UNIVERZITA KARLOVA V PRAZE FAKULTA SOCIÁLNÍCH VĚD Institut mezinárodních studií Ádám Hushegyi The Evolution and Political Impact of the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street during Barack Obama’s Presidency Diplomová práce Praha 2017 Autor práce: Ádám Hushegyi Vedoucí práce: Mgr. Jana Sehnálková Rok obhajoby: 2017 Bibliografický záznam HUSHEGYI, Ádám. The Evolution and Political Impact of the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street during Barack Obama’s Presidency. Praha, 2017. 100 s. Diplomová práce (Mgr.) Univerzita Karlova, Fakulta sociálních věd, Institut mezinárodních studií. Katedra severoamerických studií. Vedoucí diplomové práce Mgr. Jana Sehnálková. Abstrakt Administrativa Baracka Obamy zdědila jednu z nejzávažnějších hospodářských krizí v dějinách Spojených států, která v očích mnoha občanů podkopala naděje v stabilní ekonomickou a politickou budoucnost země. Klesající důvěra ve federální vládu a v její kroky v reakci na ekonomickou recesi vedly k vzestupu dvou populistických hnutí, Tea Party a Occupy Wall Street. Obě hnutí získala přízeň veřejnosti díky své populistické rétorice, která odsuzovala politickou a finanční elitu společnosti a volala po navrácení osudu země do rukou obyčejných občanů. Diplomová práce přináší analýzu Occupy Wall Street a Tea Party. V práci zkoumám ideologii a cíle těchto hnutí, a zdůrazňuji ty nejzásadnější podobnosti a odlišnosti mezi nimi. V práci se vyjadřuji ve prospěch interpretace Tea Party a Occupy Wall Street jako dvou rozdílných typů populismu, přičemž vyzdvihuji také odlišnou míru podpory, kterou tato hnutí obdržela během jejich formace od různých zájmových skupin. V diplomové práci rovněž usiluji posoudit, jaký politický vliv Occupy Wall Street a Tea Party nabyla v průběhu prezidentství Baracka Obamy, k čemuž slouží analýza jejich integrace do amerického politického establishmentu, včetně zkoumání dopadu tohoto procesu. Abstract Barack Obama’s administration inherited one of the most severe economic crises in the history of the United States, which severely undermined the American public’s confidence in the country’s political and economic future. Declining trust in the federal government and its handling of the economic recession gave rise to two influential movements, the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street, which were thoroughly critical of the country’s leadership. Both movements made use of a strong populist rhetoric and mobilized masses by denouncing the political and financial elites, calling for returning control over the country’s fate into the hands of ordinary citizens. My master’s thesis is an analysis of the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street that focuses on the ideology and goals that drove these popular movements, as well as highlights the most crucial commonalities and differences between them. I argue in favor of interpreting the ideologies behind the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street as two distinct types of populism, in addition to which I emphasize the different degree of outside support the two movements enjoyed during their rise to prominence. To determine how influential the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street became during Barack Obama’s presidency, I also study their relationship with the political establishment and review to what extent these two movements managed to integrate themselves into the United States’ bipartisan political system, as well as the impact of this process. Klíčová slova volby, americká politická kultura, demokraté, republikáni, lidová hnutí, Tea Party, Occupy Wall Street, populismus Keywords elections, american political culture, Republicans, Democrats, grassroots movements, Tea Party, Occupy Wall Street, populism Rozsah práce: 166 728 znaků s mezerami (včetně seznamu literatury) Length of work: 166 728 characters with spaces (including bibliography) Prohlášení 1. Prohlašuji, že jsem předkládanou práci zpracoval samostatně a použil jen uvedené prameny a literaturu. 2. Prohlašuji, že práce nebyla využita k získání jiného titulu. 3. Souhlasím s tím, aby práce byla zpřístupněna pro studijní a výzkumné účely. Declaration of Authorship 1. I hereby certify that the thesis I am submitting is entirely my own original work except where otherwise indicated. 2. I certify that this work was not used to obtain another degree. 3. I consent to my work being used for the purpose of study and research. V Praze dne 30.7.2017 Ádám Hushegyi Acknowledgement I would like to thank Mgr. Jana Sehnálková for her prompt and concise feedback, as well as for her aid throughout the process of developing my diploma thesis. I would also like to extend my gratitude to Natalie Cimalová and Kristýna Veitová for proofreading the Czech passages of this work. Last but not least, I also owe thanks to my family and loved ones for their unrelenting support throughout my studies. Köszönöm a türelmet és támogatást! 1 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................... 2 METHODOLOGY AND LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................... 5 1. THE TEA PARTY: TAKING THE COUNTRY BACK ........................................ 8 1.1 LIBERTARIAN ORIGINS ............................................................................................. 8 1.2 SHIFTING FOCUS AND THE EROSION OF INDEPENDENCE ........................................... 9 1.3 MEDIA AND THE COMMON ENEMY ........................................................................ 12 1.4 STATUS ANXIETY AS A DRIVING FORCE ................................................................. 14 2. OCCUPY WALL STREET: THE ANGER OF THE 99 PERCENT .................. 18 2.1 BELATED RAGE ON WALL STREET ......................................................................... 18 2.2 GLOBAL ORIGINS ................................................................................................... 21 2.3 THE RISE AND FALL OF THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT’S POPULARITY ......................... 23 2.4 A LEADERLESS TWITTER MOVEMENT .................................................................... 26 3. TWO MOVEMENTS: DIFFERENT SIDES OF THE SAME COIN? ............... 29 3.1 A TALE OF TWO POPULISMS .................................................................................. 29 3.2 SCRAMBLE FOR AUTHENTICITY ............................................................................. 34 4. THE DAY AFTER: POLITICAL IMPACT AND INTEGRATION .................. 40 4.1 TOWARDS ESTABLISHMENT POLITICS .................................................................... 40 4.2 THE TEA PARTY AS A CONGRESSIONAL FORCE ...................................................... 46 4.3 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS 2012: THE LIMITS OF THE TEA PARTY’S APPEAL ......... 52 4.4 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS 2016: THE YEAR OF POPULISM .................................... 55 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................. 63 SOUHRN ....................................................................................................................... 67 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................... 69 2 Introduction Following his successful presidential campaign that mobilized record numbers of African Americans and young voters, Barack Obama envisioned a political landscape where he could transcend party lines and conduct his presidency by embracing centrist politics and inspiring bipartisan consensus.1 The new administration, however, inherited a herculean challenge in the form of the financial crisis of 2007-2008, which unleashed a wave of discontent among the American public, casting a grim light on the hopes of national unity.2 The Great Recession and the Obama administration’s attempts to mitigate its effects sent ripples across the United States, galvanizing groups both on the left and the right of the political spectrum that began to voice their dissatisfaction with Washington’s policies. The Obama administration and Democrat-led Congress came under heavy criticism from conservatives for adding to the federal deficit and expanding social welfare benefits with the 2009 stimulus package,3 whereas the government’s limited mortgage relief program was accused of being a straightforward giveaway to financially irresponsible citizens.4 At the same time, progressive and liberal pundits scrutinized Washington’s leadership for not devising a more ambitious recovery bill,5 particularly for Americans who were facing foreclosures as a result of the housing market crash.6 Coupled with a lack of confidence in economic recovery, backlash from across the political spectrum created a climate ripe for public dissent.7 The two most prominent movements that emerged from this discontent were the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street, both of which provided an outlet for the rage and 1 Sidney M. Milkis, Jesse H. Rhodes, and Emily J. Charnock, “What Happened to Post-Partisanship? Barack Obama and the New American Party System,” Perspectives on Politics 10, no. 1 (2012), 57-58. 2 Tekla Ali Johnson, Pearl K. Ford Dowe, and Michael K. Fauntroy, “One America? President Obama's Non-Racial State,” Race, Gender & Class 18, no. 3/4 (2011), 141-142. 3 Robert P. Watson et al., The Obama Presidency: A Preliminary Assessment (New York: State University of New York Press, 2012), 94. 4 Gary Dorrien, The Obama Question: A Progressive Perspective (New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2012), 5. 5 Holly Dolezalek, Global Financial Crisis (North Mankato, MN: ABSO Publishing, 2012),