# Are the "99" percent protestors getting too much press coverage? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 18, 2011, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-99-percent-protestors-getting-too-much-press-coverage/600008 "2011-10-18T04:09:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mr\_Smashy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mr\_Smashy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Smashy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-99-percent-protestors-getting-too-much-press-coverage/600008/21 "2011-10-18T20:05:47Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > You’re joking, right? 😉 Actually, it was a response more to **voyager’s** post #2 - no cites, no evidence; the Tea Party was totally ginned up, not at all spontaneous. Because the Tea Party conflicts with the politics of 90% of the lefties on this board, therefore nobody challenges it. Because of course, Americans can’t, simply can’t, be getting frustrated with the size of government and the increasing dystopia that results from it. Everyone knows that an increased Federal Government footprint is the answer to all problems. Consider this my (successful) experiment, to continue to take the pulse of liberalism and the intellectual honesty present in Great Debates. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-99-percent-protestors-getting-too-much-press-coverage/600008/22 "2011-10-18T20:05:53Z")
> [@Lochdale](#): > > I’m starting to think that they are getting too much attention. Why do you think like this? Are you questioning the basic validity of the protests? Or are you in disagreement with their views? Something else? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-99-percent-protestors-getting-too-much-press-coverage/600008/23 "2011-10-18T20:15:14Z")
> [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > Consider this my (successful) experiment, to continue to take the pulse of liberalism and the intellectual honesty present in Great Debates. What? Were you not given a link that proved corporate sponsorship of the Tea Party right out of the gate? These gotcha games (that righties don’t even seem to be good at anymore) have grown tiresome. Which, incidentally, is one of the driving forces behind the Occupiers. That said… > [@Duckster](#): > > Why do you think like this? Are you questioning the basic validity of the protests? Or are you in disagreement with their views? Something else? These are tiny protests that probably don’t deserve the attention they’re getting. Especially because we’re in week two or three of this thing and it’s still not very clear what the Occupiers want. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-99-percent-protestors-getting-too-much-press-coverage/600008/24 "2011-10-18T20:16:08Z")
> [@Lochdale](#): > > I’m starting to think that they are getting too much attention. Walked by the protests on the corner of Jackson and LaSalle (here in Chicago) and they numbered less than 50. Seems like it’s peetering out (at least here in Chicago). > > The interesting question is whether they will influence the ballot box. The Tea Party clearly did (for better or for worse is up to you). The Tea Party got a lot of voters out in the midterms to elect conservative candidates, mainly in the House, but they royally screwed the GOP in the Senate, where they kicked out solidly conservative candidates in the primaries, candidates who had good chances to win in the general, and voted in whacky candidates who ended up losing in November. But they were waaaaaaay more organized than the Occupiers are, and the latter will have to do some serious organizing if they want to get particular candidates on the ballot and/or elected. It’s still early, though, so we shall see. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-99-percent-protestors-getting-too-much-press-coverage/600008/25 "2011-10-18T20:26:32Z")
> [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > 😉 > > Actually, it was a response more to **voyager’s** post #2 - no cites, no evidence; the Tea Party was totally ginned up, not at all spontaneous. Because the Tea Party conflicts with the politics of 90% of the lefties on this board, therefore nobody challenges it. Because of course, Americans can’t, simply can’t, be getting frustrated with the size of government and the increasing dystopia that results from it. Everyone knows that an increased Federal Government footprint is the answer to all problems. > > Consider this my (successful) experiment, to continue to take the pulse of liberalism and the intellectual honesty present in Great Debates. [Tea Party - SourceWatch](http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tea_Party) The tea baggers are not spontaneous at all. They have been directed from the beginning and directed by Armey and other right wing funders. They have had press coverage far bigger than their rallies deserve. The occupiers are only in about 900 cities around the world. The first few weeks they got practically no coverage and faced derision 24 hrs a day at Fox and all the many, many deadhead right wing stations on Tv and radio. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-99-percent-protestors-getting-too-much-press-coverage/600008/26 "2011-10-18T20:29:22Z")
> [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > Actually, it was a response more to **voyager’s** post #2 - no cites, no evidence; You’re not exactly **Mr. Smash the Lefties Over the Head with Endless Reams of Irrefutable Citations from Respectable Sources** yourself. And I say that with a smile on my face, because you are an entertaining guy. As is often stated here, a gratuitous assertion is equally gratuitously denied. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-99-percent-protestors-getting-too-much-press-coverage/600008/27 "2011-10-18T21:26:39Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > Why do you think like this? Are you questioning the basic validity of the protests? Or are you in disagreement with their views? Something else? Given the size of the protests (they are relatively very small) I do think they’re getting too much coverage. As for what they stand for, honestly I don’t know. I’m not sure they know. The 50 or so people in Chicago didn’t seem to know and I stopped and asked two of them. With winter coming my guess is that they are going to fade away. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-99-percent-protestors-getting-too-much-press-coverage/600008/28 "2011-10-18T21:34:44Z")
> [@Lochdale](#): > > As for what they stand for, honestly I don’t know. I’m not sure they know. It doesn’t matter. They know what they’re **against.** ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-99-percent-protestors-getting-too-much-press-coverage/600008/29 "2011-10-18T22:17:56Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > It doesn’t matter. They know what they’re **against.** Against? That sort of thing I’d imagine. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-99-percent-protestors-getting-too-much-press-coverage/600008/30 "2011-10-18T22:32:02Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > You’re not exactly **Mr. Smash the Lefties Over the Head with Endless Reams of Irrefutable Citations from Respectable Sources** yourself. And I say that with a smile on my face, because you are an entertaining guy. > > As is often stated here, a gratuitous assertion is equally gratuitously denied. Jeez - anyone with any memory knows that Fox didn’t just report on Tea Party rallies, they pre-announced the rallies. I wonder if he wants a cite that it gets cold in winter also. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-99-percent-protestors-getting-too-much-press-coverage/600008/31 "2011-10-18T22:38:21Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > The Tea Party got a lot of voters out in the midterms to elect conservative candidates, mainly in the House, but they royally screwed the GOP in the Senate, where they kicked out solidly conservative candidates in the primaries, candidates who had good chances to win in the general, and voted in whacky candidates who ended up losing in November. > > But they were waaaaaaay more organized than the Occupiers are, and the latter will have to do some serious organizing if they want to get particular candidates on the ballot and/or elected. It’s still early, though, so we shall see. I hope they don’t create new candidates the way the Tea Party did. They’d be very useful if they gave people who are angry and frustrated a way of supporting change which doesn’t make the problem worse. This will be independents, and not those who want to take the country back from you know who. If they stiffen the backbone of the Dems, that is a plus right there. In the Times article on what Wall Street really thinks about the Occupation, one rich banker is quoted as being quite angry at the 2 Democratic Senators from New York, who, he said, don’t realize who their true constituents are - that is the Wall Streeters who give them money. That sums up very nicely what the uproar is all about. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-99-percent-protestors-getting-too-much-press-coverage/600008/32 "2011-10-18T22:38:58Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Jeez - anyone with any memory knows that Fox didn’t just report on Tea Party rallies, they pre-announced the rallies. Which was the cite I provided earlier. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-99-percent-protestors-getting-too-much-press-coverage/600008/33 "2011-10-18T22:42:43Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I hope they don’t create new candidates the way the Tea Party did. They’d be very useful if they gave people who are angry and frustrated a way of supporting change which doesn’t make the problem worse. This will be independents, and not those who want to take the country back from you know who. If they stiffen the backbone of the Dems, that is a plus right there. This is exactly what will happen. Obama came out and said he fully supports the Occupiers and will be fighting for their interests. Dems that want to ride Obama’s coattails (I think the election is still his to lose at this point) will likely fall in behind him. > **[White House Draws Closer To Occupy Wall Street, Says Obama Is Fighting For...](https://www.businessinsider.com/white-house-draws-closer-to-occupy-wall-street-says-obama-is-fighting-for-interests-of-the-99-2011-10)** > > The White House aligns with Occupy Wall Street, emphasizing Obama's commitment to the 99%. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-99-percent-protestors-getting-too-much-press-coverage/600008/34 "2011-10-18T22:56:09Z")
> [@Lochdale](#): > > Against? That sort of thing I’d imagine. Doesn’t matter. They have better imaginations than that. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-99-percent-protestors-getting-too-much-press-coverage/600008/35 "2011-10-18T23:09:27Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Which was the cite I provided earlier. 🙂 Which shows you have a memory. And the ability to spell “g” “o” “o” “g” “l” “e” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-99-percent-protestors-getting-too-much-press-coverage/600008/36 "2011-10-18T23:27:35Z")
> [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > the Tea Party was totally ginned up, not at all spontaneous. Name even one of their national leaders, or spokesmen, or major rally keynoters even, who weren’t on the Fox payroll. The Tea Party is now even sponsoring Republican _debates_. 😉 > [@](#): > > Consider this my (successful) experiment, to continue to take the pulse of liberalism and the intellectual honesty present in Great Debates. 😃 It’s called “reality”. You could look it up sometime. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-99-percent-protestors-getting-too-much-press-coverage/600008/37 "2011-10-18T23:28:47Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > It doesn’t matter. They know what they’re **against.** Or, more precisely, _who_ they’re against. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-99-percent-protestors-getting-too-much-press-coverage/600008/38 "2011-10-18T23:34:37Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > The first few weeks they got practically no coverage and faced derision 24 hrs a day at Fox and all the many, many deadhead right wing stations on Tv and radio. You understand you just contradicted yourself within the same sentence, right? ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Smashy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mr\_Smashy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Smashy)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-99-percent-protestors-getting-too-much-press-coverage/600008/39 "2011-10-19T00:33:09Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > You’re not exactly **Mr. Smash the Lefties Over the Head with Endless Reams of Irrefutable Citations from Respectable Sources** yourself. And I say that with a smile on my face, because you are an entertaining guy. > > As is often stated here, a gratuitous assertion is equally gratuitously denied. Thanks for the (left handed?) compliment. But **Raven** , let me call your bluff. Can you honestly say that I don’t provide cites in an order of magnitude higher than those to whom I respond? Really? Go look at all my postings and cites. You’ll notice that most of the time, I post from WaPo, NYT, etc. There’s a reason I do this - these are notoriously lefty sources. I don’t post very often from Heritage, from Cato (even those, as conservative sources, make arguments almost exclusively with numbers, not emotion like you’d see at FireDogLake, The Nation, DailyKos, Mother Jones, etc). ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Smashy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mr\_Smashy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Smashy)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-99-percent-protestors-getting-too-much-press-coverage/600008/40 "2011-10-19T00:39:03Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Which was the cite I provided earlier. 🙂 OK, two thoughts: MediaMatters is well known as a Dem mouthpiece and propaganda organization, run by by Clinton’s buddies. Secondly, just because Fox is reporting on events their people want to attend, does that mean that they ginned up the whole concept (which was **Voyager’s** contention)? That it wasn’t grass roots? Every time MSDNC reports on Occupy Wall Street, are they ‘sponsoring’ that event? Can you cite proof of a timeline showing Fox News started the Tea Party movement? If not, you might want to retract the comment, if only for your own credibility. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-99-percent-protestors-getting-too-much-press-coverage/600008.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-99-percent-protestors-getting-too-much-press-coverage/600008.md?page=3)