Tea Party: Stop Comparing 'Occupy Wall Street' To Us

Fed up with those comparing the Tea Party with the "Occupy Wall Street" movement, the largest Tea Party branch today labeled the anticorporate protesters as "lawbreaking troublemakers who want to ruin the nation."[ See photos of the "Occupy Wall Street" protests.]The Tea Party Patriots, with 3,500 branches throughout the country, demanded that the media stop comparing the two. "The Leftist media cheers for a group of lawbreaking troublemakers who occupied a park in New York, blocked the Brooklyn Bridge, were arrested by the hundreds and treated law enforcement with disrespect and disdain—all while trying to tear down the foundations of the greatest nation on earth," said a statement from Jenny Beth Martin and Mark Meckler, cofounders of the Tea Party Patriots.[ Check out political cartoons about the Tea Party.]What's more, they said, while the Tea Party movement sprang from national outrage over government spending and bailouts, the Wall Street protesters seem to simply want more handouts from Uncle Sam.[ Read: "Occupy Wall Street" Tries to Harness Anger on the Left.]"Those occupying Wall Street and other cities, when they are intelligible, want less of what made America great and more of what is damaging to America: a bigger, more powerful government to come in and take care of them so they don't have to work like the rest of us who pay our bills."See their whole statement below:

Occupy Wall Street? They're No Tea PartiersWashington, D.C.—Today, Jenny Beth Martin and Mark Meckler, co-founders of the Tea Party Patriots, the nation's largest tea party organization, contrasted the tea party movement with the "Occupy Wall Street" protests in New York and other cities.For two years now, tea partiers have stood firmly on principle and helped shape the political debate in this country. They believe in time-honored American values, principles and systems—including the freedom to innovate and employ people to implement and distribute one's ideas to the public. They believe freedom from government allows entrepreneurs to try new things, see what works and discard what doesn't. They don't believe corporations are inherently evil, nor should bankers be beheaded. They do not believe this country should be divided by class, but united in a return to the principles that undergird our nation's success. In fact, they want more of what made America great: more Constitutional restraint on government so that the people have more freedom to achieve the good things the country offers.By contrast, those occupying Wall Street and other cities, when they are intelligible, want less of what made America great and more of what is damaging to America: a bigger, more powerful government to come in and take care of them so they don't have to work like the rest of us who pay our bills.The tea party, meanwhile, was a spontaneous, organic and fast-moving movement, but it has maintained a cogent message: a demand for fiscal responsibility in government.Tea party rallies have always been safe and clean. Unlike in New York, we can find no reports of tea partiers being arrested, individually or en masse, at the thousands of tea parties across the country with millions of attendees that have taken place for years now. They are not lawbreakers, they don't hate the police, they don't even litter. A quick glance at the TV reveals the sharp contrast posed by the Wall Street occupiers.Yet the Leftist media cheers for a group of lawbreaking troublemakers who occupied a park in New York, blocked the Brooklyn Bridge, were arrested by the hundreds and treated law enforcement with disrespect and disdain—all while trying to tear down the foundations of the greatest nation on earth.Such a media response is expected. But when you compare these people with tea partiers—now you've got a problem with We the People.

• Read Brad Bannon: "Occupy Wall Street" Picks Up Where the Tea Party Sold Out.
• Check out political cartoons about the Tea Party.
• See photos of the "Occupy Wall Street" Protests.