Tiny Tea Party Rally vs. Large Progressive Rally: Which Gets More Beltway Ink?

[JohnWxy]

Tiny Tea Party Rally vs. Large Progressive Rally: Which Gets More Beltway Ink? - The Nation
http://www.thenation.com/blog/162434/tiny-tea-party-rally-vs-large-progressive-rally-which-gets-more-beltway-ink
Leslie Savan
July 29, 2011

Yesterday, an American Dream Movement rally demanding a debt deal that “protects seniors and makes corporations and the rich pay fair share” drew a significantly larger crowd than a Tea Party rally a day earlier that essentially demanded the opposite. Both were held on Capitol Hill, both focused on the same ginned-up debt ceiling “crisis,” but you’d be hard-pressed to find the Beltway media noting the difference in crowd size—or even reporting on the progressive rally at all.

Related Topics.Human Interest Social Issues the Tea Party Express .Wednesday’s conservative rally, organized by the Tea Party Express, was a bust: only about fifty people showed up to see presidential candidate Herman Cain and hear Senators Jim DeMint, Rand Paul and Mike Lee speak. “It had all the makings of a big time Tea Party rally,” Politico wrote. But “by the time the senators had spoken there were still fewer than 50 tea partiers in attendance.”

But then, Thursday’s American Dream rally—organized by MoveOn, Rebuild the Dream, AFSCME and AFGE, and featuring speakers like Van Jones and Representatives Keith Ellison and Jan Schakowsky—clocked in an estimated 450–500 people, according to the coalition. Oddly, though, as of twenty-four hours later, Politico didn’t mention it. CNN.com, meanwhile, talked up the Tea Party rally both the day before it took place and afterward—when it spun the measly crowd (and its own pre-event notice) by writing: “Don't be fooled by the tiny turnout at the Tea Party rally on Capitol Hill Wednesday. The conservative movement doesn't much need rallies anymore. November 2010 changed all of that.”

That’s a handy excuse. And maybe that’s why CNN.com didn’t bother to mention the American Dream rally at all. What could it have said?: “Don’t be fooled by the larger turnout at the progressive rally on Capitol Hill Thursday. The liberal movement desperately needs rallies. November 2010 made it so”?
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[saras]

1. Why would you expect the corporate media to behave differently?

We'll have to re-nationalize the broadcast spectrum, and fix some other pro-corporate Supreme Court snafus, before being able to fix it, though.

[txlibdem]

7. Step 1 will be jailing Murdoch for the crimes he ordered his staffers to commit

That will send a sobering message throughout the corporate media: you are responsible for what your organization does.

Murdoch is like a Mafia Don claiming ignorance and innocence of the murders and drug dealing that happens by his orders. Jail is his rightful place in society.

[ThoughtCriminal]

2. 250,000 could have turned out.

But if it ain't a Tea Party, zip coverage.

[Politicalboi]

3. The Teabaggers are the

Freak show. If the Progressives had Lady Ga Ga with them they too would have been noticed. I find her to be a freak show all by herself.

[mwb970]

6. Let's get her then! /nt

[Kablooie]

4. Which one runs our country?

It's not the numbers that count, it's the influence.
Progressives couldnt get anything done when they controlled everything.
Extreme conservatives control everything even with a small minority.

[drakonyx]

5. P.T. Barnum's Law

More people want to watch a freak show than a civilized discussion.