Occupy Wall Street (OWS) vs The Tea Party: Why Occupy Wall Street is not the same
Occupy Wall Street (OWS) has drawn countless comparisons to the Tea Party. Both have arisen out of discontent with the current political system and have attracted followers from opposite sides of mainstream party lines, in addition to many independents. However, it would appear (given economic history) that the Occupy Wall Street protesters are angry for the right reasons (and have racked up impressive endorsements from people like Suze Orman and Howard Buffett and whereas the Tea Party is angry over their misguided notion of taxes and government (driven far more by ideology than objectivity). Both camps claim to want “take the power back.” But whereas the Tea Party has a simplistic “taxes and government are the problem” mantra we often see coming from the angry right, the Occupy Wall Street protesters realize that it’s corporate special interests that have filled the political power vacuum (a vacuum that exists largely because everyday people either haven’t participated in the Democratic process or, like the Tea Party, allow themselves to be blindly led by said corporate interests and unwittingly act against their own best interests). Whereas the Tea Party protests appear to be an 8-5 affair where protesters prop up (often racist) signs and speak out against government then go home (and enjoy their social security and Medicare benefits), the OWS movement appears to be a 24/7 affair, with protesters camping in public areas in financial districts.
As this Occupy Wall Street Protester articulates (Fox News conveniently failed to air this):
Occupy Wall Street vs Tea Party: The Politics
Occupy Wall Street is comprised predominantly of political independents (70%), who are young and educated. The Tea Party is predominantly comprised of Republicans (66%) who are older and wealthier and have favorable views of Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck and George W Bush. Tea party members are also likelier than the average citizen to believe that too much is made of problems facing African Americans and that Obama was not born in the United States.
