Tea Party vs Occupy Wall Street - Guest Post

**This is a guest post.  

The views expressed in this post are not necessarily shared by Chris Heimerdinger**

Hello,  my name is Courtney.  I am a Tea Partier, complete with "Don't Tread on Me" flag hanging on my wall.  I won't get into why I consider myself part of the Tea Party.  Suffice it to say that if you were to look around at my blog, you would understand why I identify with the Tea Party principles.

The Tea Party is not a political party, but generally a local organization of people who share the same ideals and principles.  Just like local churches, the Boy Scouts of America and 4-H, The Tea Party consists of Libertarians, Republicans, Independents AND Democrats (though I'm pretty sure it's safe to say no Socialists identify with the Tea Party).

So that being said, anyone who doesn't want to listen to my "racist, homophobic, anti-Semitic, war mongering, right-wing extremist" rant,  feel free to click the "back" button on your browser.  By the way, I dare you to find any racist, homophobic, anti-Semitic or war mongering language anywhere on my blog (sarcasm doesn't count).

Ok, are you ready?  Those lovely demonstrators on Wall Street have peaked my interest just a bit over these last few weeks.

There have been some who have compared the "Occupy Wall Street" protesters to the Tea Party Movement.  To quote the Vice President; "I think the Tea Party and the Van Jones folks are different halves of the same concern."  Then he went on to say that there is some truth to what the Tea Party had to say.

Hold the PHONE!  I thought we were all racist!  That the only reason we disagreed with the President is because he was black!  So which is it Mr. Biden?  Are we bigoted hate-mongers who protest the president for no other reason than that he is black, or do we have some valid points that his POLICY has failed miserably (which Mr. Biden has also admitted to recently.)  Even some Tea Partiers look at the current protesters and think "Hey, wait a minute!  I agree with some of what they are saying!"  But don't be fooled.  They are nothing like us.

The hypocrisy of the left and the main stream media (MSM) is enough to make my head explode--but before anyone comments that they would like for my head to actually explode, please remember that I'M the hate-monger here.  Don't rain on my parade folks.

There are also those who think that the Occupy Wall Street protesters are not even kind of close to the tea party.  I would tend to agree with that assessment.

1.  Let us begin with the obvious difference with the names of their causes.  The Tea Party and the 9/12 Project dedicated April 21st for us to participate in a "Flash Mob of Kindness",  a day dedicated to serving and helping those in need.  This October 20th has been dedicated as a day to perform a random act of kindness.  Contrast that with Van Jones and September 17th being the kick off day for the "Days of Rage".  Now doesn't that sound all warm and fuzzy?  It just makes you want to make the world a better place doesn't it?

Let's move on shall we?

2.  The charge is that that the Tea Party consists of KKK members, Nazi's and other violent groups.  Out of the 301 Tea Party Express protests, how many police encounters were there?  One.  There was one encounter with the police.  After twenty days of "Occupy Wall Street" protests there have been over 1000 arrests (not surprisingly the arrests jumped up quite a bit once the unions showed up).  Oh, I know what you're going to say: "It's those cops!  It's their fault!"  Or maybe, just maybe, the Tea Party as a whole isn't violent at all--and that the anarchists who have invaded Wall Street are.  See, the Tea Party is made up of families who have a defined purpose in their opposition.  Cut the spending.  Cap the growth.  Balance the budget.  Oh yeah, and we want smaller government.  Notice I said smaller government not no government.  On the other hand even the MSM has admitted that no one really knows what the "Occupy Wall Street" people want.  They are protesting everything from high taxes to the wars to the price of broccoli.  These guys are not concerned about goals, they are concerned about chaos.  That is why professors and activists are encouraging people to get out and protest ANYTHING.  The only clear message that we have gotten is that they want to collapse the system.

3. To be fair, there is a lot of concentration on the evil banks.  A lot of people are talking about the ridiculously high student loans that the evil bank is making them pay back.  Now call me crazy, but I could have sworn that it was the colleges and universities that set tuition costs, not the banks.  Before you comment, please remember that it's 2011, not 2008.  The banks are not the bad guys this time.  And do you remember this guy?  He swore that "That's the bank stole my parent's house!"

That is a very heart wrenching story.  If only it were true.  The facts are a bit different from Robert's claims.  The truth is that his parents' house has not, nor has it ever been in foreclosure.  The remaining balance on their mortgage on their $500k home is less than one year's worth of tuition and fees at the prestigious law school that their son has decided to attend.

4. This is one I've personally had said to my face.  Conservatives and Christians are brainwashed and don't know how to think for themselves.  So let me get this straight, by the mere fact that I disagree with you, I have clearly been brainwashed and oppressed.

Really? I'M brainwashed?

You know what, you are right. I just need to be liberated so that I can think for myself and fall in line to be just like everyone else.

5. The Tea Party is racist.  We've all heard this one.  Not just the Tea Party, but Republicans are racist.  Christians are racists.  Any conservative person is racist.  And President Obama (then nominee Obama) himself has said that...

That's right.  Typical white people are racist and it has been bred into them.  Ok.  Got it.

Except that in spite of the many claims of racism against the Tea Party, a $100,000 reward for video or audio proving said racism came up empty.  You'd think that with with everyone whipping out their cell phones the second there is anything remotely interesting happening, there would be something tangible to prove that it happened.  Is it possible that maybe racism within the Tea Party is the exception rather than the rule?  Though, I'm sure that there were a few people who tried to take advantage of the situation to further their agenda.

Notice the sign in the background indicating he is a communist infiltrator and that he doesn't represent the Tea Party.  After asking him repeatedly to leave or at least turn his offensive shirt inside out they decided that the best way to deal with him was to pray for him.  How hateful of them.  I've heard this kind of rhetoric before.

On balance I thought I should play some videos from the "Occupy Wall Street" protests, considering that is what has inspired my commentary.

Need I go on?  These people are clearly disturbed.  But what I want to know is why the MSM decides to make the few clearly disturbed and hateful people the poster children of the Tea Party, and yet not mention these guys at all?

The left plays the race card every single time.  It's what people do when there is no logical argument left for them to use.  They are desperate so they call me a racist.  They say the only reason I don't like Obama's policies is because he's black.  And get this, the only reason why I LIKE Hermain Cain is because he's black.  So all things being equal, I'm a racist no matter who I support.  How is that for ironclad logic?

6.  They say "Occupy Wall Street" is grass roots. The Tea Party is an actual grass roots organization.  It's a true from the bottom up organization that started with normal, every day people.  The "Occupy Wall Street" protests are anything but.  In less than three weeks of protesting, the participants have health insurance, free health clinics, a newspaper and the UNIONS!   That's not grass roots folks!  This is organized and funded by people with deep pockets and a lot of political capital.

7.  The Tea Party only wants to destroy.

Remember those "what's different in these two pictures" games?  Lets play shall we?

This is from the close of the the 9/12 rally in 2009.

Notice how the stuff made it into the trash cans.

This is from the close of Obama's inaugural address.  Nice.

This is from after the Glenn Beck's 8/28 Restoring Honor Rally.

Aprox. 600,000 people were in attendance.

And this is from the 10/2 "One Nation" Rally.

Don't you just love how they treat our flag?

Not everyone tried so hard

We really should give them a break though.  I mean, Ed Schultz said that more people were at the "One Nation" rally than at the "Restoring Honor" rally.  Let's take a look.

Oops.  Wrong again Ed.  I find it especially ironic that the left, who claim to be the champions of Mother Earth, would allow our Nations Capital to be left in such a state.

The liberal script on the Tea Party is a lie.  This is what the Tea Party really looks like (photo's courtesy of glennbeck.com)

Truly frightening.

8.  For those of you who loudly proclaim that the ends justify the means, you'd think that our conservative "means" would warrant a little less hostility considering how successful our "ends" have been.

I understand that not everyone believes in God.  Not everyone thinks that the traditional family is necessary or desirable, and that not everyone believes people should only have sex in loving, committed, monogamous, MARRIED relationships.  You can think what you want.  But you can hardly argue with our results.  Guess what, two virgins who marry each other and live in a completely monogamous relationship have zero chance of contracting an STD.

For example, according to adherents.com:

Utah was ranked as the #1 best state in which to raise children in by the Children's Right's Council.  Provo, Utah was ranked as the #1 healthiest city in the country for women, and the Salt Lake City-Ogden metro area as the best place to live in North America.  People in Utah are 7 times less likely to commit suicide.

Despite the fact that Utah ranks next-to-last in educational spending, Utah spends a much greater percentage of their budget on education with the results that Utah has:

• the highest high school graduation rates in the nation
• the 2nd highest percentage of high school graduates
• the highest number of AP exams taken and passed per capita
• ranked 7th in the nation academically, beating out states that spend nearly $10,000 more per student.

Utah also spends a significantly smaller portion of their budget on public welfare with the following results:

• lowest child poverty rate in the nation
• lowest number of teen pregnancies
• lowest number of children born to single or unwed mothers
• highest amount of money given by wealthy (over $200k) to charity

Utah is arguably considered the MOST conservative state in the United States and it's doing FAR better than the national average in all of these categories and more.  We conservatives must be doing something right.

Yet conservative values are constantly being met with scorn and ridicule.  We are prudish, sheltered and brainwashed.  Or maybe, just maybe, we know exactly what we are doing and don't actually have to EXPERIENCE something in order to understand and choose to reject it.

The problem with conservatives is not that we are stupid or bigoted or any of those things that most libs call us.  The problem is that we're fairly boring.  We lead simple, happy, contented lives.  There is rarely a need for us to go out and protest.  Protesting is only something that we've started doing recently.  We don't have talking points or cool (albeit misleading) slogans full of alliteration or rhymes.  When we go on the news, we speak as if we are having a conversation with a neighbor.  As a whole, we don't interrupt or shout down our opponent.  We can separate someone's political beliefs from their character because we believe that "by their fruits ye shall know them."  As long as someone DOES good and is polite and isn't hostile, I can respect and love them even if they don't believe what I do.  I have an aunt and uncle with whom I disagree on almost everything, especially on politics.  But they are really enjoyable to be around, they are generous and fun, and they forgive me when I am occasionally insensitive.  Most importantly, while they may not agree with what I say, they are willing to listen to me and not shout me down and call me brainwashed--at least not to my face.

Good intentions are all well and good, but nothing really comes out of good intentions.  Good intentions that are meant to come to fruition by the sweat of another man's brow will never lead to lasting peace and prosperity.  It doesn't matter what someone WANTS to do, what matters is what they DO.  Are you moved by speeches and rhetoric, or are you moved by example and actions?

By their fruits ye shall know them.

Anyone who listened to the Ronald Reagan's 1964 speech entitled "A Time For Choosing"would be absolutely astounded at the parallels to our troubles today.  All we would have to do is replace "Vietnam" with "The War on Terror" or "Radical Islam" and "The Soviet Union" or "The Iron Curtain" with "The Middle East" and we've got a speech which is almost perfectly applicable to today.  Does anyone else wonder why it is that the same problems keep coming up?  For every step forward we make toward liberty and justice, it seems a generation later we take one back toward progressivism and relative morality.  It's because we don't teach history in our schools anymore.  Instead, we memorize dates.  It's because the terrorists and radical revolutionaries that were defeated yesterday are the professors and elitists in our universities today (Francis Fox Piven, Bill Ayers, Cornel West, the list goes on).  They are indoctrinating our children in the universities that no longer even bother to teach critical thought.  They took a few years off to refine their technique, but they are now back and are determind to get it right this time.

Society drills it into our kids that you can't possibly get a job or succeed in life without a college degree, preferably from an ivy league school.  And so the schools, knowing they've got the support from the federal government for "free money" and guaranteed federal loans, continue to drive up the cost of tuition.  Tuition has inflated to nearly 10 times the amount that it was in the 70's.  That is far more than the inflation of the cost of living, housing or medicine.  We walk into banks and beg for loans because we can't get jobs without a college degree and we promise to pay the money back.  We are told we aren't qualified to teach our kids without that all-powerful piece of paper, even though Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and countless other extremely successful people were college dropouts.  Then the people behind the lies sic their students on the very banks that made it possible for them to go to college in the first place.  People scream about their horrendous student loans and lament that education is a right and should be free.  Yet they would never admit that if they walked down to their free local public library and read those books, they would probably get a better education then they could ever get in a university (instructional schools like med school, dental school, etc. excepted.)  Silver spoon fed kids who have never worked a day in their lives demand that the rich "pay their fair share" even though no one will define exactly what "fair share" means.

We have gone from a society which had celebrated and was inspired by success, to a depraved culture filled with envy that wants nothing more than to punish those who have something they don't.  We have an administration that wants to put a cap on charitable deductions in the name of "charity," and outright lies to us when comparing tax rates between Warren Buffet and his secretary.  People claim it's all about fairness and leveling the playing field, but the truth of the matter is that most of those people are thinking about what they can get out of the deal.  I know this because I have talked with them.  I know them very well.

For once I would like someone to admit that being rich or poor has very little to do with your income and almost everything to do with your attitude.  Those who always look at having more, more, more and never practice self-restraint will always feel like they are poor, no matter how high their income.

Morality, individual responsibility, and the strict adherence to the true laws of economics (not the perverse version given to us by Keynes) will pull our society out of the gutter and back into prosperity.

All of this may sound discouraging, but I have good news.  Do you remember ever playing "Red Rover" when you were a kid?  It doesn't matter how many people are on the other side, what matters is how strongly you hold the line.  All we have to do is hold the line.  Stand strong and hold to the truth, and make sure people know where you stand.  Hold on to others who share your values and can help lift you up.  Since we put our strength in ourselves and in our Father in Heaven, we are much more likely to be able to hold strong than the other side, because our foundation is based on truth--not trends.  They can try and shout us down and scream and call us names all they want.  They could even "re-educate" or "eliminate" us like the weather underground wanted to do back in the 60's.  They will never win.  There will always be someone who rises up and says "This is WRONG!  It doesn't make ANY sense!"  Truth never dies and never changes.  As long as there are people willing to THINK there will be those who think outside the indoctrination.  As a former liberal I know this to be true.

Those of you who are still on the fence and think it doesn't really matter, the time has come for you to decide.  If you don't hold tight to the iron rod, you will be swept away when the waves of evil crash over you.

Thank you to Chris Heimerdinger for allowing me to post on his sounding board!