered deregulation and cronyism mixed with corporate militarism caused the crisis at hand. Just like in Germany, the monarchy did not mess up; the Jews stabbed Germany in back.
The Tea Party is the biggest sham on America since Milli Vanilli.
As far as claims that OWS protesters have been arrested or commit vandalism and Tea Partiers do not, while that is technically true, there is evidence that Tea Partiers have engaged in vandalism, threats, etc; just have not been caught because they are cowards who attack under cover of darkness.
1: Law enforcement determined tea partiers upset about healthcare bill cut the gas lines to the BROTHER of Virginia Democrat Tom Pariello; posted address on blog, thinking it was the Congressman’s home.
http://www.politico.com/news/s…
2: Florida Republican Allen West told a crowd he wanted his Dem opponent afraid to leave his home. Also, in his run for Congress, he had his goons affiliated with a biker gang kick a staffer from his opponent’s staff out of a PUBLIC PARK.
http://blog.reidreport.com/201…
http://www.washingtonmonthly.c/…
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach/….
3: NY Dem Louise Slaughter’s office window was busted by a brick at time of healthcare debate and vote.
http://www.buffalonews.com/inc…
4: Missouri Democratic representative Russ Carnahan’s yard had a coffin placed on it at this same time.
http://www.politico.com/news/s…
5: In March 2010, well before the shooting, Gabrielle Giffords also experienced vandalism to her office. Before that, in summer 2009, someone dropped a handgun at town hall she hosted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-50….6: In Summer 2010, Giffords’ opponent, Jesse Kelly held a fundraiser which allowed donors to shoot a fully automatic M-16 for the privilege.
http://azstarnet.com/news/loca…
7: Nevada GOP Senate candidate Sharon Angle invoked idea of “2nd Amendment remedies” if she lost to Harry Reid.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/po…
8: Right wing media critic Dan Gainor offered $100 to first person who punched Alan Grayson, a Florida Democrat (no longer in Congress) in the nose.
http://famousdc.com/2010/07/21..
The Truth About Tea Party:
The press has put forth the myth that the Tea Party arose as a reaction to the bank/Wall Street bailouts. While they did oppose the auto company bailouts, there has never been any evidence of a reaction to the bank bailouts, requested by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and outgoing President George W. Bush in Fall 2008.
The myth has the Tea Party arising as a reaction to a CNBC analyst named Rick Santelli who had a Network style rant on air in February 2008.
However, Santelli said NOTHING about the bailouts. His February 2009 rant was a planned stunt to leverage upcoming contract talks and his gripe was the loan modification program; did not want to pay the so-called losers’ mortgage. Not a DAMN thing about the bailouts.
http://www.dailyfinance.com/st…
http://freedomeden.blogspot.co…
The clues lead to big business and big name Republican Party operatives and former politicians.
Zack Christensen, a Twitter Republican and producer for Chicago right wing radio host Milt Rosenberg registered the first tea party domain in August 2008.. After Santelli’s rant, the site activated.
The same day, another site went live that was registered by Eric Odom, a GOP PR man, who heads dontGO, an organization with ties to oil and gas industries.
This means that there already were contingency plans by certain GOP operatives to form a “grass roots” protest movement in the event of an Obama election victory.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/a…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E…
http://www.boston.com/bostongl…
http://www.newyorker.com/repor…
One of the major supporters and sponsors of Tea Party events is a group called Americans For Prosperity. Who are they? In 2004, a group called Citizens for a Sound Economy broke into
two groups, one being Americans For Prosperity, which was conceived and funded by
David and Charles Koch of Koch Industries, one of the largest oil,gas and mining companies in the world.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/20/us/politics/20koch.htm?_r=1
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_mayer?currentPage=all
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123859296
The other group that arose out of the split of Citizens for a Sound Economy is FreedomWorks, headed up by none other than Dick Armey, former Republican congressman from Texas whose group receives funds from tobacco, telecommunication and health insurance companies.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/15/AR2009081502696.html
Another key figure in bringing life to the Tea Party is a Sacramento GOP operative named Sal Russo. He previously had coordinated Pentagon funded “counter-protests” against Cindy Sheehan in 2005.
http://articles.cnn.com/2009-09-12/politics/tea.party.express_1_tea-party-movement-bus-tour-white-house?_s=PM:POLITICS
http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/support-the-war/content?oid=45067
Plus, unlike Ross Perot or Ralph Nader, nobody has run for office as a Tea Partier. The Tea Party is simply the far right base of the Republican Party, composed of:
-Big business, mainly oil/gas/mining and defense contractors
-Evangelical/religious/social issues voters whose big issues are abortion, gay marriage
This article is FULL OF BULLSHIT! The Tea Party is the ONE TRUE PARTY of GOD HERSELF and the PEOPLE! They will successfully take over our government! OWS is an EPIC FAIL!
Not only is this a shallow and simplistic comparison, it is worse than unhelpful. At a time when we should be looking for other committed citizens and seeking common ground, this article feeds the polarization that has made political discourse in this country so treacherous.
Point 5 is not accurate. There have been several arrests of tea partiers at rallies or related events. the number pales by comparison to OWS but they have indeed occurred. it takes 2 seconds on google to fact-check that one.
#1 – The unions stayed out until after #OWS had been in place for weeks and it got embarrassing not to support the movement. It was not until a policeman randomly pepper sprayed a woman before any public media even mentioned it. All the organizing was done on the Web.
By contrast the TP crowd was promoted 24/7 on Fox for months before. Many folk saw that was happening on Fox and started their own local organization, but the details, and issues were provided by Fox, frequently invented out of whole cloth. Two Koch funded operations were at the lead and provided free transportation to many.
#2 #OWS want the government out of our bedrooms but into the boardrooms that those who commit massive fraud get a bad life and not a multi-million dollar bonus.
By contrast the TP talks about making the Government smaller and less able to restrain Corporate criminality, but the small government meme disappears with the demand for enforcing English language, and deporting those who cannot document their birth or are known to have been brought here as children, but only if they are dark skinned.
On another front the TP wants the government to be very big in enforcing their religion on what a woman can do with her own body. Or their religion on who any person can love, even if their religion disagrees in either case. That is hardly less Government as a primary value.
#3-4-5 Are examples of when a protest is fake and Astroturf and when it is not. Even in Iran those who were fake carried guns, had few police or not dressed in riot gear, and there were no arrests and nobody got injured much less no teargas. When the real protests happened people died and the police rioted, arresting thousands.
When opposing real tyranny getting arrested is a mark of honor. Prancing around claiming to oppose a tyranny that is not actually opposing you is open fraud.
#6 I would agree that the OWS should occupy the Democratic party and take it over the way the TP did the Republicans. There was a TP third party that tried to put their man up opposing the Republican and elected the first Democrat in that district in over a hundred years. I would really hope that #OWS would learn from this.
#7 The TP could never put the numbers of folk out that routinely are out for #OWS. It appears to me that even before #OWS more folks came out in Wisconsin alone and in days than the largest TP event that was months in the priming.
There is a very definite information divide between TP and #OWS. The TP was organized primarily by Television and top down that fake issues were invented that those who followed held in no more depth than was handed out. If a bit more depth had been known the huge logic gaps would have become obvious. Those who carried the “Obama is a Nazi” or “Obama is a Socialist” could not even define the words on their signs much less identify the members of the American Nazi Party marching along side them.
By contrast It would be my guess (I know many but not all obviously) that is asked most in #OWS could give you a long dissertation on the details and even argue with each other on the finer points of economics and politics, even having much more detail about the original Teaparty than any TP “Protester”. Not least about how it was the colonies imposing a “tax” on the original Corporation that was exempt from the tax the rest had to pay.
There were plenty of folk in the TP who knew that Wall Street had robbed them somehow, that had home foreclosed on or at least became far less valuable, that had their Social Security static even as what it bought went down. They knew that much and were very angry, but were badly misinformed.
The problem we all have is that corruption is more profitable than honor, and thus has the money to make its case even if not a word is true, and the money to buy spokesmen and politicians. Meanwhile Honor has no such funding to oppose it. So while there are some who are drunk on the Koolade, many trolls are paid well to spread their propaganda and will not respond honorably in any thread, and are quite impervious to any logic, only running away when no possible answer is available.
“When opposing real tyranny getting arrested is a mark of honor. Prancing around claiming to oppose a tyranny that is not actually opposing you is open fraud.”
That’s beautiful. I’m totally stealing it. Well said!
here is another Difference between the two. 90% of the Tea Party are employed and can’t sit around for a month collecting Wellfare and the like. Oh yeah and they picked up after themselves.
75% of the OWS crowds were unemployed lacked any idea in what they were protesting and didn’t shower for a month. Also opposed the law, broke windows, threw rocks at police officers, even caught a couple cars on fire, not to mention all the trash that was left for other people to clean up. Because they can’t do anything for themselves. I know this won’t make your 10 replies Because you are an obvious selective audience. So I will leave you with 1 more statement.
In every business there is in this world it started from nothing. They have worked their way to the top. Who cares how, they did it. Quit asking for a handout. If you want something go get it create,build something and make your own fortune.
What a surprise. When those complaints were levied, the OWSers made great strides in trying to conduct sanitation. Guess Fox didn’t tell you that. Also, they’re protesting because of the near impossibility of “picking oneself up” nowadays. You tell them to get jobs. If it was that easy, why is unemployment still high? Is there a magical Fountain of Jobs we don’t know about?
75% unemployed? I’d like to see where you got that. On second thought, it was probably your ass, so I’m all set. They knew exactly why they were there: corporations had screwed the country and robbed them of opportunity in the name of their own excessive personal gain, that bonuses and stockholders were more important than the millions of families they were destroying by issuing layoffs while their seven-plus figure salaries only increased.
They can’t do anything for themselves? They set up a self sufficient community in the park where they cooked, cleaned, and aided one another. As for the laws they broke, how many of those laws actually violated their civil rights? A lot. Civil rights trump small scale laws, unless of course one has enough money. And as for cleaning up after themselves, who’s cleaning up after the corporations? Oh, right, the rest of us.
Most businesses nowadays are offshoots of major corporations, and they certainly didn’t start with nothing. What can a small businessperson hope to start now that will succeed? Certainly not any kind of retail store. Not with the small business crushing conglomerates like Walmart stomping around. And who exactly got the handouts? If massive corporations and financial institutions can get unlimited welfare from the government, despite their blatant and massive criminal practices, why should we get left out in the cold?
They screwed us all over because of their sociopathic, dispassionate lust for money, destroyed the counrty with their recklessness, and then dared to ask for handouts from US so THEY could not only continue making millions, but could lay people off and escape any admission of wrongdoing. You want to see people who can’t take care of themselves? That ask for handouts? That are truly lazy and don’t clean up after themselves? You’re looking in the wrong place.
All we want is an opportunity. We want to be able to get a job that we can work herd at, one that pays something approaching a living wage, one that we can feel secure at as long as we work hard, one we can get up every day and go to knowing our quality of living is correlated with the quality we put into the job. We’re tired of being treated like indentured servants, like we owe our company something because their good graces hired us at minimum wage with no benefits. A job where our stress level isn’t constantly hypertension inducing because of overwork, underpay, and fear that our tyrannical bosses will send us to the metaphorical guillotine over a fictitious complaint filed by a vindictive customer.
We are the many. We are the downtrodden. We are the fed up. We are the hope.
John Giles summed it up pretty well. I am also not rich and not all that old. I find that the Tea Party represents my beliefs pretty well.
I just love all of these comments that mostly have a problem with the writer calling the T.E.A. Party members as tea-baggers, while Ann Coulter and many others on the left are calling out OWS as “fleabaggers” and “the flea party”. It’s part of the whole fake and very tired “dirty hippies” meme, as if there were any hippies left in the world outside the retirement home. Guess what jerks? I’m a fleabagger, and you’re a teabagger. GET OVER IT.
We’re all entitled to our opinions, but you try to pass your opinions off as facts.DIF #1 When a union funds a protest is it AstroTurf Roots as well? At least a Corporation is using its money from sales not from dues.#2 the TEA Party,which I associate most of my beliefs to be similar,wants less government role in almost everything not just corporations.#4 If the law allows carrying,what’s the problem?#5 Is that something you’re proud or embarrased of? If it were me,I’d be embarrased.#6 Yes TEA Party Endorsed mostly GOP,but knocked out “RINO’s” in primaries.OWS most likely will vote DNC.#7/8 I would like to see the proof from a credible source that’s not left-leaning for the ridicule and opinion plus the rest of the world is mostly protesting the government to do more for them a result from socialist entitlements that have crippled the Eurozone.Outside of Socialist Bernie Sanders I doubt OWS will elect a rep and I know they won’t elect as many as TP.#9 This is just a ridiculous generalization on both ends.I’m in the 99%,not elite and nowhere near wealthy.If you think public unions are disenfranchised and poor or kids going to colleges with costs more than the avg salary you might be the elitist.#10 Glenn Beck isn’t a politician,he’s an entertainer and plenty of 1%celebs have been showing up,so the hypocrisy of only disliking the 1% that don’t agree with you is obvious.#11 I’m sure you can find the same at OWS if you were looking with as much passion you had to discredit me,but yea it is bad form and actually does matter.#12 You’re generalizing again unless you think I’m old at 34,wife 30 and a lot of 25-40 in the midwest and south are too. Plus,this generation of youth are starting to be known as the Entitlement Generation and are the least respectful to parents/elders and never kept score in tee ball and “won” participation ribbons and never learned responsibility or failure because it “might offend someone” and are now realizing that life is very hard and unfair.#13 I have a voice just as much as anyone else,so do you. We’re not in the 1% and I just read your “voice” as you’re reading mine. Just because I don’t have the time or money doesn’t mean we can’t try to influence people to vote or even run for office.#14 TP obviously has responsibilities,obeyed the rule of law paying for permits etc.#15 Thanks Captain Obvious nothing gets by you does it!?! Seriously? You think everyones too stupid to know that?
Here are a few more differences:
1. There is a picture of only one blatantly racist sign at a tea party rally. Besides an open endorsement from the head of the KKK, I can produce numerous antisemetic signs and video from the OWS demonstrations.
2. The Tea Party (I am shocked that peaceful and understanding people such as those who support OWS would use such a derogatory term as “tea baggers) pull all the proper permits and pay for the proper insurance for their demonstrations; hence no arrests. They followed park rules, hence they leave before dark. OWS demonstrations follow none of these rules; hence, they are sometimes forced out of the areas they are occupying which leads to arrests.
3. I have never seen a weapon at a tea party rally. I saw an AK-47 strapped to the bach of an OWS Atlanta rally member (he does have a carrying permit).
4. It is ridiculous to criticize the tea party for having Glenn Beck, et. al. at their rallies, when at the same time the OWS rallies have been visited by Michael Moore, Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, Vance Jones, Bette Midler, Andrew Young, and many other celebrities.
5. It is hypocritical to fault the tea party for accepting corporate donations, when the OWS movement is being partially funded by the SEIU, the Teamsters, The Socialist Party, and the Commumist Party. The OWS movement is also accepting food, clothing, hygiene products, and outdoor equipment from corporations. The two unions I mentioned are two of the most powerful entities in the United States who most clearly support the agenda of their leadership and not their rank and file.
*any spelling or grammatical errors are intentional and provided so that there is some truth to the above posts that are so critical of the tea party movement.
Point 1 and Point 3: Google “racist tea party signs” and “guns at tea party rallies.”
Point 2: Why would the Tea Party willingly go to get permission from the government to assemble in a peaceable manner? I thought the Tea Party hated “the guv’mint?”
Point 3: Glenn Beck SPONSORED a Tea Party rally. The other “celebrities” you mention just showed up at the OWS rallies.
Point 5: The organizations you mention at the OWS rallies are not for-profit corporations. Oh, the “hygiene products” bit; playing the “dirty hippie” card, I see?
Folks, why should I bother arguing with this guy?. I’d have better luck convincing Anakin Skywalker that Chancellor Palpatine IS evil.
inclusion…as Dylan Ratigan was saying at OWS in Zucotti Park, that this movement has the potential to transcend politics…to INCLUDE Tea Partiers, to INCLUDE Dems AND Republicans…to INCLUDE anyone and everyone who comprises the 99% and THAT means EVERY-ONE…regardless of their politics. You’ll do more for the movement to outline how we ARE all the same…and how the UNIFYING aspects of what Dylan Ratigan have to say are far more POWERFUL.
Thanks for listening!
A response to Chris – The Fold:
I am a 66 yr. old retiree, and a Medicare and SS recipient. I am a product of the 60ties idealism and maintain my liberal values to this day. Please do not categorize tea baggers as you have done in your response to Occupiers vs Teabaggers. Generalizations, like yours, only fuels the “tea baggers” efforts to throw even more ridicule at the W.S. Occupiers. Research your facts before you make broad, sweeping statements about “people who are on Medicare, SS, unemployment, disability, or farm subsidies” Your accusation sounds as just as silly and unsubstantiated as your conservative counterparts.
Well said!
agree, well said.
Like I wrote on another post on this site (I say it all the time trust me). Tea Baggers and OWS have very little in common. Tea Baggers are mainly people who are on Medicare, Social Security, unemployment, disability, farm subsidies, or some other government program out in the streets protesting government programs. It makes no sense!!
The OWS equivalent would be if the protesters were the rich, Wall St. gurus out in the street protesting, well, rich Wall St. gurus.