I have been hemming and hawing about writing this diary for over a week now. While I see tremendous political opportunities for Progressive Democrats in the OccupyWallStreet (OWS) grassroots movement, I am reluctant to compose a diary that in any way might be seen as exploiting this movement for purely partisan political purposes.
But one would have to be blind not to see the commonality between the pro-jobs, pro-middle class statements by President Obama , Elizabeth warren and other Progressive Dems., and the admirable goals of the OWS movement. This commonality has the potential of coming together into a perfect political storm for Democrats in which great things can result. Great things not only in terms of getting Progressive Democrats elected, but in terms of achieving the OWS goals of reducing the economic disparity in this country and obtaining economic justice for those wronged by Wall Street greed.
More discussion about the opportunity which OWS presents after the jump/\
But before you jump, here's Sunday's OWS - Mothership
Perhaps "Harnessing" in the title was not the right word since it connotes a sense of one group controlling the other. But in my intended sense it means using the energy generated by OWS to achieve progressive goals, first in terms of getting good Democrats elected and then getting those elected Dems. to pass legislation that achieves the common goals of Progressives and OWS. In that sense, this is about forging a partnership between Democrats and OWS protesters to achieve their mutual goals. And boy what a powerful partnership this could be.
Let me start off with this NY Times Article I came across last week which explores what the OWS movement may mean in terms of President Obama's re-election campaign. It makes several relevant points, some of which I agree with, some of which I do not. Here are some excerpts and comments:
Mr. Obama, in a series of recent hard-edged speeches around the country, has channeled many of the grievances of the movement known as Occupy Wall Street: deepening economic inequity, a tax code that gives breaks to the wealthy and corporate interests and banks that profit from hidden consumer fees.
The "new" Obama, or more correctly the re-emergence of the 2008 Obama, fits well with the OWS movement.
Even before the protests welled up, Mr. Obama’s political advisers said he would focus heavily on the issue of fairness, tapping into a widespread sense among middle class voters that they lost the most in the recession.
Indeed, the placards carried by the protesters — with messages like “I am the 99 percent; I don’t have a lobbyist” — could have been written by the Obama campaign. The president has made much of the widening gulf between the wealthiest Americans and everybody else, as well as a tax code that makes Warren E. Buffett’s secretary pay proportionally higher taxes than the billionaire investor himself.
This is an important point. The President was out in front of the OWS movement in terms of raising the same issues of economic fairness before the movement began.
The trouble is, the protesters do not think the president has done nearly enough to crack down on abuses. Several pointed out the lack of prosecutions of investment bankers or others involved in the mortgage-finance industry.
The President who controls the law enforcement branch of government, needs to be more aggressive with respect to investigating and prosecuting Wall Street (both individuals and corporations) for its past misdeeds if he wants to avoid the legitimate OWS criticism of letting the Banksters go unpunished.
But Mr. Bernstein [Economist Jared Bernstein] said the protests were valuable as an indicator of broader sentiment in the country. “I would advise the administration to think very carefully about the validity of the themes these folks are raising,” he said, “because these are themes that resonate well past the folks on Wall Street.”
Good advice! But enough about the President and the OWS relationship. The purpose of this diary is to explore the broader partnership between OWS and the Democratic Party, of which the President is of course a part. So here is my case as to why these two groups need to establish a close lasting partnership in the form of a message to each group:
Message to Democratic Party (& Candidates):
You need to quickly and unquestionably come out and fully embrace the goals of the OWS movement. You need to make clear that their goals are your goals, without qualification. To distance yourself from OWS or even to be a late comer to the party, would be a big political mistake. These primarily are the folks who were the grassroots energy behind the Democratic Party victories in 2006 & 2008. Now after the SCOTUS Citizens United decision allowing Republicans to use unlimited Wall Street money, the support of these folks for Democrats is essential in 2012. We have seen what an election looks like without their votes and energy in 2010, and its ugly.
Sure I can understand why some Democrats maybe tentative and want to take a wait-and-see approach. After all, Democrats tend to be a politically cautious group these days, it their nature. What if the protests become really violent and most voters turn against OWS. Wouldn't want to be labeled an OWS supporter then. Or what if the Republicans are successful in labeling the OWS as a group of unemployed lazy hippies. Again, an OWS linkage would be a political detriment. But sometimes you just have to throw caution to the wind and latch on to a movement, and this is one of those times. Besides in this case, there is no sign of the OWS protests becoming violent. In fact, police in many cities have both openly and more so candidly, expressed their support for the OWS protesters. Also, there is little sign of voters viewing OWS negatively, with polls showing between 65% to 85% approval for the OWS goals of increasing taxes on the super rich and big corporations to pay for the creation of more middle class jobs, and for reducing the ever widening income gap between the top 1% and the rest of us. So while the risks involved in embracing OWS are small (if not insignificant), the potential benefits for Democratic candidates are HUGE!
In politics, timing is everything. Its like surfing. The politician who wisely looks out towards the political horizon and sees the incipient wave building, can prepare for it and skillfully ride that wave all the way to a political victory in the fall. But the politician who is overly cautious and waits too long to react to it, can easily be wiped out by it come election time. DEMOCRATS! Look out there. The OWS wave is building while the Tea Party wave (which was never going to be your wave anyway), is waning. Not only are the numbers of actual protesters exponentially increasing with each passing day, the numbers of voters who say they support OWS goals is well over 70%. You don't get better numbers than that in politics.
If that's not reason enough for Dems. to whole-heartedly embrace OWS, lets look at what your opponents, the Republicans have done. They have not just ignored it and hoped it goes away (which might have been the safe political calculus), they have come out in strong opposition to OWS as lead by this quote from House Majority Leader Eric Cantor:
“I for one am increasingly concerned about the growing mobs occupying Wall Street and the other cities across the country.”
There you have it. The Republicans are out in opposition of a group who claims to represent 99% of Americans and whose actual support among Americans is drawing closer to that figure with each passing day. You don't even have to brand Republicans as anti-OWS, they have given you the gift of taking up the mantle by themselves. They have made your campaign ads for you: "While my Republican opponent is for the top 1% in this country, I am proudly for the other 99%".
Lastly Democrats, you NEED these people. You need the people that make up OWS or are OWS supporters. These are the same folk who made small but cumulatively large, donations to your campaigns in 2006 & 2008. They are the same folks who volunteered for hours on your 2006 & 2008 campaigns, through voter registration drives, phone banking and door to door GOTV efforts. If you think you can win without these people, you are sorely mistaken.
DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES (INCLUDING YOU MR. PRESIDENT), EMBRACE OWS AND DO IT NOW!
Message to OWS Protesters:
Develop and grow the OWS movement now, but at some point you need to channel your energy to help elect Progressive Democrats (including President Obama) in order to acheive the social and economic goals which are common among progressive Democrats and OWS protestors/supporters.
Let me first say that I admire and respect the apolitical nature that OWS has expressed in these early weeks of the movement. To come out now and embrace one particular party or set of candidates would risk being labeled by the media as simply another grassroots organization whose only purpose is to do that party's bidding. No, now is the time to grow the movement and for OWS to continue to gain both participants and supporters across the country. OWS needs to grow to the point where political parties and candidates actively seek OWS support, instead of OWS trying to find parties or candidates to support its cause. But when the time comes, those involved in OWS need to remember which party has spoken out in support of the OWS movement and shares its goals, and which party has been the most friendly to the Wall Street 1% and has tried to demonize OWS and kill the movement. I think the choice of which party OWS needs to support becomes rather obvious.
Now I don't want to make it sound like hitching up with the Democratic Party is the only choice OWS has. But going the third party route is unrealistic in terms of getting anything accomplished in the short term (i.e., by 2012 election time) and could serve to backfire. However, there is a sort of third way for OWS to use its political weight without feeling like it has been swallowed by the DNC machine. That is to support and work for individual Democratic candidates who support OWS goals and positions on the issues.
To be perfectly frank about it, the only realistic way for OWS and the 99% of us who are seeking economic fairness and justice to achieve these ends is through working our butts off for Dem. candidates including President Obama, so that Dems. control the Presidency and both Houses of Congress. For OWS to stay "above the fray" and remain non-committal in 2012, will insure that the Republicans will retain just enough power to stifle any economic reform that would benefit the 99% and cause the 1% of their friends on Wall Street even the slightest bit of economic pain.
OWS PROTESTORS AND SUPPORTERS, GET BEHIND PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES IN 2012 TO GIVE WE IN THE 99% THE BEST SHOT AT OBTAINING SOME ECONOMIC FAIRNESS IN THIS COUNTRY!
Finally, an observation. Labor Unions who have long been the grassroots muscle of the Democratic Party, have joined the OWS movement. This is an important development because Unions could serve as a bridge organization connecting OWS and the Dem. political campaign organization. At least one can hope.