Feb 12, 2017 - Politics & Policy
8 ways the liberal "resistance" resembles the Tea Party
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Greg Ruben / Axios
As Jonathan Swan pointed out last week, in the wake of a devastating election season, Dems are rallying together with a slew of grassroots supporters to fight Trump and the reigning GOP. Although there are differences between the goals and methods of the conservative Tea Party and the liberal resistance, in some ways, it feels like we've seen this all before.
- Timing: Both movements kicked off after a sound election defeat, and more prominently after the inauguration of the opposing political party.
- Marches: The Tea Party movement held a Taxpayers' March on Washington on Tax Day after Obama's inauguration, protesting high taxes and a growing government. The day after Trump's inauguration, protestors held the Women's March on Washington, protesting Trump's election, specifically because of offensive remarks toward women and plans to trash Obamacare.
- Executive action protests: After Obama signed an executive action in 2009, which offered federal, financial assistance to people who couldn't afford to pay their mortgages, Tea Party protests broke out in 40 different cities. After Trump signed the executive order stopping all travel to the U.S. from 7 Muslim-majority countries, protestors all over the country rallied in streets and airports.
- From grassroots to the lifeblood of the political party: Both movements began as unexpected, grassroots protest movements, but soon became the hope and rallying cry of their respective political parties.
- Opposing party denial: In 2009, Democrats claimed that the Tea Party movement wasn't just a grassroots protest, but that it was funded and initiated by the GOP. Likewise, there are rumors floating around Republican circles that "the resistance" is just a show put on by the Democratic Party, according to the Atlantic.
- Political newbies: Both movements piqued the interest and involvement of people who had not been politicly inclined before the election.
- What they want: While tea partiers called for a return to traditional, conservative political values, in party by protesting Obamacare and calling for tougher immigration, "the resistance" is focusing on fighting the Obamacare repeal and Trump's tough immigration policies.
- Media bias: The Obama administration singled out Fox News for seeming to encourage the Tea Party protests, saying they abandoned journalistic values. This year, Trump called the media biased for showing photos that made the protests look far more popular than his inauguration.
Why it matters: The fear of Obama and discontentment with the traditional Republican Party, which spurred the Tea Party movement, eventually led to President Donald Trump. Keep an eye on far-left movement over the next few years.
