The Occupy Wall Street movement has had a history of violence. This cannot be disputed. However, the members of the movement have not all been violent. A new poll shows that the percentage of the protestors have become more radical, and 13% have admitted that they have already engaged in violence, not just "civil disobedience."
The Daily Beast reports that in October, Douglas E. Schoen, LLC, conducted a survey with the fledgling movement, where 35% of the "protesters interviewed said their top goal was for OWS to move the Democratic Party distinctly and boldly left." It worked. The Blue Dog Democrats are fading away into obscurity, while the democrats in office seem to advocate principles that are decidedly way left and more in alignment with Communist objectives instead of ideals historically associated with America.
The OWS protestors in the October Poll said that they "were ready and willing to use civil disobedience (98 percent) and violence (31 percent) as a means of achieving OWS' agenda." The latest poll shows that 63% have "already engaged in civil disobedience" and 13% said that "they have already engaged in violence in support of their goals." Does this concern anyone?
Other notable findings are that 53% oppose "American-style capitalism," 71% believe in "massive redistribution of wealth," 85% want "dramatically higher taxes," and 79% want "greater government regulation and control over the economy." Additionally, 79% believe that the "government has a moral responsibility to guarantee health care, a college education, and a secure retirement for all, no matter what the cost," which is a 14% increase from the poll taken in October. 74% want a "health-care system replaced by a government-run single-payer system."
Are these goals representative of the beliefs shared by the average American?
President Obama's Re-election Campaign
The Obama administration has endorsed the Occupy movement, and the president has even been quoted this week in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, calling the OWS movement "just one vivid expression of a broader anxiety." The Occupiers themselves perhaps unknowingly assist the platform for the Obama agenda against the so-called 1%. As stated in the article, "Put simply, President Obama has effectively made class warfare the central organizing strategy of his re-election campaign." The democrats, instead of working to unify the nation on shared goals, are busy "emphasizing unfairness in American society, income inequality, and the need to redistribute wealth."
The Occupy Wall Street movement also, despite less coverage in the mainstream media, "is nonetheless seizing control of the political debate in America this election year." Unfortunately, the real news should be about how to fix the country, lower the national debt, reduce stifling regulations that are not friendly to business (from big corporations to mom & pop shops and yes, even lemonade stands), the energy crisis, joblessness, etc.
Instead, the mainstream media has been obsessively focused on issues that further polarize America, such as race (e.g.., the Trayvon Martin tragedy), class warfare (e.g., the Buffet rule), and the GOP so-called "War on Women" (e.g., the false idea that the GOP wants to take away contraception).
The focus should move away from the continual polarizing of America, which is destructive. Americans should be united as a country and enabled to work together with innovation, mutual respect, accountability, integrity, focus and yes, hard work.
recommend
Facebook
Twitter
bookmark 
print
Comments: 37
They rent or get permits. I think you have some wrong information. The only thing that the Tea Party and OWS have in common is that they are both made up of human beings, and at times that is even questionable with OWS. Oh and, they're NOT related as in "cousins."
No. Just more dangerous than conservative districts.
""The fact that many of those associated with the Tea Party and their cousins the occupiers took over many public places and private property doesn't sit well with me. ""
What Opinion Nate Ted said...
The TEA party followed that law, got permits, didn't ruin weddings, and school trips of people who followed the law and got permits, and didn't have to get tear gassed out of parks so that they could delouse and sanitize them. One of the reason why conservative districts are more safe than democrat districts is because conservatives tend to respect laws and police more than liberals do.
"Brevity is the Soul of Wit."
Indeed...
A cursory glance of cities that are traditionally run by Democratic leaders, will answer your question.
They are far and wide, the cities that are financially, emotionally, and morally bankrupt.
That is not the intent of those leaders, but it is what their faux Keynesian ideology evolves into.
George Vreeland Hill
He's looking to ride the kind of wave that saw him to his post in the first place, but you can't recapture a zeitgeist. The more you try, the further away you are.
Regardless, this Election will be all about him. He might not think that's a good thing this time around.
Renee, I'm pretty impressed by Occupy's stamina, and frankly amazed at the low level of violence, considering the nature and length of the protest. Do you have any comparative data between them and a similar population living in the same sized area over the same length of time in an American city, crimewise? Minus the civil disobedience. One persons' civil disobedience is another's exercise of the First Amendment.
Not that they can expect more than small victories. They're pretty 1% themselves.
It's really interesting. Thanks!
How about Farrakhan's recent rhetoric? Scary stuff! He said, “You want to be leaders, right? You sure, you sure? You better check yourself,” he said. “Because leadership is nothing to play with, because people tomorrow — maybe in a few days — are going to kill their leaders who have been selling them out. That‘s why we’re in the shape we’re in right now because we had corrupt people or people who started out good and got corrupted.” Was that aimed at Obama? Seems that way.
True, Nate, they are being supported, and they attract plenty of transients, as well.
I wonder if an industrious thinker will come up with a "Revolution Constitution" manifesto. They seem to have some time on their hands.
And this trend and attitude of civil disobedience is really disturbing. Throw the Occupy riots in the pot with potential riots in case George Zimmerman is found innocent and violence that could result from unemployment benifit extensions being cut off ( actually, there already has been some violence concerning this issue ) and you have a recipe for disaster with U.S. Military ( not National Guard ) troops patrolling our streets. But then again, this could be exactly what the Obama administration is looking for.