Frank Luntz: Republican Spin Doctor, Part I

Frank Luntz on Fox News by crooksandliars.com

Frank Luntz is a Republican political consultant and pollster. He has most notably worked with Fox News as a frequent commentator and analyst and a Republican Party consultant. You might have remembered Luntz from his use of focus groups during the previous presidential debates. Luntz specializes in “testing language and finding words that will help his clients sell their product or turn public opinion on an issue or candidate”. In other words, Luntz is a political spin doctor. Think of Luntz when Republicans come up with a piece of legislation called “The Clear Skies Initiative” which allows polluters to self-regulate.

Last week, at the Republican Governors Association’s annual meeting, GOP leaders had a chance to talk and strategize with Luntz about how to deal with the Occupy movement. Luntz said of the movement, “I’m so scared of this anti-Wall Street effort. I’m frightened to death…They’re having an impact on what the American people think of capitalism.”

Luntz went on to list 10 do’s and don’ts for Republicans when fielding questions from their constituents. The following are the first five on the list, as reported by Yahoo News, along with my commentary. Next week, I will comment on the remaining 5 do’s and don’ts on Luntz’s list.

1. Don’t say ‘capitalism.’

F.L.: ”I’m trying to get that word removed and we’re replacing it with either ‘economic freedom’ or ‘free market,’ “Luntz said.”The public . . . still prefers capitalism to socialism, but they think capitalism is immoral. And if we’re seen as defenders of quote, Wall Street, end quote, we’ve got a problem.”

D.W.: I love this first statement by Luntz. I find the statement to be extremely revealing.  It’s tempting to write a whole article just on this point. In fact, Rush Limbaugh was so upset at Luntz’s comment on capitalism, Limbaugh went on an unusual screech attacking the Republican spin doctor for even suggesting capitalism is becoming a bad word. But Luntz is right. Unregulated capitalism has been proven, time and time again, to have disastrous consequences on the economy.

The Occupy movement has made it clear, both the Republicans and the Democrats have been far too cozy with the banks and other big corporate interests. Both parites have allowed the corporate industrial complex to run amok. Luntz doesn’t want Republican’s to be overtly seen as championing the capitalist cause over the interested of the general public. However, it’s a little too late for that one.

2. Don’t say that the government ‘taxes the rich.’ Instead, tell them that the government ‘takes from the rich.’

F.L.: ”If you talk about raising taxes on the rich,” the public responds favorably, Luntz cautioned. But “if you talk about government taking the money from hardworking Americans, the public says no. Taxing, the public will say yes.”

D.W.: This is where Luntz’s evil genius comes out. Luntz wants Republicans to suggest to Americans that taxes are a bad thing. It is government taking something away from you. Taxes are therefore personally harmful and the government is acting like a bully by stealing away your money. By suggesting this, Republicans want Americans to be resentful of their government, rather than supportive.

Now I know there is a long and healthy history of Americans from both the political left and right distrusting their government. It is that distrust that often keeps the government in check. However, by framing taxes as an abuse of power, Luntz shifts the debate away from the normal and healthy distrust of the government into a position closer to a hatred for our government. This is not a healthy understanding of what taxes do. Without taxes we would not have a police force to protect us, fire department, roads, public schools, or a military. Taxes not only take from us, they also give us the things that make our lives better. Most American believe paying their taxes is duty to “God  and county.”

In addition, I would not call someone like Paris Hilton a “hardworking American.” Nor would I call day traders that spend their morning hours gambling on the stock market “hardworking American”. Many of the ultra rich are neither working hard nor are they really adding jobs to our economy. Yet, thanks to the GOP, they pay a smaller percentage of the income in taxes than many in the middle class. This is just wrong.

3. Republicans should forget about winning the battle over the ‘middle class.’ Call them ‘hardworking taxpayers.’

F.L.: “They cannot win if the fight is on hardworking taxpayers. We can say we defend the ‘middle class’ and the public will say, I’m not sure about that. But defending ‘hardworking taxpayers’ and Republicans have the advantage.”

D.W.: Notice how in rule number two Luntz calls the richest 1 %  “hardworking Americans” and now in rule number three the “middle class”, 50% of Americans, are also “hardworking taxpayers.” Revealingly, Luntz concedes the Republicans cannot honestly claim to defend the middle class. That is a losing battle for the GOP. No one really believes the Republicans are defending the middle class.  (Not that the Democrats have done much better in defending the interests of the middle class either.) However, to deflect that reality, Luntz suggests the middle class are essentially the same as the richest “1%”. The middle class are all just “hardworking taxpayers”. Never mind the fact that Republicans have been actively working to destroy unions and the social safety nets which have been directly responsible for building America’s the middle class.

4. Don’t talk about ‘jobs.’ Talk about ‘careers.’

F.L.: ”Everyone in this room talks about ‘jobs,’” Luntz said. “Watch this.”

He then asked everyone to raise their hand if they want a “job.” Few hands went up. Then he asked who wants a “career.” Almost every hand was raised.

“So why are we talking about jobs?”

D.W.: Of course if you are in the top 1% you most likely are not in need of a job. Careers usually come after you have a job. Luntz wants the Republicans to avoid talking about jobs and go onto some lofty ideological message about individuals creating a career for themselves.

I have a friend who is a pediatrician and owned her own home and medical practice. Her son became sick and her health insurance company dumped her. Because of her income and career the state and federal government wouldn’t help her. However, as her son’s medical bills added up she eventually lost her home and medical practice and found herself homeless before she was eligible for any government assistance. It took her more than three years to find another job in her profession. When I met her, she was serving drinks and taking orders at a coffeehouse.

Tens of millions of Americans lost their jobs and careers as a result of the Republican pushed policies to deregulate the banks. Others, like my friend, lost it all as a result of a healthcare system that is overly reliant of capitalism and profits over people. It is not their fault that the economy collapsed, they were laid off, or our healthcare system is so broken that it drives tens of thousands of families into bankruptcy each year. The nation’s high unemployment numbers are a result of the Republicans, and the Democrats alike, making policies that allowed Wall Street to take, or more like steal, hardworking American’s jobs and the retirement funds that went with them.

With advice like this coming from Luntz, it is no surprise the GOP has not done anything to create a jobs bill in congress and has done everything possible to hamper Obama’s successful 1.5 million new jobs Stimulus bill. Republicans don’t want to talk about jobs because they don’t want to actually work to fix the unemployment problem. If they did, that would have made Obama look good, and the GOP is not having any of that. This of course goes to the fact that the Republicans have proven they are willing to put their own partisan interests ahead of everyday hardworking, unemployed or underemployed, Americans that just want to go back to work.

5. Don’t say ‘government spending.’ Call it ‘waste.’

F.L.: “It’s not about ‘government spending.’ It’s about ‘waste.’ That’s what makes people angry.”

D.W. As Republican icon Ronald Reagan famously said, “There he goes again.” Luntz wants Republicans to create an atmosphere in which Americans resent and are angry at their government.  Of course we all dislike wasteful spending. But that is not what Luntz wants the GOP message to say. What Luntz is suggesting is all ‘government spending’ is wasteful. That means spending money to retrofit that bridge that is about to collapse is an example of government waste. That is why the GOP is block the presidents jobs bill that will build and retrofit a small fraction of our nation’s infrastructure

Frank Luntz is known for his gift of framing (falsely, in my opinion) political debates. Often his selective use of words seems designed to deflect and confuse Americans, not bring them to a better understanding. In a PBS interview Luntz gave in 2004, he spoke of how he uses language to appeal to American’s emotions. It is a powerful technique, but not always honest.

The first five do’s and don’t explores how Republicans would like Americans to view the rich, middle class, and poor. The list exposes the Republicans plan to turn Americans against their government. In addition, the list exploits American emotions for political gain. From my point of view, the list exposes the Republicans cynical ideology and brings to light the deep commitment to distort the truth. The second half of the list reveals how Republicans plan on framing the Occupy movement. Essentially, they wish to appear as the political party that understands the Occupy movement and supports their goals, by offering more of the same policies that economically brought the nation to its knees in the first place. Visit this site next week for part two.

99 Precent Issues Petition of Grievances

The 99 Pecent have issued an updated petition of grievances and calls for a National General Assembly : Check it out:

 

WHEREAS THE FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION PROVIDES:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

 

BE IT RESOLVED THAT:

WE, THE NINETY-NINE PERCENT OF THE PEOPLE of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in order to form a more perfect Union, by, for and of the PEOPLE, shall elect and convene a NATIONAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY beginning on July 4, 2012 in the City Of Philadelphia.

 

I. Election of Delegates:

The People, consisting of all United States citizens who have reached the age of 18, regardless of party affiliation and voter registration status, shall elect Two Delegates, one male and one female, by direct vote, from each of the existing 435 Congressional Districts to represent the People at the NATIONAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY in Philadelphia. Said Assembly shall convene on July 4, 2012 in the city of Philadelphia.  

The office of Delegate shall be open to all United States citizens who have reached the age of 18. Election Committees, elected by local General Assemblies from all over the United States, shall coordinate with the 99 Percent Declaration Working Group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/the99declaration/) to organize, coordinate and fund this national election by direct democratic voting. The Election Committees shall operate similarly to the original Committees of Correspondence during the first American Revolution. 

II. Meeting of the National General Assembly and Deliberation:

At the NATIONAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY, the 870 Delegates shall set forth, consider and vote upon a PETITION OF GRIEVANCES to be submitted to all members of Congress, The Supreme Court and President and each of the political candidates running in the nationwide Congressional and Presidential election in November 2012.  The Delegates of the National General Assembly shall vote upon and implement their own agenda, propagate their own rules and elect or appoint committee members as the Delegates see fit to accomplish their goal of presenting a PETITION OF GRIEVANCES from the 99% of Americans before the 2012 elections.

III. Proposed Petition for the Redress of Grievances:

The PETITION OF GRIEVANCES shall be non-partisan and address the critical issues now confronting the People of the United States. The Delegates shall deliberate and vote upon proposals for the PETITION OF GRIEVANCES in consultation with the 99% similarly to the first two Continental Congresses. 

 

Below is a suggested list of grievances respectfully submitted by the OWS Working Group on the 99% Declaration. The final version of the PETITION OF GRIEVANCES voted upon by the Delegates of the National General Assembly MAY or MAY NOT include the following suggested issues: 

 

1. Implementing an immediate ban on all private contributions of money and gifts, to all politicians in federal office, from Individuals, Corporations, Political Action Committees, Super Political Action Committees, Lobbyists, Unions and all other private sources of money to be replaced by the fair and equal public financing of all federal political campaigns. We categorically REJECT the concept that money is equal to free speech because if that were so, then only the wealthiest would have a voice. These actions must be taken because it has become clear that politicians in the United States cannot regulate themselves and have become the exclusive representatives of corporations, unions and the very wealthy who spend vast sums of money on political campaigns to influence the candidates’ decisions and ensure their reelection year after year.

 

2. The immediate reversal, even if it requires a Constitutional Amendment, of the outrageous and anti-democratic holding in the “Citizens United” case by the Supreme Court, which equates the payment of money by corporations, wealthy individuals and unions to politicians with free speech. We, the People, demand that institutional bribery and corruption not be deemed protected speech.

 

3. Prohibiting all federal public officials and their immediate family members, whether elected or appointed, from EVER being employed by any corporation they regulate while in office and/or holding any stock or shares in any corporation they regulate while in office until a full 5 years after their term is completed.  

 

4. A complete lifetime ban on accepting all gifts, services, money, directly or indirectly, to any elected or appointed federal officials or their immediate family members, from any person, corporation, union or other entity that the public official was charged to regulate while in office.

 

5.  A complete reformation of the United States Tax Code to require ALL citizens to pay a fair share of a progressive, graduated income tax by eliminating loopholes, unfair tax breaks, exemptions and deductions, subsidies (e.g. oil, gas and farm) and ending all other methods of evading taxes. The current system of taxation favors the wealthiest Americans, many of whom, pay fewer taxes to the United States Treasury than citizens who earn much less and pay a much higher percentage of income in taxes to the United States Treasury. We, like Warren Buffet, find this income tax disparity to be fundamentally unjust.

 

6. Medicare for all American citizens or other single-payer healthcare system, adjusted by a means test (i.e. citizens who can afford it may opt-out and pay their own health insurance or opt-in and pay a means tested premium). The Medicaid program, fraught with corruption and fraud, will be eliminated except for the purpose of providing emergency room care to indigent non-citizens who will not be covered by the single-payer program.

 

7. New comprehensive regulations to give the Environmental Protection Agency expanded powers to shut down corporations, businesses or any entities that intentionally or recklessly damage the environment and/or criminally prosecute individuals who intentionally damage the environment. We also demand the immediate adoption of the most recent international protocols, including the “Washington Declaration” to cap carbon emissions and implement new and existing programs to transition away from fossil fuels to reusable or carbon neutral sources of power.

 

8. Adoption of an immediate plan to reduce the national debt to a sustainable percentage of GDP by 2020. Reduction of the national debt to be achieved by BOTH a cut in spending to corporations engaged in perpetual war for profit, the “healthcare” industry, the pharmaceutical industry and all other sectors that use the federal budget as their income stream AND a truly progressive income tax code that does not allow the wealthy and corporations to evade taxes through excessive deductions, subsidies and loopholes. We agree that spending cuts are necessary but those cuts must be made to facilitate what is best for the People of the United States of America, not multinational and domestic corporations. 

 

9. Passage of a comprehensive job and job-training act like the American Jobs Act to employ our citizens in jobs that are available with specialized training and by putting People to work now by repairing America’s crumbling infrastructure. We also recommend the establishment of an online international job exchange to match employers with skilled workers or employers willing to train workers in 21st century skills.

 

10. Student loan debt relief. Our young People and students are more than $830 billion in debt from education loans alone. Payment and interest on these debts should be deferred for periods of unemployment and the principal on these loans reduced using a corporate tax surcharge.

 

11. Immediate passage of the Dream Act and comprehensive immigration and border security reform including offering visas, lawful permanent resident status and citizenship to the world’s brightest People to stay and work in our industries and schools after they obtain their education and training in the United States.

 

12. Recalling all military personnel at all non-essential bases and refocusing national defense goals to address threats posed by the geopolitics of the 21st century, including terrorism and limiting the large scale deployment of military forces to instances where Congressional approval has been granted to counter the Military Industrial Complex’s goal of perpetual war for profit.

 

13. Mandating new educational goals to train the American public to perform jobs in a 21st Century economy, particularly in the areas of technology and green energy, taking into consideration the redundancy caused by technology and the inexpensive cost of labor in China, India and other countries and paying our teachers a salary that is competitive with the private sector.  Paying our teachers a competitive salary commensurate with the salaries of People in the private sector with similar skills. 

 

14. Subject to the elimination of corporate tax loopholes and exploited exemptions and deductions stated above, offering tax incentives to businesses to remain in the United States and hire its citizens rather than outsource jobs and reconstruct the manufacturing capacity of the United States.  In conjunction with a new jobs act, reinstitution of the Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps and a similar emergency governmental agency tasked with creating new public works projects to provide jobs to the 46 million People living in poverty, the 9.1% unemployed and 10% underemployed.

 

15. Implementing of immediate legislation to encourage China and our other trading partners to end currency manipulation and reduce the trade deficit.

 

16.  Immediate reenactment of the Glass-Steagall Act and increased regulation of Wall Street and the financial industry by the SEC, FINRA and the other financial regulators, and the commencement of a Justice Department criminal investigations into the Securities and Banking industries practices that led to the collapse of markets, $700 billion bail-out, and financial firm failures in 2007-2008.

 

17. Adoption of a plan similar to President Clinton’s proposal to end the mortgage crisis and instead of the Federal Reserve continuing to lower interest rates for loans to banks who are refusing to loan to small businesses and consumers, the Federal Reserve shall buy all underwater or foreclosed mortgages and refinance these debts at 1% or less to be managed by the newly established Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (and foreclosure task force described below) because 1% or less is the interest rate the Federal Reserve loans to the banks directly who hoard the cash rather than loan it to the People and small businesses.

 

18. An immediate one year freeze on all foreclosures to be reviewed by an independent foreclosure task force appointed by Congress and the Executive Branch to (in conjunction with the  Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ) determine, on a case by case basis, whether foreclosure proceedings should continue based on the circumstances of each homeowner and propriety of the financial institution’s conduct.

 

19. Subject to the above ban on all private money and gifts in politics, to enact additional campaign finance reform requiring free air time and public campaign finances to all candidates who obtain sufficient petition signatures and/or votes to participate in the primaries and/or electoral process, to shorten the campaign season and to allow voting on weekends and holidays.

 

20. An immediate withdrawal of all troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and a substantial increase in the amount of funding needed for veteran job placement and the treatment of the physical and emotional injuries sustained by veterans in these wars. Our veterans are committing suicide at an unprecedented rate and we must help now.

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that IF the PETITION OF GRIEVANCES approved by the 870 Delegates of the NATIONAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY in consultation with the PEOPLE, is not acted upon by Congress, the President, and Supreme Court, to the satisfaction of the Delegates of the NATIONAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY, said Delegates shall organize a THIRD, COMPLETELY NON-PARTISAN, INDEPENDENT POLITICAL PARTY to run candidates for every available Congressional seat in the mid-term election of 2014 and again in 2016 until all vestiges of the existing corrupt corporatocracy have been removed by the ballot box.

 

★THE NINETY-NINE PERCENT★

 

https://sites.google.com/site/the99percentdeclaration/

Occupy Wall Street: Anti-Semitic Smears

Earlier this week, ThinkProgress, reported on “vulture capitalist” hedge fund manager Paul Singer’s financing journalists to write attack articles opposing the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement. In addition, a campaign to infiltrate and sabotage the movement has now been documented. Those protecting the Wall Street criminals have proven they’re willing to say and do anything to undermine and diminish the 99 Percenters in the OWS movement.

However, goons of the financial elite have sunken to a new low. The right-wing is now attempting to label the OWS movement as anti-Semitic. According to MJ Rosenberg, writing in the Jewish Journal, The New York Times columnist David Brooks, was one of the first widely respected conservatives to suggest an anti-Semitic element to the movement. Essentially, Brooks accuses the magazine AdBusters, who helped promote the protest, as having an anti-Semitic bent due to an article it published back in 2004.  Here is what Brooks said in his column, dated October 10, 2011:

“Take the Occupy Wall Street movement. This uprising was sparked by the magazine AdBusters, previously best known for the 2004 essay, “Why Won’t Anyone Say They Are Jewish?” — an investigative report that identified some of the most influential Jews in America and their nefarious grip on policy. “

Actually, thanks to Brooks providing the link, we can all read the article and know exactly what the articles is about. To summarize, the article points out that 50 percent of the top 50 most influential neocons in the Bush Administration were not only Jews, but had ties to Israel’s far right Likud party. The article notes that while only 2 percent of the U.S. population is Jewish, 50 percent of Bush’s influential neocons were Jewish. The AdBusters article then asks, “If half the neocons were Palestinians would the U.S. have invaded Iraq?

AdBusters knew when they published the article that some folks would immediately start hurling charges of anti-Semitism at them: “Drawing attention to the Jewishness of the neocons is a tricky game. Anyone who does so can count on automatically being smeared as an anti-Semite…The point is simply that the neocons seem to have a special affinity for Israel that influence their political thinking and consequently American foreign policy in the Middle East.” Personally, I find this point to be very interesting and worthy of reporting. If half of Obama’s national security advisors were Muslims, or followers of a particular Christian orthodoxy, I would find that equally worth reporting.

MJ Rosenberg points out, “[a]n ugly old tradition is back: exploiting anti-Semitism to break the backs of popular movements that threaten the power.”

Rosenberg goes on to provide a brief history on the misuse of anti-Semitism: “Perhaps its most famous use was by the viciously anti-Semitic Czar Nicholas, whose supporters concocted the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” at the start of the 20th century to prevent Russians from joining socialist movements and other reform efforts that were fighting to get the czar to cede some power to an elected parliament.

The Protocols were a forged document purporting to show that a cabal of Jews met regularly to solidify their supposed control of the entire world. According to the Protocols, Jews were behind socialist and liberal movements but also ran the banks and Wall Street. (A modern version of this ridiculous theme was a staple on Glenn Beck’s television program that ran on Fox News until being canceled this summer.)”

Now we see a consorted effort by the right-wing to discredit the OWS movement by pinning the word anti-Semitism on the protesters. The tactics they are using to discredit the OWS movement are highly deceptive. Take for example this quote from an online blogger quoting Abe Greenwood:

“The Jew-hatred among protesters and sympathizers is diverse and unapologetic. It is, in fact, atmospheric. Tune in randomly to live television coverage of the spectacle and you’ll see—as I did—placards scapegoating Israel, Zionism, or “Hitler’s Banker.” Check out the continuous flurry of protest-supporting tweets and blog posts, and you’ll get more of the same.”

Well, I searched YouTube for a video clip of the “Hitler Banker” sign and found the guy shouting anti-Semitic comments amongst the OWS protesters. What Greenwood doesn’t say in his comment is that the OWS protesters had surrounded the Hitler Banker guy and were holding up handmade signs that read “He’s Not With Us”,with arrows pointing to the Hitler Banker guy. But what is more telling is, if you listen closely, you can hear all the actual OWS protesters are telling the Hitler Banker guy to “Go Away” and “Nobody wants your hate” I found stories about the Hitler Banker guy on a half dozen website and not one commented on or included the audio of the actually OWS protesters shouting out “Nobody want your hate.”

This video tells a starkly different story then the “unapologetic” “Jew-hatred” portrayed in the online article. When it comes to manuplating videos and stories, the right-wing has had a very seedy past recently. Taking events out of context in order to distort the facts and smear their political opponents, James O’Keefe and his buddy Andrew Breitbart of Big Government have been found in numbers legal investigations to have used “selectively”, “heavily” and “deceptively” edited videos in order to leave a “false impression” and to portray their political rivals in a bad light. Many Journalists have called O’Keefe deceptive videos “unethical” and Fred Barnes, of the conservative paper the Weekly Standard, has even called O’Keefe a “political hit job.”

This same unethical tactic is now being employed on the OWS movement. However, I don’t think this desperate tactic is not going to work this time. First of all, the OWS protesters are now onto the fact that the right-wing has infiltrated the crowds and are attempting to disrupt and discredit the movement. They know there are right-wing agent provocateurs in their midst That is why you see in the above video clip the protesters quickly making sure the video camera knew the Hitler Banker guy was not part of the movement and not welcome. It’s no coincidence that as soon as an idiot shows up with a racist sign, Glenn Beck TV shows up with a camera crew.

Second, there are plenty of liberal Jews amongst the protesters. After all, most American Jews are actually liberal progressives, not the neocons found in the Bush Administration. This year, Yom Kippur fell on the 21 day of the OWS protest. To celebrate, the night was filled with Jews and non Jews singing and dancing. Check out this video. There is not a single anti-Semitic image in the crowd.

The fact is, if you scour the official_statements by the OWS movement and look at the official Tweets you will not find a single shred of anti-Semitism. Nonetheless, I’m sure there are some corrupt right-wing nut bars spewing racist comments amongst the OWS activists in order to discredit the movement. I’m also sure that as soon as the provocateurs show their face, Glenn Beck or James O’Keefe will miraculously have their cameras in place. Unfortunately, it’s just the type of world we live in.

 

http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/national/adl_urges_protest_organizers_condemn_anti_semitic_incidents

 

Occupy Wall Street: First Official Statement

Occupy Wall Street by adbusters

(Originally published at the Daily Censored for Project Censored).

This weekend, the Occupy Wall Street movement entered its third week of non-violent public assembly and peaceful protest. However, once again, the New York Police Department has proven peaceful protests against the “Masters of Universe” must be met with violence.

Unlike the astro-turf Tea Party, the Occupy Wall Street movement is truly a grassroots movement. Before the movement had even defined it goals, let alone made declarations of purpose and demands, people began to occupy a park, just two blocks away from Wall Street, in protest. A few protesters turned into a hundred protesters, then hundreds and now thousands of people are camping out near Wall Street. Both the young and old came with sleeping bags and handmade signs calling for an end to corporate control of governments and a host of over outrages.

While at first the message coming from the Occupy Wall Street protest seemed unfocused, disorganized and undisciplined, over the last two weeks the movement had formed a “Direct Democracy Occupation Group”.  In other words, the movement created their own ad hoc people’s congress which formed a General Assembly.

After two weeks of deliberations, the Occupy Wall Street movement of New York City posted its first_official_statement. The following is the entire statement provided by the site DangerousMinds.net :

“This was unanimously voted on by all members of Occupy Wall Street last night, around 8pm, Sept 29. It is our first official document for release. We have three more underway, that will likely be released in the upcoming days: 1) A declaration of demands. 2) Principles of Solidarity 3) Documentation on how to form your own Direct Democracy Occupation Group. This is a living document. you can receive an official press copy of the latest version by emailing c2anycga@gmail.com

Declaration of the Occupation of New York City

As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.

As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.

They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.

They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses.

They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one’s skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.

They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.

They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless nonhuman animals, and actively hide these practices.

They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions.

They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.

They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers’ healthcare and pay.

They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility.

They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.

They have sold our privacy as a commodity.

They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.

They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit.

They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce.

They have donated large sums of money to politicians supposed to be regulating them.

They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.

They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people’s lives in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantive profit.

They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.

They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.

They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.

They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad.

They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.

They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government contracts.*

To the people of the world,

We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power.

Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.

To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.

Join us and make your voices heard!

*These grievances are not all-inclusive.

Via reddit”

(End of post).

 

On Saturday, 2011, protestors were forced off the legal protest route and corralled onto the Brooklyn Bridge, were some 700 Occupy Wall Street protestors were arrested. The Huffington Post showed a video of hundreds of protesters shouting at the police, “Let Us Go” and “Shame, Shame, Shame” as they were being corralled and arrested. Thus, the NYPD violated hundreds of Americans their Constitutional right of free speech.

Examples of police brutality, excessive force, and violations of Constitutional rights is simply a manifestation of a right-wing corporate takeover of America, which is exactly what the Occupy Wall Street movement is protesting. The militarization of the U.S. government in order to protect the Wall Street gangsters over main street Americans is being highlighted this weekend on the streets of New York.

Salman Rushdie has been adding his thoughts on the protests at the official Occupy Wall Street Twitter account #occupywallstreet. Rushdie posts in three quick tweets, “The thieves are in their palaces, counting their loot. But now the people are hammering at the palace gates.” “The world’s economy has been wrecked by these rapacious traders. Yet it is the protesters who are jailed.” And, “Deregulation turned world economy into the Wild West. Now entire countries (Iceland, Greece) are ending up in Boot Hill.”

Rushdie has his finger on the pulse of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Deregulation of Americas banking industry and Wall Street trading has turned the world’s economy into the Wild West. Unfortunately for America, Obama welcomed the thieves into the White House. Thus, Obama proved, yet again, the Democrats are no different than the Republicans when it comes to who’s really running the Wild West show.

While at first the Occupy Wall Street movement seemed to lack focus and appeared undisciplined, the fact is, after two weeks, their movement have shown incredible disciple. Take the fact that after numerous examples of the police openly assaulting protesters and arresting well over a 1000 activists, the Occupy Wall Street protesters have remained nonviolent.

In addition, the Occupy Wall Street movement has spread to several other cities, including Washington D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Atlanta. At first, the symbol of Wall Street was so powerful it is enough to draw a wide range of grievances. People from all over American came to Wall Street to simply form a coalition of main street Americans.

One other recent Tweet on #occupywallstreet that caught my eye was by LOLGOP, Pete Nicely. Nicely does a nice job of synthesizing the movement down to a Tweet: “Take everything the Tea Party said & reverse it. Better regulation & health care and fairer taxes!”

I think that pretty much sums up the movement.