Comparisons between the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street only go so far. While both are movements born largely out of frustration and a sense of powerlessness, there are key differences. The Tea Party was at least as much the product of Fox News and wealthy right wing benefactors like the Koch brothers as it was an organic grass roots movement, while Occupy Wall Street has no similar financial patrons and, at first, was not even covered positively in many liberal media outlets. Moreover, in some critical ways the Tea Party was backward looking, opposing reform and drawing much of its support from older Americans, while the Occupy Wall Street seems to be more forward looking.
Even recognizing these differences, the relationship between the Tea Party and the Republican Party is comparable to the nascent relationship between the Occupy Wall Street and the Democratic Party. While it is unlikely that the Occupy Wall Street movement will take over the Democratic Party the way the Tea Party has come to dominate the Republican Party, the Democratic Party may, in the coming months and years, have to listen more to the Occupy Wall Street activists, and their supporters, who could begin to play a bigger role in the party.
For the Republican party, this relationship has been forged in the context of an open presidential primary with most candidates seeking court the Tea Party supporters whose votes are perceived as critical in many Republican primaries. The smarter candidates, notably and perhaps only, Mitt Romney have simultaneously sought to distance themselves from the Tea Party in anticipation of needing to appeal to a wider range of voters in the general election. The Tea Party, for its part, has rallied around various radical, unelectable and quirky candidates including Michelle Bachmann, Rick Perry and now Herman Cain, thus undermining their power within the Republican Party.
The Democratic Party finds itself in a different situation as the sitting Democratic president is running unopposed for the nomination and already has a sufficiently enormous lead in fundraising and organization that any primary challenger who would emerge at this point would be badly defeated. The Occupy Wall Street movement is wisely not even talking about running somebody against President Obama in the Democratic Party, but this would be about the best thing that could happen to the Obama campaign. If such a candidate were to emerge, Obama could move to the center now, run up a string of impressive primary victories and use his ample resources to marginalize the Occupy Wall Street, largely through attacking the credentials and credibility of whichever flawed candidate was supported by the Occupy Wall Street. This would put him in a strong position for November especially as once he secured his nomination Obama would then be able to use his resources to again court the activist wing of the party. Additionally, running somebody against Obama would, in of itself, erode much of the Occupy Wall Street movement's support because many liberals would see the movement as seeking to destroy President Obama and behaving counter-productively.
This scenario could be good for the Obama campaign, but it would be a disaster for the Occupy Wall Street movement and, fortunately, is unlikely to occur. Instead, if the Occupy Wall Street movement does not get involved in electoral politics at that level, it will create a much tougher decision for Obama. There are some who still think attacking Occupy Wall Street and positioning himself in the center would be the best move for Obama, but absent a candidate against whom to run, this strategy is a lot more difficult to implement. Instead of running against an individual who would be ill-equipped for a presidential campaign against an incumbent, Obama would have to focus on the activists themselves. However, given the widespread support enjoyed by these activists, this would be a tough strategy.
Without a candidate who would allow Obama and much of the liberal establishment to frame Occupy Wall Street in purely electoral terms, Occupy Wall Street must be taken far more seriously. Obama's challenge is further complicated because he cannot simply court Occupy Wall Street now, in part because this might alienate some voters he still needs, but more significantly, because he is not popular among the activists in Zuccotti Park and elsewhere. Occupy Wall Street is, among other things, the physical expression of the liberal disappointment and, at times, anger towards a Democratic administration that has too frequently proven unwilling to adopt bold progressive positions on economic issues.
The way the president can best resolve this dilemma is to develop an Occupy Wall Street strategy that is oriented more on demonstrating to those activists that he hears them and understands their concerns than on either seeking to triangulate Occupy Wall Street into irrelevance or seeking to get in front of the movement and try to become its leader. This should, in the short term, also be the goal of the Occupy Wall Street movement. The longer term goals of the movement, which are aimed at restructuring tax policy, financial regulation and income inequality cannot, of course, be addressed between now and November of 2012, but building a relationship with the Democratic Party that shows Occupy Wall Street to be a force within the party is probably a good start. If this is done right, as the movement grows, it will become a bigger force.
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1> the food is better in NYC.
2> there ae too many homeless in DC already occupying the parks.
3> they don't wanna embarass Obama.
The problem is not the Stock Market but the government.
Goldman Sachs and who else?
There has never been a president who accepted so much in donations from Wall Street.
This must get out and the protest moved to DC where it will do some good.
The only reason it has not is because it may embarass Obama.
And finally this: Would the protesters be happy if the Stock Market collapsed?.
Gee it has been around since 1792 making this country economically strong and now some say it is a problem.
That is not the problem.
The problem is jobs and they went overseas.
OWS shuld cross the river and protest the Port of Bayonne for all the imports coming in.
Vote for the Fair Elections Now Acts H.R.1404 and S.750 at GOVTRACK.US - you can make comments that will be forwarded to your congressperson and posted onsite. The vote counts are displayed and the supporting and opposing organizations listed.
These bills would TAKE SPECIAL INTEREST MONEY OUT OF CAMPAIGNS. Currently 66% of the voters are supportive, but only 143 people have voted on H.R. 1404 and 79 have voted on S.750. We could make our voices heard at this site. By the 100s of millions!
Oppose bills that enable corporate greediness. There is bipartisan support for H.R.1834 and S.1671 for tax repatriation on foreign earnings (even though per Sen. Levin's press release of Oct 10, after the 2004 tax repatriation the pay increase for top executives was 27% the first year and 30% the following year; workers' income increased 3% and 11%; and for the top "tax repatriated" corporations 21,000 jobs were eliminated and stock repurchases nearly doubled.)
At the same time, there is opposition to an extension to the payroll tax holiday because "that would not significantly impact the economy." I believe more money in the pockets of individuals will increase demand (duh) and I'm not so sure that is true of corporations, unless of course the execs spend their raises.
This is not a problem of message or framing. It is not a "dilemma" for this President to spin. These are not concerns to be simply understood and heard. Action that finally matches words -- that it what is most desperately needed. No more cons.
*A "still timely" article for a deeper understanding of current economic policy and the harmful role played by some who surround and advise the president.
Matt Taibbi's "Obama's Big Sellout" from Rolling Stone:
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/12/13-8
Short-Powerful Video of Matt Taibbi that further illuminates this President's role:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/03/matt-taibbi-obamas-big-se_n_378705.html
But I have to say that any idea that "Obama could move to the center" is tiresome when he has been there and beyond for some time now. To move to the center, he would have to head left.
'HighjackiÂÂng Protests For Political Gain"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP3oRwXI558
With Author David Degraw and Legal Scholar William K. Black
From this outstandinÂÂg interview Mr. Degraw "speaks for many" when he explains his involvemenÂÂt in the protest:
"From a personal perspectivÂÂe, I'm really here to defend my family, my friends and to defend this country from what I consider to be global financial interests that have taken control of both the Democratic and Republican parties...ÂÂthey have bought our government and wrigged it against hard working Americans.ÂÂ..and it doesn't matter if your a Democrat or Republican your economic future has been set on fire by these people, by these too big to fail banks, so we are here to defend the American people in the absence of a government which will defend us."
* First and foremost, let the Occupy Wall Street movement be a peaceful movement "without party" that represents "all" of us.
Oppression, suppression, abused by Puppet Masters of all stripes, put down, held down, tortured, or just being told to sit down and shut up = won't work anymore.
Rights for all, and the recognition that everything is connected to One hub = happening now or coming soon to a neighborhood near you.
All the political nonsense inbetween = unnecessary details, harmful distractions.
The author is clearly a liberal...duhhh. The TEA Party is not "backward thinking"...when it is trying to rescue the Nation from the grip of the socialists turned Communists. The Occupy movement is not forward thinking...when they have no platform or political influence.
TEA Party members are many many small business people and hard working Americans who number in the millions...and will change the country in the next election. The Occupy movement...wont. This is because the Occupy Movement wants something for nothing...while the TEA Partiers want to just keep what they have.
In many ways it is the Occupy Movement that is backward thinking...because what they demand is the same tired spending policies that led to much of the mess we are in now.. I hear nothing coming from the Occupiers that government is spending too much of our money.
The "revolution" is already centered around the millions upon millions of TEA Partiers...not the Occupiers.
And even Obama would not support the destruction of capitalism.
It's interesting to see the wealthy left-wing celebrities beloved by OWS. Apparently their wealth and privilege are acceptable because they have the 'correct' political views.
How far can hypocrisy go?
It is the tea party which is being thoroughly rejected by the American people. Congress has a 9% approval rating.
OWS will be shoved aside if it so much as acknowledges there still is a democratic party. Which there isn't
Obama did to that party's decline what Clinton didn't: snuffed it out completely. Clinton only strangled its conscience. Obama got the throat, windpipe and all.
OWS should ignore the election charade altogether, and build its own integrity from the inside and bottom up.
Select a membership committee and a good conduct committee, with no overlapping members. Give both the power to review the conduct of any member, and recommend removal on approval of the other committee. Staff the committees with at least twenty-five members each, and require at least 75% consensus for recommending removal and/or approval to remove in either/both committees, members from OWS for inappropriate conduct. Less than 75% but over 60% vote from either committee to remove gets the respective member on probation, for at least a year.
With a few bounces, conduct will rapidly improve, and the police will have a very difficult time slipping in their covert agents for initiating violence against overt police according to pre-planning as Paul Craig Roberts told us it will come.
You are governing yourselves already far better than either party has governed in Washington, D. C, for over five decades. Be patient with yourselves.
OWS is just another political group, an extension of the Democratic party that is further left than most. The destruction of capitalism is certainly a bizarre idea - I'm not sure how they plan to replace it, as there is nothing positive or creative coming out of all this screaming and yelling.
Bu the left-wing celebrities are having a wonderful time - and getting plenty of free publicity calling for the destruction of a system that has made them wealthy.
Really - it is the rage that repels me. Hate and anger are powerful as fuel, but they produce nothing creative if that is all there is.
Your angry comments are the standard response. And that is why OWS will eventually become part of the DNC.
No moderates or centrists or conservatives allowed. Just the True Left who hate Republicans and want to re-elect Obama.
Pitiful stuff - and more of the same. Division. Rage. Hate. And for what?