Extremists of any kind are scary. I agree that there are differences between the Tea Party and the Occupy movement. The Tea Party has candidates as part of the Republican party. Occupy does not support either major party. In fact, they pretty much feel like the whole government, as is, is corrupted by corporate interests. You may see some people who support Occupy on the Green party ticket. A lot of them really like Ron Paul, who is so much more Libertarian than Republican.
I do love The Newsroom. I'm watching the finale right now because I couldn't see it Sunday. LOVE this show