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"Occupy Obama" Could Turn Up Heat on the Democrats
President Barack Obama is no longer running unchallenged in all the major primary states, thanks to activists in Iowa who are focusing their Occupy Wall Street activism onto the headquarters of the Obama for President campaign office this Saturday, October 22, in Des Moines.
The "Occupy Obama" event is being organized in part by veteran rabble rouser Hugh Espey and his highly effective Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, a grassroots force that has been fighting for economic and social justice since the 1970s. CCI members are already participating in Occupy Wall Street actions in nine Iowa towns. Occupy Obama seems a logical next step to escalate the movement further into national view and create the potential for debate and organizing within the Iowa presidential caucuses in January.
Espey criticized Obama by name in a Des Moines Register guest editorial of October 6, 2011 announcing CCI's support for Occupy Wall Street actions in Iowa. "Our political leaders are too busy asking big banks and Wall Street corporations for campaign contributions to push the 'put people first' policies that this nation needs," he wrote. Occupy Des Moines members will march on Obama's campaign headquarters in Des Moines on Saturday. This Occupy Obama action could catch fire nationally, especially given the frustration widely voiced that not one prominent Democrat is willing to oppose Obama in the Democratic Party's primary races. Occupy Obama could partly fill that void. "We'll deliver a simple, powerful message to Obama staffers, and do a speak-out as well. We want regular folks telling the Obama staffers what they think. We want Obama to understand that the 99% demand action from him to put communities before corporations and people before profits," says CCI.
Obama's social and economic justice rhetoric, and his opposition to the war in Iraq, won him the 2008 Democratic nomination and the presidency. Millions of independents, young and ethnically diverse voters found him a compelling agent for the "Change" and "Hope" he extolled as a mantra. But the failure of Obama's policies to adhere to his campaign rhetoric should not really be surprising. Candidate Obama in 2008 beat every other Democrat in collecting the most campaign contributions from the wealthiest funders of the Democratic Party, the 1% as opposed to the 99%, aka Wall Street. He has announced his goal for 2012 of raising one billion dollars which again will require the firm support of the very wealthiest Democratic Party interests.
President Obama has been a huge disappointment on issues across the board, yet he was running unchallenged in the primaries until CCI announced its Occupy Obama action. Don't be surprised if this Des Moines event is the start of a successful nation-wide Occupy Obama movement. In Iowa an Occupy Obama movement has real potential because it could choose to become a player in the Iowa caucuses in a way that is much more than symbolic. Occupy Obama activists could show up at the caucus meetings in January, for instance, and organize support for an Uncommitted slate of Occupy Obama convention activists. These Uncommitted delegates could provide a critical voice on the floor of the Obama convention in the summer of 2012.
Some Obama supporters and interest groups have advocated using the Occupy Wall Street cause to help elect Obama and other Democrats, coopting the movement. However, an Occupy Obama movement could turn that scenario on its head. A growing Occupy Obama movement could directly confront the failures of the Democratic Party to represent most people.
If Occupy Obama takes off, 2012 might feel a bit like 1968. Back then the Guns And Butter policies of Lyndon Johnson were destroying not just Vietnam, where millions eventually died, but also killing Johnson's own domestic social programs, his Great Society reforms. The rapidly growing anti-war movement in 1968 rallied behind two Democratic Party primary challengers, Senators Gene McCarthy and Robert F. Kennedy. It forced the resignation of Johnson, but the bosses of the Democratic Party handed the nomination to Johnson's Vice President Hubert Humphrey, who lost to Richard Nixon.
While an Occupy Obama movement would be very unlikely to prevent his renomination, it could make him and his Party's shortcomings a front and center issue. It could ignite a Democratic Party reform movement, as 1968 did, leading to some take back of the corporate Democratic Party by grassroots activists. It could also lead to the support and emergence of other parties more representative of the people, as opposed to helping Wall Street and giant corporations.
2012's interwoven crises of failing empire, economic desperation, corporate corruption, corporate control of government and bought elections, might have created a political turning point if the Occupy movement can keep upping the ante and building its numbers. Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement could well be firing a shot heard round the nation, if an Occupy Obama movement emerges to pressure the Democrats, utilizing the 2012 election to pursue this goal. Occupy Obama 2012 may be coming soon to an Obama Campaign or Democratic Party office near you!
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Show AllNo one was worse than Bush or could be worse than Bush. Go ahead and primary the sitting President. All you will get is President Mitt Romney from it. Hope you like him better, he does look so Lifelike doesn't he.
If Romney becomes President, will you then start opposing Wall Street and MIC policies?
No change here corvo, I have always been opposed to such policies anyway. WTF were we protesting at Occupy San Diego then when I was there? It wasn't Obama it was corporate greed and unaccountable power structures. Yesterday they had to shut down B of A due here due to protestors' civil disobedience. Today, it will be Wells Fargo. Like a previous poster succintly put it, Obama is not the cause of the problems but a symptom of them. Corps are the cause and the economic recession is the effect.
"No change here corvo, I have always been opposed to such policies anyway. "
Then why are you voting for Dims?
"Occupy Obama"?
As a nominal Bokonist, I am compelled to cite Bokonon's rejoinder to the aphorism attributed to Jesus: "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's..."
Bokonon adjured, "Pay no attention to Caesar. Caesar doesn't have the slightest idea what's really going on."
Although I haven't seen Bokonon invoked anywhere, my impression is that the OWS activism so far is being conducted in a Bokonist spirit.
Please refrain from racist namecalling. Pathetic.
As a person who is working on organizing the action on Obama and supporter of Occupy DSM, I am offended by the mischaracterization of what we are doing in this article.
First, CCI has nothing to do with Occupy DSM. There are many people from CCI who support Occupy DSM and work very hard for it. But in no way is it connected to CCI. We have made it very clear in our General Assembly we are not connected to any groups and will not be affiliating with any groups. If groups want to come down to Stewart Square and help the movement, great.
Second, it is not just about Obama. It is about every politician from state legislators up to the President of the United States. It is about saying to these politicians if you have your hand in the corporate cookie jar we are going to call you out. Last weekend Occupy DSM gave notice to the corporations. This weekend Occupy DSM is giving notice to the politicians.
Finally, not only are we paying Obama headquarters a visit, we are also making a call on the Republican candidates for President. There is a candidates forum that evening and we will be showing up there as well.
I would appreciate it if you would have the decency to correct your article.
Thank you
Steve
Hi Steve--You'll need to address your complaint to John Stauber as it's his article, not CD's
Too bad the article doesn't provide a contact for the author. The links are about him, not how to reach him.
The clarification is for us and maybe the author will look in. Every once in a while an author actually replies to a comment.
Good to hear from you Steve. The protests are going on in opposition to corporate power, as you put it so well. Obama is one of the people with his hand in the cookie jar, but you would think he is the only one from these comments. I fully agree with your goals to challenge ALL presidential candidates, from Repub to Dem to Green to see how they are going to operate if elected. Singling out Obama and ignoring the freaks on the right only makes us looks like disorganized idiots with an axe to grind. Keep your eyes on the prize people, corporations out of our government. The President/Congress is interchangable but the permanent corporate power stucture has got to go, it is the root of most of our problems.
Thanks, Steve, for the clarification. I think you'll have to get used to making this distinction over and over and over again. The desire to move Occupy into a clean-up-the-Democratic-Party is alive and well, unfortunately. You may want to take a look at the Occupy DC site to see the statement they have made to make it clear they are not the same as Stop the Machine.
As a sincere question, how do you prove who is taking money from whom, since there is secrecy allowed? And since the big money finances campaigns..........why would the likes of obama turn that down? He already has the largest war chest and i don't see him returning it to sender. And since the electoral college votes anyway, how would anyone else have a chance this time around?
My apologies to all for sounding less than informed in this area.
Steve- I've been over to Occupy Des Moines while it was in the original location. Maybe iowa blackbird has been by there too... I often wonder who else living in Iowa visits this forum (CD). I think I even used to work with you at a market research company in Ankeny back in the 90s. What a small and strange world it is...
Anyway, to get to the topic, I'm very glad the local version of the movement is going to march at both Obama and the Repub candidate(s) outposts, as well as the big banks.To me it helps the general public, esp. if the media or Occupy Iowa get the word out about the wide focus of targets selected, that the enemies of the 99% are many and varied in our plutocratic excuse for a democracy. They are a large group that collude together, along with the corporate media, to serve mutual interests and oppress the 99% together.
I have to agree with the other posters' critiques tho, that the corporate media is unlikely to report how wide the Occupy movement's critique and blame are being cast at the whole system since that would defeat their whole mission of serving as a vehicle of propaganda and disinformation for the corporations, the MIC, and the fed govt., etc. Not that many or most of the masses haven't already figured most of this out on their own. It's just that they haven't seen any real reason to hope or a viable way to fight back ever since Obama completed his mission of running on the hopes of the masses and then demonstrating how easily he could kill that hope for good in many people, esp, lots of the young who voted for him in their first election.
To me he is the lowest form of traitorous scum in DC, even worse than the Repubs. I don't care if it's not proper, non-racist PC language, but in Obama's case the term "Uncle Tom" is fully deserved. But I'm curious to find out if his Des Moines campaign staff chose the same chickenshit response as Wells Fargo and ended up closing/vacating the office before you showed up. Frankly, that and needing to help my wife get our new home unpacked are why I wasn't down there today. Because I figured showing up to an empty office wouldn't be near as satisfying to my wishes to rage at his deluded supporters and staff as visiting while they were there.
But then again, you guys probably wouldn't want me there since the march would probably have young kids and I've read on the website for Occupy Des Moines that we all have to avoid swearing, act all PC, etc. Not sure I'm ready to play that nice yet.
It was a great action in the end over 120 people and the Obama campaign video taped the whole thing. And in the afternoon we hit the Republicans as well at the Faith and Freedom Presidential Candidate Forum.
Occupy DSM will back at it next weekend paying a visit to Wellmark and to Terrace Hill. It should be fun. It looks to be a little chilly but still a great day for a march.
I think Stauber is correct in his assertion that only the People in the form of the OWS/99%ers can mount the needed challenge to Obama, as is the idea of challenging all the nominees.
The 99% for President 2012!
Direct democracy
Hi All:
I liked your article John, you are a good man.
I live in wisCONsin.
We have elections, we have votes, we have rigging, good state better than most...
When i was young i remember them talking about FDR, he saved many back ends.
How we save this republic is well worth talking about.
We have machines that count the vote today.
In earlier days we had political machines that counted the vote.
If we members of the polity, can not figure out how to run an election, how do you expect us to runagmnt.
Perhaps the OCCUPY movement could put yet one more task on their busy schedule.
When elections happen, three people with phones = one ward (pick your spot out of many thousands available) every state has a few.
Two people inside watching what goes on, the third person would be outside to make emergency calls. You All know the drill.
Without a fair (and open to the public) counting system, that can be verified in a court of law with actual paper ballots, why worry about who runs.
The right person will always win!!? Uncle Joe just wanted to count the votes.
The OWS movement does give one pause to some hope.
We need to reclaim the republic from those who rigged it.
We need one person = one vote
We need a system of paper ballot, hand count, then a open public reviewable method to hand recount every ballot, as our state constitution requires.
Then again maybe not.
Wolfie
Hi All:
I liked your article John, you are a good man.
I live in wisCONsin.
We have elections, we have votes, we have rigging, good state better than most...
When i was young i remember them talking about FDR, he saved many back ends.
How we save this republic is well worth talking about.
We have machines that count the vote today.
In earlier days we had political machines that counted the vote.
If we members of the polity, can not figure out how to run an election, how do you expect us to runagmnt.
Perhaps the OCCUPY movement could put yet one more task on their busy schedule.
When elections happen, three people with phones = one ward (pick your spot out of many thousands available) every state has a few.
Two people inside watching what goes on, the third person would be outside to make emergency calls. You All know the drill.
Without a fair and open to the public, counting system, that can be verified in a court of law, why worry about who runs.
The right person will always win!!? Uncle Joe just wanted to count the votes.
The OWS movement does give pause to some hope.
We need to take back the republic.
We need one person = one vote
We need a system of paper ballot, hand count, then a method TO hand recount every ballot, as our state constitution requires.
Then again maybe not.
Wolfie
"Then again maybe not."---- wtf is this?????? of course we need---- We need a system of paper ballot, hand count, then a method TO hand recount every ballot, as our state constitution requires.
Nothing less will suffice. dh
Kwame, thank you for this comment.
You may already know this hundred-year-old book that outlines much of our history without the silly mythologies our textbooks provided us. It speaks to much of what you are saying concerning the beginning of our form of government. Easy to read online:
http://vlib.iue.it/carrie/texts/carrie_books/simons/
after 68 comments, 1968.....
http://libcom.org/history/articles/france-1968
general strike in 2012, boycott the 2012 election (holding signs encouraging others to follow suit).
it's a thoroughly corrupt government and economy.
...peace...
I had the same thought, Iowablackbird. And the people i told , said that it didn't matter since most people don't vote, thus boycotting already. I disagreed. Not the same at all. Definitely need to make it visible as to what we are doing.
A general strike will further hurt the 99%; however, we need to boycott the businesses owned by the Elites -- the 1% which form and support the Corporate State of America. See BOYCOTT THE BASTARDS -- http://thedragonsteeth.wetpaint.com/page/BOYCOTT+THE+BASTARDS
"2012's interwoven crises of failing empire, economic desperation, corporate corruption, corporate control of government and bought elections, might have created a political turning point."
No, not "MIGHT HAVE!" The interwoven crises have turned our government into "GARBAGE"!!!
OCCUPY WALL STREET MOVEMENT
WHEN the Occupy Wall Street Movement needs an anthem, it has to be Do You Hear the People Sing? From Les Miserables. The song is best heard with sub-titles from Les Miserable 25th Anniversary (2010) performance at the Royal Opera House, London
Do You Hear the People Sing?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYizXBQ5EQA&NR=1
Recall Victor Hugo's immortal words:
“There is a determined though unseen bravery that defends itself foot by foot in the darkness against the fatal invasions of necessity and dishonesty. Noble and mysterious triumphs that no eye sees, and no fame rewards, and no flourish of triumph salutes. Life, misfortunes, isolation, abandonment, poverty, are battlefields that have their heroes; obscure heroes, sometimes greater than the illustrious heroes.”
― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables
Here's are some great videos about protest:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=QYOTe7V2DlA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNsnbLqgLK0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ9ad90Lulc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZowiT5ZyRs&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_V0NXFpSSA&feature=fvwrel (French)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_V0NXFpSSA&feature=fvwrel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMZ19aanrCw&feature=related (French)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t2OUXiUPos&feature=related (Chinese)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOKfwtMeyFg (Spanish)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD_QOrQDjyQ (Spanish sub-titles)
Lyrics to Do You Hear The People Sing:
Enjolras
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!
Lyrics www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/les_miserables/
Combeferre
Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Courfeyrac
Then join in the fight
That will give you the right to be free!!
All
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!
Feuilly
Will you give all you can give
So that our banner may advance
Some will fall and some will live
Will you stand up and take your chance?
The blood of the martyrs
Will water the meadows of France!
All
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes
Arise! People of our true American Democracy and take back our nation from the coils of the Corporate State of America! See: http://thedragonsteeth.wetpaint.com/page/THE+NEW+PARTY
Jim Miller
jimmiller5417@gmail.com
OPEN LETTER TO THE 1% FROM THE 99%
Your only hope is to recuse yourselves from control of the national political and economic system. You will need to plead for foregivness from the masses of folks upon whom you have imposed hurt, damage, degration, and dismissal of their hopes. Your burden is heavy. You and your predecessors over the past one to three or so hundred years have financed and enviggled governments to fight hideous wars. You have installed dictators and supported them, knowing of their will to murder their fellow humans and impost great deprivation upon them. Worse, you have used the media to divert the folks' attention from their woes created and imposed by you – a gigantic wasteland of radio, television, movies and national diversions. You have intentionally “dumbed down” the average citizens by refusing to support high quality education among all residents of the nation. You threaten further deprivations of shelter, food, jobs, education and health care.
You have contributed your wealth to your personal pleasures while homeless folks suffer wretched conditions of existence. You have excellent food, shelter and medical care while great numbers of us sleep in poor and inadquate shelters – or no shelter at all – and suffer from our disabilities. You have used your exteme wealth to buy our elected represenatives while at the same time hoovering great wealth from the masses. You have annointed the winners in the political and economic games you play, and dismissed those chosen by you to lose, with impunity. You throw good, competent and loyal workers from local jobs and move your factories to slave labor nations ruled by your former “communist” enemies. Your hippocracy is evermore transparent.
You pretend to be terribly concerned about the Federal debt, yet your coporate enterprises have been the chief beneficeries of the transfer of wealth thereby exploding the public debt. Your banks first throw fake money at the DOTCOM sectors and the real estate sectors, driving huge economic bubbles. Then you unload the risks on late entrants who try to “score” the same as you have done. They get caught as the Money Masters pull the triggers for the ensuring depressions. The banksters then gobble up equities of vast numbers of Americans who were led by you to believe in the American Dream. You turned those dreams into nightmares.
You have much to answer for. It is better that you admit the failures of your attempts to rule the nation by the creation and operation of the Corporate State of America. Your actions will be carefully monitored by us, the 99%. If your actions are found wanting, you will surely pay a greater price. We will change how our nation is governed. We will change how our life's hopes are spun. We will change how to claim the value and benefits of our labors, to the exclusion of your corporate enterprises. Your perks and privileges, extracted by bribery of the cowards you have caused to be elected to public office, will dissolve into nothing. Act now! Delay and resistance will most certainly embolden the 99%.
The Ninety-Nine Percent
That is a great letter jimmiller. Too bad the 1%, at least most of them, have no hearts, empathy, compassion, or shared morality with the rest of us. Because most likely they got rich by crushing others in business, screwing over their workers, cheating the government out of taxes, etc. In other words they are sociopaths, mentally much the same as most inmates at a state penitentiary, just much more financially successful and better at not getting caught or punished by the legal (not justice) system.
The only way they'd fear answering to us would be a real threat of something like the guillotine or other draconian punishment being likely and soon.
Just write in Bernie Sanders and be done with it.
It is too bad that voting in our country has become nothing more than a way to keep people thinking that they have a voice in government. I remember my earlier days when we were coached that yes, the Soviet Union had elections, but they only got to vote for one candidate. We have practically come full circle in our country whereby in today's USof A we have two candidates to vote for, one from each party, but both representing the same jargon. That being supporting the coporate coffers which in the end will make them rich; two candidates, one choice. Instead choose not to vote. If no one votes the worst we get is what we would have had anyway; the best we get is knowing that we do not support a government which tortures, murders, spies, steals, inslaves and does not represent, us, the majority of citizens of the US. Let's wash our hands of the blood of others doings and start anew with the Constitution and Declaration of Independence we have and which could have worked if only citizens took citizenship seriously. Out with the old and in with the new. And lets take back our stolen wealth on their way out.
Draft Van Jones.