Tea Party / O.W.S Momentum

Jason P

Two groups with similar (initial) interests. Two groups which are labeled by their more extreme components and symbols.

It appears OWS has fizzled out. I attribute most of it to the lack of leadership, goals, etc.

We will get a good litmus test of the tea party's strength next Tuesday in the Indiana GOP senate primary. Dick Lugar, a six term U.S. senator and one of the most powerful men in Washington appears he is going to be "retired" by his constituents. This is a guy that the Democrats didn't even bother running against in 2006 and claimed over 80% of the votes. Right now, he is behind by 10% in the polls to a GOP challenger.

Jason P

Esteemed senator Dick Lugar has been retired by his constituents in the state of Indiana. And it wasn't even close in the vote.

He is still greatly respected, but his defense of pork-barrel spending was the first step in his downfall. He didn't take serious the need for change in Washington that his voters wanted and misjudged putting together a serious campaign until is was too late.

This actually opens up hope for the Democrats to win the seat next fall as Lugar was so strong, they haven't even opposed him in recent elections. But 36 years is too much time in office and the dude was 81 years old.

Don't feel too bad for him as I'm sure he will have no problem getting a job as a lobbyist ... especially since his residency is more or less in Virginia, not Indiana.

gimmesometruth27

the system is trying to crush the ows movement, while the tea party was not affected by law enforcement.

if you speak against the establishment you get met by the enforcers of that establishment. that is the difference.

we have seen the results of the tea party. they are the entire reason that there is gridlock in washington and that can not even be debated...

Jason P

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

the system is trying to crush the ows movement, while the tea party was not affected by law enforcement.

if you speak against the establishment you get met by the enforcers of that establishment. that is the difference.

we have seen the results of the tea party. they are the entire reason that there is gridlock in washington and that can not even be debated...

I remember the good old days before the tea party when there was no gridlock in Washington ... oh wait, no I don't.

OWS crushed itself by not having any goals or demands ... at least not realistic or specific. You can only be angry and pound on some bongos for so long before enough is enough. We will see if they can rebound, but if the May Day restart is any indication, it is fading away ... unlike the tea party.

gimmesometruth27

Jason P wrote:

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

the system is trying to crush the ows movement, while the tea party was not affected by law enforcement.

if you speak against the establishment you get met by the enforcers of that establishment. that is the difference.

we have seen the results of the tea party. they are the entire reason that there is gridlock in washington and that can not even be debated...

I remember the good old days before the tea party when there was no gridlock in Washington ... oh wait, no I don't.

OWS crushed itself by not having any goals or demands ... at least not realistic or specific. You can only be angry and pound on some bongos for so long before enough is enough. We will see if they can rebound, but if the May Day restart is any indication, it is fading away ... unlike the tea party.

the gridlock now is worse than it has ever been. there is no doubt that the tea party has pulled the republicans waaaay to the right and they are uncompromising, and so you get what we have in washington today.

no political party or news network has embraced and USED ows in the same way that the koch bros, fow news, and the gop USED the tea party. ows does not have this backing, and that is the main reason why that movement has fizzled.

Jason P

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

the gridlock now is worse than it has ever been. there is no doubt that the tea party has pulled the republicans waaaay to the right and they are uncompromising, and so you get what we have in washington today.

no political party or news network has embraced and USED ows in the same way that the koch bros, fow news, and the gop USED the tea party. ows does not have this backing, and that is the main reason why that movement has fizzled.

OWS received a ton of media coverage and a lot more then the tea party received at their onset. Instead of just Fox News, OWS was covered by everyone and was constantly in the headlines for several months. A lack of goals and direction were ultimately their downfall. A huge opportunity to send a message (other then "we are angry") has been missed.

usamamasan1

Freeloaders not welcome, pretty simple.

whygohome

Jason P wrote:

OWS crushed itself by not having any goals or demands ... at least not realistic or specific. You can only be angry and pound on some bongos for so long before enough is enough. We will see if they can rebound, but if the May Day restart is any indication, it is fading away ... unlike the tea party.

False. They actually have some of the same demands as many on this board:
1. Get $$ and special interests out of Washington
2. Restore the U.S. to a democracy instead of a corporate oligarchy.
3. End the Wars
4. No monopolies
5. No more bailouts for the wealthiest

I could go on.

usamamasan1

My wallet is not a candy jar.

usamamasan1

Don't forget the tea party was formed because Of Obama
So was ows

whygohome

usamamasan1 wrote:

Don't forget the tea party was formed because Of Obama
So was ows

False***edit.
The (non-corporate) Tea Party was established in 2006: http://www.bostontea.us/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Tea ... l_party%29

OWS was formed as a result of the Corporate Oligarchy that has replaced the U.S. democracy.

usamamasan1

Sorry, gained momentum as thread speaks to. Calling me a fool is not ok.

mikepegg44

whygohome wrote:

Jason P wrote:

OWS crushed itself by not having any goals or demands ... at least not realistic or specific. You can only be angry and pound on some bongos for so long before enough is enough. We will see if they can rebound, but if the May Day restart is any indication, it is fading away ... unlike the tea party.

False. They actually have some of the same demands as many on this board:
1. Get $$ and special interests out of Washington
2. Restore the U.S. to a democracy instead of a corporate oligarchy.
3. End the Wars
4. No monopolies
5. No more bailouts for the wealthiest

I could go on.

and what specific steps did they follow to reach those goals? are they still following them? are they organized? are the groups participating in their local elections? are they targeting people that they want to oust or support?

These are all legitimate questions. I don't know the answers. But without those things, it seems it is just a bunch of people talking about how life should be. I have always admired the spirit and determination it took to do the things the committed members did, but protest alone isn't enough.

whygohome

mikepegg44 wrote:

whygohome wrote:

Jason P wrote:

OWS crushed itself by not having any goals or demands ... at least not realistic or specific. You can only be angry and pound on some bongos for so long before enough is enough. We will see if they can rebound, but if the May Day restart is any indication, it is fading away ... unlike the tea party.

False. They actually have some of the same demands as many on this board:
1. Get $$ and special interests out of Washington
2. Restore the U.S. to a democracy instead of a corporate oligarchy.
3. End the Wars
4. No monopolies
5. No more bailouts for the wealthiest

I could go on.

and what specific steps did they follow to reach those goals? are they still following them? are they organized? are the groups participating in their local elections? are they targeting people that they want to oust or support?

These are all legitimate questions. I don't know the answers. But without those things, it seems it is just a bunch of people talking about how life should be. I have always admired the spirit and determination it took to do the things the committed members did, but protest alone isn't enough.

Well, my answer to your questions simply rests in the fact that they have not attached themselves to a political party (or been co-opted by a pol. party) as the Tea Party was able to do. Though they have expressed support for individuals like Bernie Sanders and Kucinich.

Protest is the first step. Things may develop, and sometimes it takes a little longer than we would like to see.

usamamasan1

Vendatta masks are discounted. Go get em!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000WXIK9 ... 937&sr=1-1

peacefrompaul

usamamasan1 wrote:

Vendatta masks are discounted. Go get em!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000WXIK9 ... 937&sr=1-1

Been that price for a while. Mine is sitting up by my R.E.M. record.

jb306534

The tea party was/is not affected by law enforcement because they broke no laws...rapes, assaults, and defecating on cop cars were committed by the ows.

mikepegg44

whygohome wrote:

mikepegg44 wrote:

whygohome wrote:

False. They actually have some of the same demands as many on this board:
1. Get $$ and special interests out of Washington
2. Restore the U.S. to a democracy instead of a corporate oligarchy.
3. End the Wars
4. No monopolies
5. No more bailouts for the wealthiest

I could go on.

and what specific steps did they follow to reach those goals? are they still following them? are they organized? are the groups participating in their local elections? are they targeting people that they want to oust or support?

These are all legitimate questions. I don't know the answers. But without those things, it seems it is just a bunch of people talking about how life should be. I have always admired the spirit and determination it took to do the things the committed members did, but protest alone isn't enough.

Well, my answer to your questions simply rests in the fact that they have not attached themselves to a political party (or been co-opted by a pol. party) as the Tea Party was able to do. Though they have expressed support for individuals like Bernie Sanders and Kucinich.

Protest is the first step. Things may develop, and sometimes it takes a little longer than we would like to see.

They don't necessarily have to attach to a political party. But they should be organized enough locally to affect elections. Attaching to a political party isn't useful anyway, it allows for the organization's main goals to be compromised (see: Tea Party 2012) ...and people like kucinich should be supported simply for their integrity.

BamaPJFan

I was in NYC for work two weeks ago and I noticed the Occupy protestors stationed at Union Square Park in Manhattan. There were only 15 or so guys (and one female) set up on one end of the square. It appeared that all of them were anarchists and they had a table set up with tons of anarchist literature for passersby to grab. It seems to me that the anarchist community has 'hijacked' the Occupy movement; maybe anarchists initiated the entire movement to begin with.

So, my point is that the Occupy movement is pretty dead by all accounts; or at the very least just not too stable and it's way out of the mainstream. The Tea Party movement, while quiet over the last several months, appears to still be very viable as evidenced by the Indiana GOP senatorial race last week and the large number of folks who showed up in Wisconsin to vote for Governor Walker.

usamamasan1

Occupy Chicago...

Police arrested at least 45 people Sunday. Four officers were taken to the hospital with injuries, Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said. One officer had been stabbed in the leg, he said.

"They rallied. They charged the cops and they assaulted the officers," McCarthy said of protesters. "The finger should be pointed at the people who assaulted the cops."

Jason P

Well, it looks like the tea party must still have juice. Senator Reid is already placing the blame on the tea party for the upcoming "Taxmaggedon"



http://news.yahoo.com/reid-blames-tea-party-extremism-looming-taxmaggedon-165939327--abc-news-politics.html

So he is admitting that there is no way they can figure out cut the budget in seven months and once again it is the citizen's fault for not wanting them to tax us more and cover up their mistakes. :roll:

Even if the "rich" get their taxes raised and the bush-era tax cuts expired, we are still facing a massive deficit. And our elected leaders have yet to show they can cut spending one iota.

(but give us ten years and we'll figure it out ... trust us ).

:fp: :fp: :fp:

Jason P

Jason P wrote:

Esteemed senator Dick Lugar has been retired by his constituents in the state of Indiana. And it wasn't even close in the vote.

He is still greatly respected, but his defense of pork-barrel spending was the first step in his downfall. He didn't take serious the need for change in Washington that his voters wanted and misjudged putting together a serious campaign until is was too late.

This actually opens up hope for the Democrats to win the seat next fall as Lugar was so strong, they haven't even opposed him in recent elections. But 36 years is too much time in office and the dude was 81 years old.

Don't feel too bad for him as I'm sure he will have no problem getting a job as a lobbyist ... especially since his residency is more or less in Virginia, not Indiana.

Well, my prophecy may come true. The democratic challenger, Joe Donnelly, holds a narrow lead over the Tea Party candidate Richard Mourdock. Mourdock is even trying to soften his views that made him a Tea Party favorite to appeal to moderate voter.

Talk about potentially getting bit by your own snake. The Tea Party may be soon responsible for adding a democrat to the senate by taking down a senator that the democrats could never dream of touching.

I agreed that Lugar needed to step down, considering he has been in office about as long as I've been alive. But there were a lot of people that liked him and a majority of the voters did not vote in the primary.