With the G20 meeting in London, there have been raucous protests - clashes with police in riot gear, destruction of property at nearby banks and even the death of one man from a heart attack. And the media have gone out of their way to cover every sordid detail.
To former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, the media's flag-to-flag coverage of the G20 protests are a glaring contrast to the recent "tea party" protests - which have had more attendees and have been peaceful.
"Look, I got a note from a friend of mine in Orlando who pointed out there were more people at a taxpayer tea party in Orlando a week ago than there are in London," Gingrich said on Fox News Channel's April 1 "On the Record with Greta van Sustren." "They just didn't get any coverage out of the media. There were more people recently in Cincinnati at a taxpayer tea party than there have been demonstrating in London. But the London demonstrators are breaking windows, they're being violent, and you know, the media is always happy to cover the anarchic and violent left."
Gingrich predicted that the popularity of the tea parties would be a sign of things to come - especially when Tax Day rolls around on April 15.
"But the peaceful taxpayers of this country are actually turning out for these tea parties, and I predict on April 15 will turn out even more, in much bigger numbers than they are in London," Gingrich said.
Even as he highlighted the tea parties, Gingrich, who is the chairman of the organization American Solutions for Winning the Future, didn't dismiss the significance of the G20 protests. He said the pockets of unrest - whether they're peaceful or not - are a sign that there is a real frustration around the world with government leadership.
"Yeah, I think it's significant, because you can't have the kind of economic pain we're currently having and the kind of failure of government leadership we're currently having and not have a substantial amount of unrest," Gingrich explained.
"You know, a lot of people are suffering. A lot of people are going through very significant financial dislocations, and it's affecting their family budget, their plans, their hopes for the future. And I think people get very upset when they see governments that are out of touch and arrogant and not responsive."
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Protests in London?
April 2, 2009 - 13:43 ET by sdbProtests in London? But, but... I thought now that Obama was president, the world was supposed to love us? He was gonna reach his hands towards the heavens and there would be peace!
...
Anyway, we can't show conservatives expressing a valid and reasoned dissent of The One in a peaceful manner, now can we. Oh no, that would go against the image of the rapid, racist, foaming-at-the-mouth, dittohead that the left has built up. After all, racism formed by a blind following of talk radio hosts is the only possible reason one could have for disagreeing with The One... Right? *rolls eyes*
Typical
April 2, 2009 - 13:43 ET by FedUpEvenMoreSo they are antiwar even though they love the violence of anarchy. How hypocritical! I guess that is why they say that liberalism is a mental problem.
Two things that the Tea
April 2, 2009 - 13:44 ET by ForeverOnTheRightTwo things that the Tea Parties have "against them", 1) They are not motivated by liberals. 2) They are not "sensational" and don't affect your TV ratings or sell a paper. It's all about money and agenda.
The Tea Parties would have to be at least violent or disruptive to get coverage and even then they'd be shown in a negative light because they are conservative and don't support the liberal savior Obama.
The difference it, though,
April 2, 2009 - 14:14 ET by SmartypantsThe difference is that those anarchists in Europe are more or less being given a sense of legitimacy in most of the media coverage. The press treats them as if they are an organized group with a legitimate cause as opposed to the deranged malcontents that they really are. If we had a bunch of conservatives that, for whatever reason, became just half as unruly as those Europeans, the press would report it as if it was a full-scale violent riot by fringe radicals on the right. The press is not going to tolerate the behavior by the right that it openly accepts from those on the left.
The most successful war America has ever waged is quickly becoming President Obama's war on capitalism.
I heard some talking head
April 2, 2009 - 14:03 ET by ConservativeRexI heard some talking head from Britain describe these hooligans as "recurited from the best universties in England". They were supposed to be bright, articulate. I wanted to shove my television up his bum.
These hooligans are lazy, cowardly, spoilt, mealy mouthed, yellowbellies. If they had the least little bit of pride they would be in Afghanistan blowing off a little steam. Most of them don't even know what they stand for. They just do as they are told to do.
Does that sound like a certain idiocracy that voted in a certain empty suit to the supposedly highest office in the world?
CR... Yep...it's the same
April 2, 2009 - 14:25 ET by bigtimerCR...
Yep...it's the same ol' same ol'.
Nothing new with this crowd of spoiled brats.
...nor the msm either for that matter.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
Counterinsurgency
April 2, 2009 - 14:26 ET by KC MulvilleIf you haven't read it already, and you can overlook the frigid writing style, read the Army's Counterinsurgency Manual. It's the thing that helped make David Petraeus a star. He applied those principles in Iraq, and he turned around a disaster.
Why does that matter in this thread? Because that manual argues that the key to keeping a country peaceful is for the government to do its job properly. Petraeus argues that the insurgent argument always comes down to saying that the government sucks. The way to defeat the insurgents? Make sure that the government doesn't suck. It's as simple as that.
When the government is corrupt, or just plain ineffective, it really pisses people off. In our country, we have the Tea Parties, and I'm sure that's just the first example in a series. The G20 protests are the same way. People don't like it when governments don't do their job.
Obama and the Democrats have spent trillions of dollars, and by any fair accounting the citizens are going to want to see some payback for that. As time goes on, and the effects of the debt become more and more obvious, people are going to get more and more pissed off. I doubt April 15 is going to be a big deal, because it's still too close. But come the summer, with the heat and the energy bills that come with it, family budgets are going to be tight. I suspect that late summer will be the time for people to be really pissed.
Media coverage? Of course not. Then next year, they'll be shocked at the midterm elections.