Cross Posted at the Economic Maverick
The Overton Window may have experienced a dramatic shift over the last few weeks, induced largely by the exponential growth in the scale and scope of the #OccupyWallStreet movements!
If entrepreneurs are judged by their ability to disrupt the established order and create systemic change, than the world may be in the process of stumbling upon the greatest entrepreneur since the emergence of Steve Jobs in the 1970s. Though unlike Jobs, this entrepreneur isn't a singular person, but an entire movement. In many ways the movement does resemble a living, breathing, and GROWING, organism. Nonetheless, the great Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter would still be proud.
A few days ago some analysts were speculating that the #OWS movement has already changed the range of acceptable discourse and the political climate by putting income and wage inequality, the crony capitalist rigged market system, and Wall Street oppression at center stage. The #Occupy Movement may have done more in 3 weeks to change the political/social climate and the range of "acceptable" political debate than the entire American liberal establishment - from the political campaigns, unions, think tanks, politicians, over-paid wonks and consultants - have done in the past 3 years, even though the later have spent upwards of $500M on "messaging and policy development" and who-knows-what-else.
I think we have some real evidence of that now:
Harvard MBA ( lol!) Mitt Romney has done a near 180 on the #OWS movement in a matter of about 5 days! Last week he was calling them "dangerous" - this week he "cares about the bottom 99% and not the top 1%". This shift by ole Mitt has hardly been noticed by either the MSM or the blogosphere in either the progressive or right-wing communities.
Obviously, it's just rhetoric -he's offered no discernible change in his policy positions on anything. He's just a flip-flopping politician like most "mainstream" politicians, but he does serve as a useful gage indicating which direction the wind is blowing . At the end of the day, most establishment politicians are just thermometers that measure the temperature, they are NOT thermostats that change the temperature.
The #OWS is the thermostat changing the temperature. Social movements are the REAL thermostats. The vast majority of establishment politicians are just thermometers who follow the path of least resistance. This usually means supporting the economic elite, unless they see a real consequence in doing so, in which case they switch gears, or at least pretend to switch gears, which is probably want Romney is signaling in his statement below.
Romney's latest quotes and link below:
“I worry about the 99 percent in America.”
“The 99 percent” is the slogan adopted by “Occupy Wall Street” protesters, who use the term to draw contrast between the wealthiest Americans and the poor and working classes.
“I don’t worry about the top one percent,” Romney told the crowd on Monday. “I don’t stay up nights worrying about ‘gee we need to help them.’ I don’t worry about that. They’re doing just fine by themselves. I worry about the 99 percent in America. I want America, once again, to be the best place in the world to be middle-class. I want to have a strong and vibrant and prosperous middle-class. And so I look at what’s happening on Wall Street and my own view is, boy I understand how those people feel… The people in this country are upset.”
Sure Mitt! Whatever. Regardless, while other conservatives are in a 5 alarm panic over the #OWS and what it means to their plutocratic masters, the politically astute Romney appears to be positioning himself (or pretending to position himself) to the LEFT of the Democratic Machine Mayor of Boston, Tom Menino. That's proof that the Thermostat that is the #OWS is working!!!
Keep at it!!
Cross Posted at the Economic Maverick