Allen West And Steve King To Occupy Wall Street Protesters: Clean Up, Find A Message

WASHINGTON -- Two Tea Party luminaries have some advice for the Occupy Wall Street crowd: get a message, and clean up your act.

Not that Reps. Allen West (R-Fla.) or Steve King (R-Iowa) think OWS has anything legitimate to say, or that they sympathize at all with the anger that has been on display in protests from New York to California. Indeed, the lawmakers see the protests as artificial.

"If they knew what their grievance was then maybe one could have some sympathy, but I can't really identify their grievance," King told The Huffington Post.

West laughed when asked if he could identify at all with the protesters. "No, I don't," he said, adding that their movement was not genuine. "I don't see what the point is, and I think it's going to backfire because when you peel the onion back, you find out who's behind it and who's financing it -- it's not a true grassroots movement. It's not a true statement."

Critics said the same thing of the Tea Party movement in its earliest days, pointing to funding and organization provided by well-funded groups like FreedomWorks. "FreedomWorks tried to come in then and capitalize on it," West refuted. "The Tea Party is going to keep on whether FreedomWorks exists or not."

But aside from not being a real movement, and in spite of his charge that the protests are a creation of unions, West said one of the biggest problem of the Wall Street protesters is that they have no message.

"I don't know what these kids want. I mean, if they stand up and say 'We want the end of capitalism, we hate corporations...,'" West said, trailing off into a chuckle.

King also suspected unions are behind the movement, but found it far less amusing than West.

"I look at the signs that are there -- it's a human sea of discontent," King said, adding that he spotted anarchists in the crowds on TV. "This is the Left looking for a cause," he said. He also added that he's "seen no evidence" that the movement is organic.

He did not buy that they were angered by the the lack of regulation that sparked the ongoing housing crisis. "Aren't they volunteering to live in the street without housing right now? So it can't be very important to them, I would think," he said.

King also argued that there is no other comparison to be made to the Tea Party, even though some of them were angry, too. "The anger of the Tea Party was because this government is spending too much money and it's not operating within the bounds of the Constitution -- that's what ties the Tea Party together," King said.

"The differences we have are that I don't know of any member of the Tea Party that's been arrested," he said. "They are a peaceful group of people that could just as well be the folks at my church picnic.

"And they clean up after themselves. Let's see what kind of mess Wall Street is when they leave," King continued, before offering a few suggestions.

"That'd be my advice to them if they want to be like the Tea Party: Don't get arrested, and clean up after yourselves," he said. "And by the way, see if you can find some constitutional underpinnings to support an argument -- whatever it may be. I challenge them to do that."

 

Comments

[BS61]

01:29 PM on 10/23/2011

The comments here seem sooooo partisan. Wake up people! I'm a former Dem, who realized that the anti-war, anti-Patriot act, ani-Guantamo people seem to have forgotten what they believe in once Obama was elected.

We both the left and right, are being spent into oblivion and really need to join forces against those left and right in govt!

[Clevelandinwi]

09:09 PM on 10/19/2011

Note to allen west and steve king: CLEAN UP AND FIND A MESSAGE.

[DeeBlackthorne]

07:35 PM on 10/19/2011

The right pretends that capitalism is something that's enshrined in the Constitution. News flash: It's not. Food for thought. A friend of mine who is way more astute with economic policy wondered aloud, "Why is it that we ditched Keynesian economics right away when we thought it didn't work for American economic policy? Yet, somehow we managed to keep free-market capitalism for 40-odd years even with booms and busts, all these financial crises (like savings and loan, dot-com bubble, housing bubble) as if it's the word of God?"

[BS61]

01:34 PM on 10/23/2011

We didn't ditch Keynesian economic, that's why we are in the ditch that we are in. Since when can spending more money get you out of debt?!

[MekhongKurt]

12:06 AM on 10/16/2011

I imagine these two gentlemen could rue the day they were so dismissive of a movement that has every bit as much potential -- and far more -- as the Tea Party did in its early days.

[BS61]

01:36 PM on 10/23/2011

You are sooo right, 1000 OWS protestors vs millions of TP.

TP people want to restore America, while the OWS want to end it.

[Cecil Cain]

01:36 PM on 10/11/2011

Are Allen West And Steve King really saying "get a message, and clean up your act."?

What message is that? Would they prefer the OWS protesters hold up signs calling Obama a Kenyan Communist?

http://www.obamaftw.com/blog/tea-party/occupy-wall-street-ows-vs-the-tea-party-a-brief-comparison

[seraphimblade]

04:58 AM on 10/11/2011

I've already noticed the rhetoric going from "Eh, it's a few kids and no one cares about them" to a definite undercurrent, even for those who are critical of the protesters, of "Ruh-row."

Those who this is aimed at realize that their tactics of misdirection, namecalling, and distortion, not to mention outright lies, is not going to work here. No one's listening to the refrain of "dirty hippies" or "want handouts" or "them librulz" anymore. The "class warfare" and "don't want to work" bits? Falling flat, as Americans realize how wrong that is-these people DO want to work, in many cases desperately so. Their grievance is not that they want to avoid work, but that there is not enough work to be had. And while the Democrats seem to want to make hay out of this, I'd be careful, guys-it's aimed square at you too, you're part of the problem.

When you have millions of people out of work, who are desperately seeking and cannot find another job, you will have a lot of frustration. Start adding insult to injury by having well-known political figures call them lazy and worthless, and you're going to see a result much like this.

The main thing now is for OWS to refuse to give in to the repeated requests to "name what you want". What is needed here is a -systemic overhaul-, not a few token gestures. Keep demanding that the problem be addressed at its root.

[BS61]

01:38 PM on 10/23/2011

Sure, they shouldn't name the communist manifesto like they did day 1!

[Landstander]

04:13 PM on 10/10/2011

"He did not buy that they were angered by the the lack of regulation that sparked the ongoing housing crisis. "Aren't they volunteering to live in the street without housing right now? So it can't be very important to them, I would think," he said."

This is a complete non sequitor, and shows that Mr. West doesn't know what he's talking about. He must be buying into the tea party line that the Community Reinvestment Act caused the financial crisis, a complete fabrication.

[socialtalker]

04:04 PM on 10/10/2011

its interesting. we have HUNDREDS of congresspeople. whats makes the press work to get quotes from the dumbest blowhards

[SKamath]

01:42 AM on 10/11/2011

Not to mention, why?

[BS61]

01:39 PM on 10/23/2011

HuffPo would not be in business if not for reporting about the TP!

[teabagmetos]

03:40 PM on 10/10/2011

Politics would be a helluva good business if it weren't for the goddamned people.
Richard M. Nixon

[TBinSD]

03:28 PM on 10/10/2011

"If they knew what their grievance was then maybe one could have some sympathy, but I can't really identify their grievance,"

Look in the mirror Stevie-boy! You'll find your answer there.

[JacquelineJR]

11:52 AM on 10/11/2011

Ouch!

[Cecil Cain]

01:37 PM on 10/11/2011

Indeed! Because we all know from the Forbes study just how 'informed' the Tea Party protesters are!

http://www.obamaftw.com/blog/tea-party/occupy-wall-street-ows-vs-the-tea-party-a-brief-comparison

[Emy Freeland]

02:22 PM on 10/10/2011

So just because the OWS doesn't have a "message" that everyone agrees with they merit derision from West and company? I can safely say that I respect the movement more that the one thing they do agree with is that Wall Street is existing and operating in a boom/bust model where things like credit default swaps and millisecond investing is becoming an acceptable business model, the gambling like atmosphere where luck and dirty tricks are there to get you paid....

[PensivePete]

01:26 PM on 10/10/2011

What Alan West is doing is akin to putting his fingers in his ears and yelling "Na! Na! Na! I can't hear you!" while OWS explains their position, and then laughing at the problems they just shared as he spews sad rhetoric about how the protesters are all communists bent on destroying America.
If you want a stark contrast between conservatives and liberals, West is giving it to you.
Cons like West think it's funny that people are angry about Wall Street selling garbage securities into their retirement accounts, and dragging the economy into recession in the process. They think you're lazy if you and your wife both work to support your family, yet are still only one pay check away from financial ruin. They see no problem that a hard working American who bought health insurance can still wind up having their life savings drained and lose their home only because they were unfortunate enough to become sick. They don't see any need to change the fact that a college education is becoming so ridiculously expensive, that if you're one of the fortunate few to land a job after graduating, it barely provides enough to earn a living with all the bills you now have.
If West wants to know what the OWS protest is all about, all he has to do is take the time to listen to middle class Americans: http://wearethe99percent.tumblr.com/

[rbhuffy]

01:07 PM on 10/10/2011

West and King and Joe Walsh are big parts of the problem. Good to know if we ever have a National Crisis we can count on the Tea Party to block any kind of solution's

[Blues Healer]

12:34 PM on 10/10/2011

Sure, if you turn a blind eye -- and a deaf ear -- to OWS, then they "have no message".

The message however, is just to simple for you to understand : Things Must Change. There must be social justice for our nation to survive.

Ignore this at your own peril.

[dave cyril]

12:23 PM on 10/10/2011

I find it interesting that an organization that was created and fostered A.L.E.C., right wing media (that is heavily funded by A.L.E.C.) and right wing "news" entertainment (Also heavily funded by A.L.E.C.) have members saying that they do not think occupy wall street is an organic movement.