I started doing some research on two protests that have been compared a lot lately: The TEA Party movement and the Occupy Wall Street events. I’m hoping to put together a comprehensive list of items comparing these protests side-by-side, but I thought I post a teaser here after this morning’s work on the piece:

ITEM #1: Origins

TEA Party
This movement was first sparked in 2007 as loosely-organized events popping up across the nation. The events originally worked to carry on the message of Ron Paul support rallies throughout the libertarian congressman’s presidential campaign. The message was to stop government spending on just about everything, end the Federal Reserve, and, thus, reduce taxpayers’ obligations to the federal government.
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Occupy Wall Street
This event was first envisioned by media group Adbusters in July 2011 as a Wall Street, New York City, occupation starting September 17, 2011, and lasting “for a few months.” There were no specific demands for action, only the expressions of hatred toward corporatism in the U.S. Soon after the original Adbusters call, a separate group organized a schedule of events and protester-supporting donations through its website, occupywallst.org.
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