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."
