Forum Post: Should we pressure Obama(and other politicians) to condemn mayors cracking down on protesters and pressure them to drop charges against peaceful protesters thus far????
Posted 12 years ago on Oct. 18, 2011, 6:42 p.m. EST by TLydon007
(1278)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
Should we all promise not to vote for political candidates that fail to vocally pressure local politicians to stop arresting protesters??
Yes. We should.
Pressure those mayors as well!
I think a lot of local elections(judges, some mayors) are taking place in most states this November. If we can coordinate this right, we could at least take over the entire judicial branch and urban centers.. They usually only win by a couple hundred votes.
Obama: "a black mascot of Wall Street oligarchs and a black puppet of corporate plutocrats."
OWS should not get involved with Obama. As a corporate whore, he is the enemy.
As of now, they are all corporate whores. However, this movement could easily die out due to current laws on the books that don't allow camping in the streets without permits and the like. We need to make it clear to politicians that silence is consent before they succumb to using the laws on the books to disperse protesters. If that happens, none of the other demands will be met because the movement can not grow.
If we don't take action, then we'll settle for nothing later.
I agree, but Obama is the wrong place to go for help.
So I take it from your criticism that you have tons of other suggestions??
That's great. Can't wait to hear them. I'm sure there's also plenty of protesters across the country locked up right now that are just dying to hear your suggestions.
Local politicians would not only make more sense, but would avoid squandering the social capital of OWS.
[EDIT: ...because it's important to understand that the Democrats are going to try to co-opt OWS as a re-election campaign. They are going to try to portray the message of OWS as support for a progressive income tax. This is at least as serious a threat to OWS as occupations being dispersed by police action.]
I guess I didn't go over my whole "Elections next month" spiel with you??
If you look at my other posts on this thread, what you mention is exactly what I'm advocating. It's too bad we're late for the primaries, though. While it would be incredibly difficult to break down all the local elections taking place, I'm pretty sure if we did it, it would reap incredible rewards. These local elections (city legislatures, judges) usually only win by a couple hundred votes. However, we would really need to work hard to find out which ones would be more sympathetic to the protesters and more supportive of their right to peaceful protest. I'm sure getting a few appellate judges on our side would be a big plus for those locked up right now.
Listen, you don't need to be so defensive. All I was saying is that OWS cannot get involved with Obama.
I am not sure electioneering is the best way to get the support of political powers, though. There are other ways to exert pressure.
Why run to Obama instead of condemning the offensive mayors ourselves?? Let's stand up for ourselves!
"If you want revolution then cut out the middle man." (Billy Bragg)
While I'm sure mayors across the country are terrified that you might formally condemn them, using a handle, from behind your computer, I think they may be a little more responsive to other politicians. Most mayors of large cities are Democrats. Most of the protesters, if registered, are registered Democrats. I'm thinking it may be time to let politicians know that silence is consent and we will remember their ambivalence at the voting booths.
You might be right about the party affiliations here, but I don't see why that means we need to run to Obama for help instead of condemning Bloomberg et al. ourselves.
You're misreading me. We are not running to Obama. We are demanding that he defend the right to peacefully protest ahead of time. (before mayors start enforcing laws on the books about protesting without permits)
Also, perhaps you haven't been arrested yet, but many have and may be facing fines, charges, etc. that may badly effect their lives when the protesters are legally dispersed by said mayors.
And on another note, we may want to seriously engage in the upcoming local elections, which usually include city legislatures and most importantly (for now), JUDGES. We have less than 4 weeks to seriously engage in elections that are usually won by a margin of less than 100 voters. It would be an incredibly complicated campaign, which is why I'm trying my best to find people to help me.
YES!!!!!!!