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Occupy New Hampshire Derides Both Parties
'Why Does 1% Have Two Parties and We Have None?'
All political eyes were on New Hampshire this weekend, and members of the Occupy movement hoped to take advantage of the swirl of coverage ahead of Tuesday's Republican Party primary, the first of this election year.
Occupy New Hampshire outside Republican Presidential Debate at St. Anselm's College.
(Jonathan Lynch) From New Hampshire Public Radio:
Members of Occupy New Hampshire returned to Manchester Saturday to demonstrate outside of the Republican Presidential Debate at St. Anselm's College and spread their message of economic inequality.
Nearly five months after Occupy New Hampshire’s last tents were torn down in Veteran’s Park, the ninety-nine percenters returned to Manchester to demonstrate against what they perceive to be growing economic inequality across the nation.
This time around, though, protesters hope to garner the attention of the national media, who have descended on New Hampshire for the first in the nation primary.
According to Occupy organizer, Michael Grosse, they’re already succeeding:
“Well I think we’ve already gotten a lot of coverage when you really think about it...When a group of about 30 people being able to get national press attention for an event, that’s an accomplishment right there.”
CNN reports today:
Occupy protestors know that many Republicans view them as an extension of the Democratic Party. Elizabeth Grunewald tried to dispel that notion by speaking with folks who are willing to stop and listen to what the group has to say.
"You can't have a slogan that says we are the 99% without including Republicans also," said Grunewald. "It's not aligned with the Democratic Party. It's aligned with the free thinking party."
Doug Bowen tried to sway voters while holding a sign that read "Why does the 1 percent have 2 parties but we have none?"
He said his message to the candidates and voters is "Get money out of politics, pass a constitutional amendment to ban corporate personhood and have publicly funded elections. It's the only way the 99% will get represented rather than the 1%."
There has not been any friction between the people in the small encampment and local police. But there has been plenty of debate on the sidewalks.
Last night, outside of the GOP Presidential at St. Anselm's College, protesters gathered to make their voices heard. Among their calls, "How do you fix the deficit? End the wars and tax the rich!" Patch.com has video:
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33 Comments so far
Show AllHow do you end the deficit? Make war on the rich!
That is a great new slogan which really hits home!
I think it is great that Occupy is making its presence felt at electoral politics events like the New Hampshire primary, regardless of which party is involved. But all they need to do is stick to the themes, issues, and messages. Eventually more and more people will get the picture, dem, repub, other, regardless of party affiliation.
If 99% voted for non dem/repub candidates for Congress we would have peace and economic justice. It is the Congress that finances war. the 99% are now getting what they voted for.
OWS is a hyper case of voters remorse. Maybe NH OWS can lead the way to peace and justice....the revolution in the voting booth. NO MORE DEM/REPUBS - never again.
What a lovely dream, Rosemarie.
rosemarie, I don't think it is a dream. I know a lot of die hard D's. They are disgusted. We have a lot of months to go before the election. Anything can happen. All we can do is hope that a majority of the 99% will galvanize behind one third party candidate. It could happen. Maybe, just throwing all the D's and R's running for reelection out on their ear is an option. Who knows. I'm keeping an open mind about all options. All I know is I'm NOT voting for the lessor of two evils. Evil is evil. Period.
Evil is Evil.
Vote third Party.
We don't need a third party. There is not enough time or money to do that. Also, it is the Party System that got us where we are. All we need to do is to get enough people to vote for NADER. And also to NEVER vote for a dem/repub for Congress. Just those 2 simple things could change everything.
The major obstacle is the mind of the US voter. Most vote for the person they would like to have a beer with. That's how we got Bush/Obama. NADER is someone you'd like to have an intelligent conversation with.
It is an issue that pits the liberal 99% against the conservative 1%. Many of the former have been oligarchy media conditioned to identify with and to vote for their conservative slavemasters. An example of the Stockholm Syndrome as it applies to the public, personified by the conservative Tea Party.
Crucifying liberals has been among the foremost subversive tools of the conservative media since they crucified Jesus, the quintessential bleeding heart liberal.
But liberals also seem to internalize at least some of the oligarchy's propaganda-- being against the second amendment that would keep the same fear driven conservatives off their backs is one obvious example.
It is not a matter of being a Liberal or a Conservative. The Occupy 99% is a ranking of your wealth and income not your political beliefs. The 99% are not pleased with the government. They think the government is not heeding the voice of the people. Liberals think this, tea baggers think this as do Libertarians, Greens and other minor parties. The 99% are all kinds of people with the same aversion to fascism and the control the corporations have over our government and over all the people.
.
I am very pleased that some occupy groups are saying that we should not vote for either Democrats or Republicans who are in office now. The government is corrupt because our Representatives, no matter their party, are heeding their financial donors and not their constituents. This is what corruption is. An official that takes funds for his/her vote. Vote out all the incumbents. We need a clean sweep! Let's start over in 2012!
The people who most vocally say they favor the second amendment and who are the most heavily gunned are the most afraid.
Bullshit
Horseshit
Right on Occupy New Hampshire! This is the spirit, and I hope to see a lot more of it, all across the country, in the months to come. We have the numbers! Lord this must really annoy those folks who think everything is all "under control" and they are safe from scrutiny. Occupy the vote! Occupy the campaign! Occupy America!
Agree!
Since we can't seem to ressurect the racketeering laws, we'll have to have CFR. It IS the only option to get this corruption, white collar crime, extortion, price fixing, people's life destroying machine under control.
It's time to flip them off, piss them off, throw them all out, and demand a better way, and do it non-violently.
Good job NH!!!
It is reassuring that the voices of the 99% can't be silenced.
They even had a spot on "CSI Miami" last night.
I can't see any political/social progress in Merka's conventional sectors. I can see lots of failed experiments piled on top of failed experiments, lots of wasted energy/effort, plundered resources and missed opportunities there. Meanwhile, over here on the far left, the progress is spectacular. So many more people have jumped on the bandwagon, it's getting heavy. For example, credit union accounts tripled this past summer. OWS illustrated this fall that many more have buried their affiliation with the Demoks and are taking a walk on the far left side. They won't walk back to the center, I'll promise you.
Write me in. Stop wasting your votes on Dems and Reps.
While I generally support most Occupy events, this one calling for occupying the Republicans and Democrats is not worth the trouble or effort. It would be best if they would focus on bringing forth truly principled progressives such as Jill and Rocky.
Until business and state are separated like church and state, the candidates you mention have a better chance of being hit by lightning than winning the meaningless U.S. Spokesmodel pageant this November. The Occupiers have the right idea in drawing attention to the corruption and their protest is a better use of time (by comparison).
I agree with what you're saying. No third party has ever gotten to first base, and there've been good ones. But there are a great many Republicans and Democrats who're fed up with the two parties, and if they start giving support to the 99%ers, instead of finding fault with them, their messages would have a better chance of being heard by those who haven't a clue what is beneath the seemingly great surface of government and our society. They might even be able to change what keeps third parties off the ballot.
Dave, are you saying there is a separation between church and state?
Compared to what it was before the Reformation, yes. (I'm well aware how imperfect it was, and still is for that matter, yet scientists are not being forced to recant that the Sun does not revolve around the Earth,) Separation of business and state is the next logical step for mankind imho.
There are large legal, financial and media access barriers created by the duopoly to marginalize all other parties. I've been involved in several 3rd parties and concluded that they were not the most effective way to use my activist time and energy.
Your silly comment is obnoxious and ignorant. You style utilizres oversimplified and delusionsal anger and self righteousness a la Rush.
Crybabies?! You really are an obnoxious asshole.
What aprty are you involved in anyway?
Thank God they're finally including the Democrats in the conversation. It's hypocritical, exclusionary, and deluded to give the Democrats a pass, while focusing solely on the Republicans. I liked what Elizabeth Grunewald said:
"You can't have a slogan that says we are the 99% without including Republicans also," said Grunewald. "It's not aligned with the Democratic Party. It's aligned with the free thinking party."
Public financing of elections!
Occupy Movement, we have seen the light at the end of the tunnel, and it is us.
If you want to get corporate influence out of politics you should start with the corporate press. What is the difference between an editorial endorsement or slanted news story and a political ad?
It’s so refreshing; more crocodile tears from the commercial media about the evils of money in politics. Distributing political ads to the masses is the biggest expense of political campaigns. If the media were to carry political ads, as a public service, it would greatly reduce the need for money in politics! But corporate media are the recipient of billions of dollars in campaign ads.
From 1791 to 1886 1st Amendment freedoms of speech, press and assembly were the sole rights of flesh and blood citizens.
From 1886 to 1973 flesh and blood citizens and media corporations enjoyed equal freedoms of speech and the press.
From 1974 to present only the commercial media enjoy unrestricted freedom of speech and the press. Following reports of serious financial abuses in the 1972 Presidential campaign, Congress amended the FECA in 1974 to set limits on contributions by individuals, political parties and PACs.
2 USC 431 (9) (B) (i) The term "expenditure" does not include any news story, commentary, or editorial distributed through the facilities of any broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine, or other periodical publication, unless such facilities are owned or controlled by any political party, political committee, or candidate;
It is normal for all large businesses to make serious efforts to influence the news, to avoid embarrassing publicity, and to maximize sympathetic public opinion and government policies. Now they own most of the news media that they wish to influence. - Excerpt from Media Monopoly by Ben H. Bagdikian
Can incumbent politicians, broadcasters or newspapers afford to publically claim they should enjoy superior rights to influence elections? Shouldn’t individuals and groups of individuals enjoy equal freedoms to use speech and press to influence elections?
To restore equal rights to flesh and blood persons, the press exemption must be extended to citizens and citizen groups! If you agree call the Congressional switchboard: 202-224-3121 and demand you’re Congressman and Senators restore your equal right to participate.
"How do you fix the deficit? End the wars and tax the rich!" Do you believe that??
"Healthcare For All as a Right." Do you believe that??
If you do, how can your Vision & Values be seen, be counted and added to the many others who may feel the same? Voting might not produce a single Congressperson who fights for such values -- not yet at least.
So, If YOU want to become VISIBLE, and SHOW your Values, I suggest: Register Green!
In many ways, Registration can have more impact than the Vote itself. Become Visible: register Green.