Obama Wants to Have His Own Tea Party

Obama has declared his support for the Occupy Wall Street protesters. Will they form the left wing of the Democratic Party?

At first glance, the tea party and Occupy Wall Street are remarkably similar. Both are spontaneously formed crowds with banners and slogans who make a lot of noise and are unhappy with the current political system as well as the performance of the economy.

The first group, however, are conservatives who formed the so-called tea party ahead of the last congressional elections. Thanks to their efforts, Republicans were able to translate the enthusiasm into major gains in the House and Senate. The other group is made up of left wingers who have organized multiple protests to speak out against corporate greed and social inequities and to support increased taxes on the rich.

The Democratic Party has been attempting to copy from the Republicans’ playbook and attract the support of this new movement, which has been growing progressively louder from week to week.

Occupy Wall Street supporters have been encamped in New York City for almost a month, and in the past week, the protest has spread to Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Washington as well. The movement has won the support of several labor unions. Steve Rosenthal, the head of The Organizing Group, noted that the movement has enormous potential to energize the Democratic electorate.

Barack Obama himself has expressed his understanding. He noted that the protesters are expressing “broad-based frustration about how our financial system works” and went on to ask Congress to support tax hikes for top earners.

As Fox News noted, though the protests have been marred by violence and the arrest of over 700 people, the president did not chastise the protesters but decided to join in on the attack of Wall Street. Vice President Biden declared that the movement was a lot like the tea party, and he acknowledged that politicians have failed to adequately address the problems of ordinary Americans.

“Part of Obama’s views are already in line with those of the protesters, who will try to push the president in a more liberal direction,” said John Sides, a professor at Georgetown University. And though no one knows how far left Obama is willing to go, some of his rhetoric will be welcomed by the movement.*

“Whether or not the movement turns into a Democratic tea party, will depend on whether the movement will be able to influence voters after the people stop protesting in the streets,” Sides added.*

*Editor’s Note: These quotes, although accurately translated, could not be verified.