The movement known as the tea party started in the mainstream media, on a national show. CNBC's Rick Santelli, fired what cable news would later dub "the shot heard around the world" in 2009, when he lamented paying for the mortgages of the "losers" who couldn't pay their bills. "President Obama, are you listening?" he bellowed.
Well, it was broadcast on national television.
By the way they snarl about the mainstream media on Fox News, you'd think they were disseminating their programs via ham radio instead of on the number one cable news network in the country. Fox News is as mainstream a media as any. And they've puffed up and promoted their pet protes t group called the tea party for the last two and half years.
And just like the imaginary death panels in the health care reform act or the fantasy Sharia law threat - the tea party got its legs from Fox News.
So when criticism is lobbed at the tea party as being an astroturf re-branding of the Republican Party, sponsored by interest groups and corporate media, it's because it is.
To put this into perspective, look at movement Fox News hasn't endorsed and Karl Rove's group, American Crossroads, haven't chartered busses for: meet Occupy Wall Street.
Occupy Wall Street started as a couple thousand protesters marching through lower Manhattan and camping out at the detonator of the economic meltdown.
For the first two weeks, the protest was largely ignored by actual mainstream media. Then NYPD officer Anthony Bologna pepper sprayed a couple of young women peacefully assembling at this public demonstration. The footage landed on YouTub e: Then there was attention. A skirmish with police. A Story. Last Saturday, 700 of the protesters were arrested by the NYPD. Another Story. Worthy of a mention even on the venerable Sunday Shows.
Who are these people? Are they the anti-tea party?
No. In fact they are not in any way like the tea party. If they were the tea party, the media would be giving value to all their political peccadilloes. Yes, "What does the tea party think?" has become a staple in American political discourse. And for what? They're identical to Republicans. They have a public approval rating, according to some polls, of 26 percent. And the tea party-led House suffers a historic low of around 13 percent (more people approve of salmonella).
Yet the tea party is given credence and credibility as a swell of a movement to give rich people and corporations more tax breaks. How is that populist, exactly? It's a protest movement that just so happens to be suspiciously business-fr iendly. How, as they say in corporate-speak, synergistic.
This tea party now has a seat at the table of power. Their corporate sponsors must snicker every time they hear about the "tea party's take" on whatever issue.
I was at an Occupy Wall Street solidarity demonstration over the weekend in Los Angeles. Around 3,000 people were there when I arrived. The first thing apparent is the crowd is young. These are not cantankerous retirees worried about the government getting involved in Medicare. No these are the children of the middle-class' Lost Decade. These are kids whose American Dream has been eroding while the rich have gotten richer. These are the young people on Facebook and Twitter calling for an "American Autumn" to match the Arab Spring.
And the Arab Spring is a far better comparison for this group.
Like the Egypt and Tunisia uprisings, Occupy Wall Street are youths worried about their futures' downgrade. It's about the lack of pros pects in the "land of opportunity." Their battle cry: "We are the 99 percent and we are too big to fail." They've succinctly stated their goal is "economic justice." Pandering to the wealthy minority is the disease: Occupy Wall Street is a symptom.
What does economic justice mean? Maybe a better question is: How top-heavy can the wealth inequality get before something tumbles?
The hurdle for Occupy Wall Street is that it was not birthed on cable news. Cable news doesn't own it so it can't show it off like they have the tea party.
But the Arab Spring revolution wasn't televised; it was re-tweeted.
Tina Dupuy is a columnist and fill-in host at The Young Turks. She can be reached at tinadupuy@yahoo.com.
Accuracy posted at 3:17 pm on Tue, Oct 4, 2011.
Tina Dupuy,
You are way off concerning the Tea Party, who represents a broad cross-section of freedom-loving patriotic Americans consisting of Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Independents, college graduates, and more. Futhermore, the Tea Party movement continues to grow by leaps and bounds in spite of all of the criticism by the Liberal mob.
Cerulean posted at 6:53 pm on Tue, Oct 4, 2011.
This is a very good column, Tina. There only one thing I might change just slightly, ‘So when criticism is lobbed at the tea party as being an astroturf re-branding of the Republican Party; sponsored by the billionaire Koch Brothers, Forbes, D. Armey (all rather boring self- interested pukes) and their interest groups along with right wing corporate media, it’s because it is.’ Yes, the Know-Nothing tea party is a coddled group of whiners.
It is tragic what young people are facing at this time. It will pass – things will get better, but it is good to see them voice an opinion.
Leon Ceniceros posted at 8:13 pm on Tue, Oct 4, 2011.
Well, President Obama was screaming from the podium " Down with Wall Street, Down with the Millionaires and Billionaires" and guess what he got his wish for a new "Red Army" know as the Occupy Wall Street Solidarity Movement. Have you seen these "freaks" ??? Wearing white "War Paint" on their faces. Dread Locks, tattooes and body pierced from here to there...and I do mean "there".
What is President Obama going to do now that he has "uncorked" the oil lamp and these "Anarchist Genies" start acting like their "London-Looters" brothers and sisters...across the Pond....torching the New York Stock Exchange or some other "Capitalist Castle" ???
New York Mayor Bloomberg doesn't have the "you know what's" to roust out these 700 "Red Guard Wanna-be's" with the N.Y.P.D. He remembers seeing the L.A.P.D. being castigated by the Ultra-Left Wing Liberal TV stations and the Newspapers during the Watts and Rodney King Riots. But guess what...President Obama ain't gonna call in the National Guard to flush this crowd down the sewer until all "Heck" breaks out and Dolce & Garbani is looted....lol.
So President Barack Hussein Obama...how do you like the "Obama Revolution" now ???
You might not even make it to 2012...you might just end up being America's first......"3/4 Term President". At least Bill Clinton did it with someone else....Obama "did it" to himself.
Arizona Willie posted at 8:45 am on Wed, Oct 5, 2011.
America's multi-billionaires would do well to be studying the French Revolution.
History repeats itself.
mnjcpa posted at 11:42 am on Wed, Oct 5, 2011.
It's amusing the characterization and libeling of the decent people in the Tea Party. "Yet the tea party is given credence and credibility as a swell of a movement to give rich people and corporations more tax breaks." If you actually read their agenda Tina you would find they are normal, hard-working, middle class Americans that are sick of the liberal agenda that has perverted the principles this country was founded upon. A similar movement - but unnamed - was what brought Reagan in to office after the disaster that Carter left this country in. But then all I had to read was that you attended an "Occupy Wall Street" event to know what this piece was about. I expect the labor unions to jump on board with this debacle which is the face of the Democrat and liberal agenda. The average American is going to see through this farce. What do I want for free? Free markets, freedom of religion, private property, freedom from union bosses, freedom from Obamacare, cap & trade, subsidizing spoiled brats dancing in the streets, freedom from the America haters - and demand that we pay for it. That's what the Tea Party stands for.
Slabside posted at 11:46 am on Wed, Oct 5, 2011.
France was ruled by King Louis during the Revolution. Obummer might want to study what happened to him.
VofReason posted at 12:16 pm on Wed, Oct 5, 2011.
Yes I definitly trust snot nose kids that are on twitter and have never held a real job or had any real responsibility in life much more that middle aged middle Americans that have worked all their life for what they have. Yes, Tina has a real point here. Down with Wall Street. Will all live in a big hippy dippy comune and tweet eachother all day and get a check from the thoughtful and supportive Government who will get the money from the evil rich. What a knucklehead.......
VofReason posted at 12:55 pm on Wed, Oct 5, 2011.
One more thing, anything after you say that the Wall street hater nuts are like the (ahem) peaceful Arab sping falls flat
sockratties posted at 6:07 am on Thu, Oct 6, 2011.
Talk about biting the hand that feeds you!
Many Wall Street protestors have put more effort into this protest than they have into trying to get a job. If they always take more out of the system than is put in, it's sure to implode. One reason they are the “lost decade” is because they have spent the last 10 years or so feeding at the trough of subsidized education and inflated mortgages while demanding services provided by borrowed money. It’s hard to feel sorry for those that are complaining about not getting theirs when they’re not the ones paying the bill.
Yes, Wall Street is greedy. Making money by manipulating and moving wealth from the middle class to the upper class is what they do. No new wealth is created and nothing of value is created. Wall Street is in the business of accumulating wealth, not creating it. If they can’t use it to make more, they’ll hang on to it until they can.
The middle class and Wall Street have a symbiotic relationship. The middle class makes money by selling time and expertise. (The lower class only sell their time and are easily replaced so they can’t demand a high income.) Education, expertise and innovation enable the middle class to earn more than what is required to survive. This discretionary income makes the middle class able to buy homes, autos and durable goods that fuel the economy and, as the cycle continues, provide a return on Wall Street investments.
Investment is the way Wall Street can enable the middle class to produce something of value and create new wealth. Wall Street moguls are not about to risk wealth unless the business climate is predictable enough to assure a return. We can blame Washington; severe polarization, negativity and special interest groups form the stormy investment weather that makes financial institutions unwilling to invest in our economic recovery. The only way we should want the government involved in business is to assure that special interests and abuse don’t again become part of business.
sockratties posted at 6:22 am on Thu, Oct 6, 2011.
Slobside n Willy...
It wasn't just the French Revolution. It was actually fairly calm after the initial riot. It was the reign of terror following that really did the job. It lasted for months and was a continual purging of perceived enemies of the people and fired by competing political factions. For many it was an opportunity to purge rivals which were often vicims of contrived conspiracies.