Jon Delano
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―

MoveOn.org is a progressive activist group that says it opposes the influence of corporate lobbyists in Washington.

MoveOn and its supporters like PennAction held a noontime rally in downtown Pittsburgh Tuesday.

It's tempting to lump groups like this in with the Tea Party and others unhappy with government.

But both sides hate that comparison.

About three dozen supporters of MoveOn rallied at Mellon Square, calling on elected officials to end what they call corporate control of government.

"The corporate influence is way out of proportion to what is good for the country. We are in great danger of a plutocracy," says Bob Heister of Fox Chapel.

Congressional candidates like Democrat Dan Connolly, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, signed a pledge to curb corporate influence.

"My personal feelings as well as the mood of the constituency is that they've lost control of their members of Congress," says Connolly. "They need people who will represent them, not big corporate, big oil, big pharmacy interests, so that's why I was happy to sign the pledge."

But the small crowd was in sharp contrast to the 2,000 Tea Party activists who gathered in Mellon Square last April.

While there may be some anti-incumbent similarities among both activist groups, organizers emphasize the differences.

"Their ideals are really good for just the class of government workers and government officials, and we love the free markets," notes Patti Weaver of Fox Chapel, a Tea Party organizer. "We love independent business. We love freedom in every way shape and form."

Their counterparts say Tea Party members are just angry and not focused on big business and Wall Street influence.

"It doesn't seem to bother them that our people are being bought and sold, that our votes are being bought and sold," says Rosemary Prostko of Bethel Park.

MoveOn organizers say they get smaller crowds because it's risky confronting big business.

"Nobody wants to stand up. When you actually identify the threat – your boss might be a bad guy, or big money might be a bad guy – like folks who are trying to form unions – those folks are putting something on the line," notes Dave Ninehouser of PennAction.

But Tea Party organizers say the numbers say it all.

"We both chose Mellon Square," Weaver points out, "and as you can see from the numbers, we got a hundred times more than they did, so our message is more appealing."

Whether it's the message or not, there's no doubting that the Tea Party can draw a crowd.

Their opponents say that's because some in the media – particularly certain cable news stations – are infatuated with the Tea Party and give them lots of free publicity.

The unanswered question is will they have the influence to affect this November's election which is just 12 weeks away.