One of the interesting things to me about the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street (and other locales) movements is that they have no leaders, no official spokespersons. There are folks who claim some sort of mantle to speak for the mobs but no one really does.
There have been attempts to discredit both crusades by quoting from the rabble. I mean, it's very easy for someone to take a video camera and a microphone out to one of either kind of demonstration and find a few protesters who'll say stupid or extreme things. It's simple to find idiotic signs with misspelled words, too…but none of this really harms the overall rally because the folks being interviewed aren't really speaking on behalf of anyone but themselves.
That's the good part of not having leaders. The bad part is that it enables anyone to say, "See those people massing in the street out there? They're demanding what I want to do." I could argue that both groups are demanding heavy federal subsidies for half-Jewish comedy writers and there's no Tea Party official or O.W.S. spokesperson who can say otherwise.
I'm a little fuzzy on what the Tea Party folks really do want…and I think most of them are, too. They seem to be objecting to U.S. debt and excessive spending (a fine objection) but throwing their lot with those who only hear the message, "Lower taxes on the rich." The Occupiers aren't yet to the point of being used to advance laws they won't like but that's only because they're new. Give 'em time. Eventually, they'll all get what they don't want…and probably declare victory.
