Is 'Occupy Wall Street' the Next Tea Party Movement? >
'Occupy' Movement Lacks Clear Objectives
Occupy Wall Street wants more government in business, Tea Party wants government to get out of business
October 19, 2011
About Kristen Soltis Anderson:
Kristen Soltis Anderson is currently the director of policy research at The Winston Group, where she has worked since 2005. She was featured as a "Mover and Shaker" in Campaigns & Elections Magazine in June 2010 and is the author of the opinion research chapter in the upcoming Margin of Victory: How Politicians Use Information Technology and New Media to Win Elections .
Occupy Wall Street is exciting those on the left who have hoped for their own Tea Party-esque groundswell of frustration. But is it the next Tea Party movement? Not quite. To be sure, there are many overlapping qualities shared by the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street. Both movements began organically, born out of pent-up frustration, featuring a variety of voices that are loosely unified under a common banner.
[See photos of the Occupy Wall Street protesters.]
Those sympathetic to Occupy Wall Street could say that the movement chiefly wishes for fairness and accountability. Those who support the Tea Party would say the same of their own movement.
[Check out editorial cartoons about the Tea Party.]
Yet on the substance, the two movements differ significantly. While the Tea Party generally thinks the best way to disentangle corporate and government interests is to get the government less involved in business, the Occupy Wall Street movement's nebulous demands seem to call for greater regulation of business paired with government redistribution of resources. Furthermore, while Occupy Wall Street protesters seem focused on what the government or business owes to them, members of the Tea Party felt they were owed one simple thing: to be left alone.
[See collection of political cartoons on Occupy Wall Street.]
It would be a mistake for conservatives and Republicans to dismiss Occupy Wall Street as unimportant. Plenty of Americans who aren't inclined to camp out in a park are still angry that unemployment remains over 9 percent, aren't comfortable bailing out big business, and are still profoundly frustrated about our financial and government institutions. These feelings are not confined to one party or ideology.
Yet the Tea Party had one key strength that Occupy Wall Street has not yet developed. The Tea Party had clear policy objectives to deal with the problems it decried: repeal Obamacare, lower taxes, cut spending. At this point it is unclear what would satisfy Occupy Wall Street, and how that is defined will make a big difference in the appeal of the movement beyond the far left.
- Browse: photos of the Occupy Wall Street protests.
- See: a collection of political cartoons on the economy.
- Read: a timeline of the Occupy Wall Street protests.
- Other Arguments
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#15840
Yes — Occupy Wall Street could become far more powerful than the Tea Party
ROBERT WEISSMAN, President of Public Citizen
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#34031
No — Despite similarities with the Tea Party, Occupy Wall Street has a broader vision
ELIZABETH SHULER, Secretary Treasurer of the AFL-CIO
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#44439
Yes — The Occupy Wall Street movement is the real Tea Party
DEAN BAKER, Co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research
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#52727
No — Anti-government stance of the Tea Party works against its base
GADI DECHTER, Associate Director at Center for American Progress
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#63033
No — 'Occupy Wall Street' looks forward while Tea Party regresses
LINCOLN MITCHELL, 'Huffington Post' Blogger
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#71923
No — To create real revolution, Occupy Wall Street needs more than just an idea
RENIQUA ALLEN, Schwartz Fellow at the New America Foundation
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#82532
No — Occupy Wall Street is unlikely to achieve Tea Party's level of influence
DOUGLAS SCHOEN, Democratic Campaign Consultant
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#93241
No — Unlike Occupy Wall Street, Tea Party knows what it's protesting
MARK MECKLER, National Coordinator of Tea Party Patriots
