The Tea Party ushered in the right wing revolution. In 2010 they won elections promising to help the economy and create jobs.
Since then they have not produced a single jobs bill but they succeeded in minimizing delaying or blocking any efforts to help the economy or create jobs. They have abandoned the regular people, demanding the extension of the Bush tax cuts for the rich, which doubled Obama's budget deficit.
There was a lot of talk at first about freedom and there was concern about loosing their rights. Yes most of us in America have lost our rights, but they are not the nebulous rights the Tea Party fretted about.
The First Amendment to the federal constitution, specifically prohibits Congress from abridging "the right of the people...to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." The 99% have lost the right to petition Congress because Congress only listens to the monied powers. The Citizens United ruling allows corporations and billionaires to spend unlimited sums of money to buy politicians and purchase elections. This means the end of Democracy in America.
When the slaves were set free, Americans recognized that there was no real freedom unless citizens could support their families. That is why the freed slaves were promised forty acres and a mule. Most never received them and Blacks remained economic slaves for another hundred years.
Now there are 50 million people without jobs and without health care. These people have lost their freedom in very real ways.
http://indrus.in/articles/2011/09/30/ame...The Occupy Wall Street protests are speaking out against the loss of our freedom and democracy, against the income inequality, and against the attempts to shift the burden of paying for the debt, from the rich and powerful, who created the debt, to the victims who have been rendered homeless and jobless, because of the greed of the bankers and the rest of Wall street.
The Tea Partiers were angry and railed against imagined threats to their nebulous rights and freedoms that never materialized. The Occupy Wall Street protestors are also angry but they rail against real rights and freedoms that are being taken away. They rail against the loss of homes, jobs, dignity, and their government.
Yes the Tea Party is angry at some of the same things, but they blame the wrong people and allied themselves to the very powers that caused the problems and continue to suppress freedoms and exploit the victims. The Tea Party needs to rise up against those who have funded their movement and those who have benefited from Republican Largess. The Tea Party should turn against the exploiters and support the common people who have been the victims of that exploitation. They should join the REAL revolution.
Last week the General Assembly of Occupy Wall Street adopted a declaration of principles that will inform the new rules.
"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."
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/10...David Morriss suggests 5 things the movement should work towards:
1. Corporations are not persons.
2. Money is not speech
3. Tax Financial Transactions
4. Tax all income as ordinary income
5. Declare a moratorium on foreclosures
I would add another demand: Fix our broken government.
To eliminate Partisan gridlock, Congress should eliminate the filibuster and have a simple majority vote about whether something should be acted on.
If Yes, then at least three proposals should be written up. One by the left, one by the right and one from independent experts who know about the issue being considered.
Then Congress would use preference voting, which would give three points to the proposal they like the most, 2 pts. to their second choice, and 1 pt. to the proposal they dislike. The proposal with the most points would win,
In most cases the centrist expert proposal would be the best for the country and would get the most points. It would be important that the experts not receive any funding from special interests to remain neutral.
It is time to change government from one designed to hinder progress, to one which can actually solve our problems and help people. This would encourage cooperation instead of competition and would return civility and democracy to the process.
We also have to get money out of government. To do that sign up at the following site:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dylan-rati...