Comments on: The Republicans, Obama, and Occupy Wall Street http://www.deliberatelyconsidered.com/2011/10/the-republicans-obama-and-occupy-wall-street/ Informed reflection on the events of the day Wed, 15 Jul 2015 17:00:00 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.4.23 By: Scott http://www.deliberatelyconsidered.com/2011/10/the-republicans-obama-and-occupy-wall-street/comment-page-1/#comment-19271 Fri, 21 Oct 2011 14:38:00 +0000 http://www.deliberatelyconsidered.com/?p=8836#comment-19271 I don’t think you can look at the movement with the expectations you might have of a conventional political campaign. The protesters are not running for office. Sure, while there is no coherent message, and no policy proposal there is “there is a simple and telling coherence” to the movement. This is evident in the degree of solidarity the protesters exhibit; and the messages, while varied, express a consistent theme that is understandable by most people.

And some conservative news outlets have tried to typify OWS as some kind of freak show. Not so. During a GA, I see “ordinary Americans,” whatever that may mean, expressing concerns both horrific (police brutality and raising taxes on the 1%) and mundane (camp matters such as bed bugs and co-operating with the surrounding community by limiting hours when drum circles can take place). Yes, there are the usual suspects, but also a great deal of diversity.

In other news, while it does seem that GOP opposition is underwhelming, I feel it is much too early to prognosticate about Obama’s re-election. A lot can happen in one year: the economy could continue to worsen, as has been predicted by many economists, or Perry may suddenly develop the ability to complete a coherent thought.

But it does seem that the tide of public sentiment is shifting far from the days of “kill the bill” hysteria, and I believe OWS is playing a large role in that.

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