The mine owners did what they did for profit and personal gain, while the coal miners who worked until they died, only wanted a measure of respect and value. Their fight was justified, and they used legal means to attempt to get what they wanted, while the brutal owners used brutality, violence, and finally murder to keep the protesters in check. The difference in these two films is the ways the characters choose to overthrow the system. The coal miners go on strike and attempt to form a union, while Smith attempts to follow the rules honestly and with his own patriotism and enthusiasm. In addition, Smith uses the own rules of the Senate against them, filibustering for over 23 hours to get his point across and try to convince others he should not be expelled for corruption. In the end, he wins, because he has made Senator Paine's conscious finally kick in, and the Senator can no longer support the political corruption that has made his career. Smith wins by his virtue and honesty. However, the miners are just as honest and sincere, but they do not win. Their story is real, not one made up in Hollywood. Their cause was as just - survival and decent working conditions, but they could not fight the corruption of the powerful, while Smith took the power and used it to fight corruption. Both groups fought good and decent fights, but that does not ensure that the right and just always win, and that is the sad message about politics that comes out after viewing these two films. What is...

The powerful want to hold on to their power at any costs, and they will do anything to ensure they do not fall from power. Sometimes, an honest person comes along to topple them, but often, they have so much power and control that they can ensure they will never fall from power. Mr. Smith fought effectively, and so did the miners. They both used the resources available to them. However, the miners simply did not have enough power with the union, and they could not overcome the corruption of the mine owners.
In conclusion, it seems that some things never change in the relationship between the powerful and the weak. Today, unions still exist to protect their employees from misuse and degradation, and so, companies are sending more and more jobs overseas, where unions cannot touch them. There is not a lot of difference between the heartless mine owners and politicians of these films, and the corporate executives at Enron, who sold their stocks and mislead the public and their own employees. They sold their stocks before they tanked, and the employees were the ones left holding the bag, without retirement, and without jobs. Some things in history never seem to change. That is why unions were formed in the first place, and that is one reason they still exist. Not all powerful people are "bad guys," but many of them are, and these films just points out how greed and selfishness can lead to despair and even death.