Understanding the power of the 99%

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99 Percenters Occupying Joe Walsh’s Office Until He Meets With Them

By Zaid Jilani/Think Progress

This afternoon, at least 99 different groups of Americans outraged at income inequality and the lack of jobs are at the U.S. capitol, demanding that Members of Congress support jobs legislation. The action, called “Take Back The Capitol” is one of the few times that Members of Congress will be directly confronted by unemployed people.

About half an hour ago, a group of demonstrators entered Rep. Joe Walsh’s (R-IL) office. These protesters asked to meet with the congressman. The Chief of Staff, Justin Roth, said that Walsh was busy and could only meet with them later but offered to meet with the protesters himself. “I think we’ll stay,” said one protester. Roth shrugged and the protesters sat down and decided to occupy the office until Walsh arrives. Watch it:

ThinkProgress spoke with one of the protesters, Andy Gebel. Gebel said he is 56 years old and has been unemployed for two years four months, a hundred and twenty three weeks. He ran out of unemployment insurance last summer and has been living on Social Security disability benefits because he needed a liver transplant last year. He doesn’t have enough money to pay for health insurance so he’s anticipating getting Medicare benefits next year.

Gebel and the rest of the protesters want Walsh and the rest of Congress to stop trying to balance the budget on the backs of middle class priorities like Medicare and Social Security. “I’d like to see some kind of commitment from him to not cutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid,” said Gebel. “And get some sort of jobs program going and boost the economy.”

UPDATE

A staffer asked the protesters if they’d like to watch some news rather than the House floor on the television in the office. The protesters said they would, and it was quickly decided by consensus that the television channel would be changed to Fox News.

UPDATE

Rather than meet with activists at 3 P.M. as his staff suggested he would do, around 3:20 he left his office by a side door and fled down the hallway, refusing to even acknowledge his constituent. Read more and watch the video of Walsh taking off here.

Fox Regular Frank Luntz Advises GOP To Use Fox-y Language

From Media Matters

Frequent Fox News guest and "word doctor" Frank Luntz has reportedly advised the Republican Governors Association on how to discuss taxes and the Occupy protests, using phrases like "government taking from the rich" and urging protesters to "occupy the White House." This language is nothing new to Luntz's regular Fox hosts, who adopted the Luntz-approved language weeks ago.

Luntzspeak: Don't Say Taxes, Say Government Is "Taking" From The Rich

Luntz: Don't Talk About The Government "Raising Taxes On The Rich." Addressing the Republican Governors Association annual meeting, Luntz reportedly urged GOP officials to avoid saying "taxes on the rich." Yahoo News' Chris Moody reported:

"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." [Yahoo News, 12/1/11]

Fox Regularly Uses Luntz-Approved Tax Rhetoric

Sean Hannity: Liberals "Will Empower Their Government To Take It From The Greedy Rich."While discussing Occupy Wall Street protests, Sean Hannity said the protesters wanted to empower the government to take from the rich:

HANNITY: Look at these pictures. This is the heart and soul of modern liberalism and I would argue the decline of America that people feel they have the right to other people's money and they will empower their government to take it from the greedy rich, a narrative that the president himself started. [Fox News, Hannity, 11/15/11, via Nexis]

Hannity: Occupy Protesters "Empower The Government To Take Everybody's Money And Redistribute It." Claiming that the Occupy movement lacks precise demands, Hannity argued that the protesters want government to "take everybody's money and redistribute it":

HANNITY: If there's one, I guess, common theme that runs through I guess the narrative that they are advancing down there is that, they hate corporations, they hate capitalism, and in the end, ultimately, they want statism over free markets. So, they really don't like freedom. But they empower the government to take everybody's money and redistribute it into programs they want, right? [Fox News, Hannity, 10/3/11, via Nexis]

Hannity: Occupy Protesters Are "Begging The Government To Take Other People's Money."Discussing the Occupy Wall Street protesters, Hannity said protesters are "begging the government to take other people's money":

HANNITY: If they wouldn't stay up all night making signs and staying down there for weeks, they could actually be working instead of begging the government to take other people's money. It's an interesting concept. I'll go down there and lecture them. I'll give a speech. [Fox News, Hannity, 9/30/11, via Nexis]

Stuart Varney: Occupy Protesters "Want To Take It Off Those Who Are Successful." Fox Business host Stuart Varney said Occupy protesters have the "entitlement mentality" and claimed:

VARNEY: These people could just as well be in London protesting their cuts there, they could be in Athens, protesting austerity, they could be in Rome. They are just like Europeans. They have the entitlement mentality. They want to take it off those who are successful and have it and spread it around in the hope that somehow it. [Fox News, Hannity, 11/15/11, via Nexis]

Bill O'Reilly: The "Income Equality Group" Wants "Governments Around The World To Take Money Away From The Affluent." Fox News' Bill O'Reilly said Occupy protesters want government to take money from the affluent:

O'REILLY: Now, the President's use of the word justice is interesting. What's the definition of justice? Some folks believe that it's making sure everybody has the same amount of money. That's the income equality group. They want governments around the world to take money away from the affluent and business and give it to the quote, unquote, "people." [Fox News,The O'Reilly Factor, 10/17/11, via Nexis]

O'Reilly: Occupy Groups "Want The Government To Take Money Away From The Affluent And Give It To Them." O'Reilly also said:

O'REILLY: But again, what do these people want? The common thread seems to be income equality. Groups like the Working Families Party and the Strong Economy for all Coalition are basically socialistic outfits. They want the government to take money away from the affluent and give it to them. Nice deal if you can get it. And you can get it in places like Cuba and Zimbabwe. [Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 10/5/11, via Nexis]

Luntzspeak: Say, "You Should Occupy The White House"

Luntz: "Tell Them, 'You Shouldn't Be Occupying Wall Street, You Should Be Occupying Washington.' " During his session with RGA, Luntz reportedly stated:

Tell them, "You shouldn't be occupying Wall Street, you should be occupying Washington. You should occupy the White House because it's the policies over the past few years that have created this problem." [Yahoo News, 12/1/11]

Fox: "Why Don't They Protest In Front Of The White House?"

Hannity: "Why Don't They Protest In Front Of The White House?" Discussing the Occupy protests, Hannity asked: "Why don't they protest in front of the White House? [Fox News, Hannity, 10/14/11, via Nexis]

O'Reilly: Occupy Protests "Would Be In Front Of The White House" If They Were Against Crony Capitalism. O'Reilly questioned the Occupy movement's motives, saying if it were "a spontaneous demonstration against crony capitalism," protesters would be outside the White House:

O'REILLY: OK. Crony capitalism, that's interesting. Then why aren't they in Lafayette Park across the street from the White House? Just today --

CAROLINE HELDMAN: I would agree.

O'REILLY: -- just today the White House issued a statement, Leslie that said they are now investigating the Solyndra crony capitalism case. And you know why? Because a congressional committee is going to issue subpoenas next week to the White House to show why they wasted half a billion of taxpayer dollars in Solyndra.

So this is far more. This isn't a spontaneous demonstration against crony capitalism. If it were, they would be in front of the White House. [Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 10/28/11, via Nexis]

Eric Bolling: The "Real Place To Occupy" Is The White House. Fox News host Eric Bolling pointed to protesters disrupting a speech President Obama gave in New Hampshire and claimed that it showed that Occupy protesters "finally found the real place to occupy" -- "the White House":

BOLLING: They finally woke up and realize everything you're against, corporate greed and all that, cronyism, is going on from the White House directly to all the Obama cronies, whether it's the congress people who are trading illegally or all the transfers of payment of our money to green energy program that aren't working. That's what you need to occupy. Good job.

[...]

BOLLING: They found the real place to occupy. It's the White House. [Fox News, The Five, 11/22/11, via Nexis]

Bolling: Protesters Should Be "Marching On The Capitol Or The White House." Complaining that Occupy protesters were marching on the Chamber of Commerce, Bolling claimed:

BOLLING: Occupy Wall Street now occupying D.C., the anti-capitalist demonstration spreading beyond New York, but instead of marching on the Capitol or the White House, they are descending on the Chamber of Commerce. [Fox News, Your World with Neil Cavuto, 10/6/11, via Nexis]

Luntz Regularly Teams Up With Fox To Promote And Test Conservative Messages

After Luntz Appearance, Fox Exec Bill Sammon Directed News Staff Not To Use Phrase "Public Option." At the height of the health care reform debate in 2009, Fox News Washington managing editor Bill Sammon sent a memo to Fox News journalists directing them not to use the phrase "public option," but rather "government option" and similar phrases. Sammon's directive echoed advice from Luntz on how the GOP could turn public opinion against Democrats' reform efforts. [Media Matters, 3/29/11]

Luntz Chided Fox News Focus Group For Saying They Would Vote Against GOP. Conducting a focus group on Hannity's Fox News show, Luntz discussed the debate over raising the national debt limit, asking whether voters would vote against Republicans if they voted to raise the debt ceiling. After several members of Luntz's focus group panel raised their hands to indicate that they would vote "as a protest" against Republicans who "cast a vote to raise the debt ceiling," Luntz chided them: Oh come on. Seriously?" [Fox News, Hannity, 7/13/11, via Media Matters]

Luntz Asked GOP Focus Group If Obama Is A Socialist; Group -- And Hannity -- Said Yes. In May, Luntz went on Hannity to speak with a focus group about a GOP debate. He asked focus group members if they believed that Obama was a socialist. Hannity agreed with the group that Obama met "the dictionary definition of what a socialist is." [Fox News, Hannity, 5/5/11]

Republican strategist ‘frightened to death’ by Occupy movement

By Eric W. Dolan/Raw Story

Conservative governors were advised on how to deal with the “Occupy Wall Street” movement during the Republican Governor Association meeting this week in Florida, according Yahoo News’ Chris Moody.

The protest against political and economic inequalities started in New York City on September 17, and later spread across the country and even to other parts of the globe.

Although the movement has faced recent setbacks due to their encampments being dismantled by police, and negative media reports of drugs and violence, many have noted that the protesters forced to nation to focus its attention on unchecked corporate power.

Republican strategist Frank Luntz gave numerous tips on how to rhetorically deal with the protests, and counter their message.

“I’m so scared of this anti-Wall Street effort. I’m frightened to death,” Luntz said. “They’re having an impact on what the American people think of capitalism.”

Using the phrase “taking from the rich” rather than “taxing the rich” was one piece of advice from Luntz. Another was to talk about “careers” rather than “jobs.”

He also suggested that Republicans should stay away from the word “capitalism.”

“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.”

Luntz said the Republicans governors should sympathize with the “Occupy Wall Street” movement, by claiming they “get it.” But they should respond to the frustration of the protesters with Republican solutions.

Many Republicans have already criticized the movement for directing its ire against Wall Street rather than Washington, and Luntz thinks they should continue to do so.

He advised the Republican governors to tell the protesters: “You shouldn’t be occupying Wall Street, you should be occupying Washington. You should occupy the White House because it’s the policies over the past few years that have created this problem.”

Newt Gingrich: ‘I Call On The President To Repudiate The Concept Of The 99 And The 1′

By Pat Garofalo/Think Progress

2012 GOP presidential contender Newt Gingrich today, during an event in South Carolina, said that he repudiates the very idea behind the Occupy Wall Street movement — that the economy should work for everyone, not just the richest 1 percent — and called on President Obama to do the same:

I repudiate, and I call on the President to repudiate, the concept of the 99 and the 1. It is un-American, it is divisive, it is historically false…You are not going to get job creation when you engage in class warfare because you have to attack the very people you hope will create jobs.

Watch it:

Gingrich may be spooked by the power of the narrative of the 99 percent, and is thus resorting to the tired charge of “class warfare” to deride anyone who points out the extent of income inequality in the U.S. But a recent NBC-Wall Street Journal poll found that “60 percent of respondents strongly agreed that America’s economic imbalance comes from policies that favor the rich over the rest of the country,” while 55 percent “said income inequality is a significant problem in the country.”

The Average Bush Tax Cut For The 1 Percent This Year Will Be Greater Than The Average Income Of The Other 99 Percent

By Pat Garofalo/Think Progress

As Occupy Wall Street protestors continue to demonstrate across the country, congress’ fiscal super committee failed to craft a deficit reduction package due to Republican refusal to consider tax increases on the super wealthy. In fact, the only package that the GOP officially submitted to the committee included loweringthe top tax rate from 35 percent to 28 percent, even as new research shows that the optimal top tax rate iscloser to 70 percent.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), who co-chaired the super committee, explained that the major sticking point during negotiations with the GOP was what to do with the Bush tax cuts. With that in mind, the National Priorities Project points out that those tax cuts this year will give the richest 1 percent of Americans a bigger tax cut than the other 99 percent will receive in average income:

The average Bush tax cut in 2011 for a taxpayer in the richest one percent is greater than the average income of the other 99 percent ($66,384 compared to $58,506).

“The super committee failed to grapple with the extraordinarily costly Bush tax cuts for the richest—tax policies that, according to the Congressional Budget Office, cost more in added federal debt than they add in additional economic activity,” explained Jo Comerford, NPP’s Executive Director. Frank Knapp, vice chairman of the American Sustainable Business Council, added in a statement yesterday, “the high-end Bush tax cuts are a big part of the problem – not the solution…It’s obscene to keep slashing infrastructure and services for everybody on Main Street to keep up tax giveaways for millionaires and multinational corporations.”

The Bush tax cuts have done nothing but blow up the federal debt and hand billions in tax breaks to the Americans who needed them least. As a reminder, past grand bargains when it came to the budget included substantial new revenues, to balance the pain of getting the country’s budget in order. Instead of adopting that approach, the GOP wants to continue lavishing tax breaks onto the 1 percent, while asking everyone else to sacrifice.

Five Reasons Why Veterans Are Part Of The 99 Percent

By Lee Fang/Think Progress




The 99 Percent Movement has attracted students, labor unions, unemployed workers, teachers, artists, singers, writers, former real estate brokers, political activists, people who have given up on the traditional political system, and thousands more. But a growing contingent seen at Occupy Wall Street solidarity protests all across the country are veterans.

The signs of a veterans movement are everywhere, from new groups dedicated to supporting veterans in the occupy movement, to thousands of veterans showing up at street actions. And despite condescending rhetoric from the right-wing media, veterans have every reason to be there:

1.) Veterans Deserve Economic Justice: Thousands of veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are finding a grim job market. Veterans who served since 9/11 experience a 12.1% unemployment rate, which is higher than the national average, while one in three male veterans are jobless. Recentreports have showed that the number of homeless veterans is surging, while there are insufficient job placement programs.

2.) Veterans Embrace Occupy Wall Street Out Of Love For Country: A growing number of veterans groups are enthusiastically embracing the movement. Although some are demonstrating against a terrible economic conditions, many are doing so out of simple patriotism. Thousands have marched near Zuccotti Park and at other occupy encampments with a message about taking their country back from the grip of lobbyists and predatory financial institutions. One iconic sign, held by a veteran at Occupy Wall Street, summedup the sentiment: “Second time I’ve fought for my country. First time I’ve known my enemy.”

3.) The Banks Are Preying On Veterans: Big banks have found ways to rip off and ruin the men and women who placed their lives on the line for this country. According to a recent whistleblower lawsuit, some of the nation’s biggest banks, including Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and J.P. Morgan Chase, “defrauded veterans and taxpayers out of hundreds of millions of dollars by disguising illegal fees in veterans’ home refinancing loans.” Fly-by-night scam for-profit universities, many of which are owned by Wall Street investment banks, heavily target veterans with fraudulent educational programs. While military families struggle to get by all over the country, defense contractor CEO’s earn as much as $19 million a year.

4.) K Street Domination Of Government Means Defense Money Goes To War Profiteering Corporations Over Veterans: America spends more on the military than most of our rival nations combined. Yet much of that money, because of the influence of defense contractors and other private military interests, is spent on expensive weapons we never use instead of on rank and file soldiers. Revolving door lobbyists, who go from the Pentagon to K Street firms, have secured over a trillion in wasteful spending to companies like Lockheed Martin.

5.) During The Economic Downturn, Veterans Programs Are Being Cut And Privatized As Well: As Republicans and their allies have succeeded so far in pushing an austerity agenda of massive government cuts, veterans have also been targeted. According to a recent analysis by Military.com of a CBO study outlining suggested cuts, Congress is debating proposals to cap military basic pay and limiting veterans health benefits. Notably, the Defense Business Board is also considering a move to privatize the military pension program, swapping it out with a 401k system. If there is another crisis on Wall Street, veterans could lose see their retirement benefits wiped out if such a system is put in place.

In many cases, veterans have been the most visible victims of police brutality: like in Boston, where police violently raided a group of peaceful veterans occupying a city plaza, and in Oakland, where police fractured the skull of Scott Olson, an Iraq veteran, with a shot from a projectile aimed at protesters.

Occupy Wall Street solidarity protests will hold Veterans Day events to stand with veterans in cities across America, from Colorado Springs to San Diego, to Syracuse, to Chicago, to Denver, toMissoula, to Sacramento, to Gainesville, and beyond.

POLL: 99 PERCENT MESSAGE NEARLY TWICE AS POPULAR AS TEA PARTY GOP MESSAGE

From Think Progress

A new NBC-Wall Street Journal poll out last night found that a whopping 60 percent of Americans strongly agree with the basic sentiment of the 99 Percent Movement, as expressed in the statement below:

The current economic structure of the country is out of balance and favors a very small proportion of the rich over the rest of the country.  America needs to reduce the power of major banks and corporations and demand greater accountability and transparency.  The government should not provide financial aid to corporations and should not provide tax breaks to the rich.

Just 33 percent of those polled strongly agreed with a Tea Party GOP message focused on austerity, reducing the size of government, and keeping taxes low for everyone. The poll also found that Occupy Wall Street is viewed more favorably than the Tea Party, the Republican Party, and any of the Republican presidential contenders. The results comport with another poll out yesterday showing that Occupy Wall Street is more popular than both Wall Street itself and Washington, DC.

Occupy Philly Marches To Romney Fundraiser And Holds Its Own ‘Photo-Op’ With Picture Of Mitt

By Zaid Jilani/Think Progress

Today, former Massachussetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) is holding a fundraiser at a swank hotel in downtown Philadelphia, offering $2,500 photo-ops to wealthy donors inside.

Responding to Romney’s fundraising with the city’s elite, Occupy Philly and allied groups marched to the hotel and rallied outside of it. Demonstrators propped up a large poster of Romney and staged their own photo-ops with him, joking that they don’t need to be super-wealthy to take a photograph with a fake version of the candidate.

Here’s some video of the protesters rallied outside the hotel from the CloutDailyNewsYouTube account:

Here are some pictures from the demonstration, taken by local demonstrators and reporters:

“The fact that we were able to pull this off so quickly says a lot about how passionate people are here in Pennsylvania about tax cuts for the rich and corporate greed,” said Jamie Mondics from Keystone Progress, which joined the protests.