◼ Tea party activists have gone on the offensive against anti-Wall Street demonstrators just a day before the New York protest threatens to come to a head. - Newsmax
In the run-up to Friday’s possible confrontation, conservatives are increasingly trying to point out the differences between the tea party and what columnist Ann Coulter called the “flea party” because its supporters are “wingless, bloodsucking, and parasitic.”
Tea Party Express Chairwoman Amy Kremer said she is “offended” that the media portrays the two groups as mirror images of each other.
“I see no similarities,” she said in a fundraising letter. “The OWS crowd have had thousands of arrests, have harassed citizens trying to go to work and do their jobs, have had confrontations with law enforcement and destroyed public property.
“They are a disorganized unruly mob of shiftless protesters that has been reinforced by union and organized labor thugs,” she added.
“Their goal has been to cause as much disruption as possible and force anarchy.
“In contrast, there have been thousands of peaceful and respectful tea party rallies across the USA over the past three years,” she said. “The Tea Party Express alone has hosted over 301 and there has not been one arrest or incident of violence. We say a prayer, recite the pledge of allegiance and sing the national anthem before each rally.”
Brendan Steinhauser of the grass-roots conservative organization FreedomWorks told Newsmax the difference between the two groups is clear. He pointed out that, when the tea party movement blossomed in 2009, “No one was assaulted, no one trashed the place, no one relieved themselves on cop cars because we respect private property rights and we respect public property rights.
“In the entire history of the tea party movement, I’m not aware of over a handful of arrests. And these guys have easily had a thousand or more.
