No, really, that’s his plan, and he is going to use the rage from the Occupy movement to campaign against Republicans. Then, the same guy who took massive amounts of Wall Street, Big Bank, Big Financial, and Big Corporate money in 2008, voted for bailouts, gave Wall Street, banks, financial institutions, and corporations, will take money from those some entities that the Occupy folks are protesting against
(Washington Post) President Obama and his team have decided to turn public anger at Wall Street into a central tenet of their reelection strategy.
The move comes as the Occupy Wall Street protests gain momentum across the country and as polls show deep public distrust of the nation’s major financial institutions.
And it sets up what strategists see as a potent line of attack against Republican front-runner Mitt Romney, a former investment executive whom Obama aides plan to portray as a wealthy Wall Street sympathizer.
In recent days, Obama has ramped up his rhetoric. He took the unusual step of targeting an individual company when he attacked Bank of America for its new $5 monthly debit-card fee, calling it “exactly the sort of stuff that folks are frustrated by.†And his campaign and the White House have distributed messages blasting GOP candidates and lawmakers for wanting to repeal Wall Street regulations pushed by Obama and opposing the confirmation of a leader for the consumer protection bureau created as part of the overhaul.
“We intend to make it one of the central elements of the campaign next year,†Obama senior adviser David Plouffe said in an interview. “One of the main elements of the contrast will be that the president passed Wall Street reform and our opponent and the other party want to repeal it.â€
“I’m pretty confident 12 months from now, as people make the decision about who to go vote for, the gut check is going to be about, ‘Who would make decisions more about helping my life than Wall Street?’ †Plouffe added.
I say Obama should go for it. The GOP can then highlight all the money Obama received in 2008 and for the 2012 election from Wall Street, banks, etc….oh, look, Obama has received $24k from Bank of America in this cycle. The GOP will also be able to highlight the violence in the streets of the Occupy movement, all the arrests, all the trash and unsanitary conditions. They can also highlight that “Obama’s” financial reform legislation caused the $5 fee (and other fees at other banks).
Co-opting the Occupy movement carries other risks: the longer the movement goes on, the higher the chance for serious violence, and the movement being unmasked for the far left dominated protest it is. Independents and other middle ground voters who crossed over to vote for Obama in 2008 will get an eyeful and earful of what these people want, namely, more government and the same old same old leftist gripes, which have mostly not worked so far. And when all is said and done, the economy will still be garbage, because Democrats are clueless and Obama will not sign legislation that comes from the GOP controlled House.
But, go for it, Obama: you can be part of the movement that rioted in Rome, destroying property and torching cars. Oh, and trashing private small businesses. All the new arrests in NYC and other places. Police being injured. But, they are amusing
As police cleared the street, protesters chanted, “We are peaceful” and “The whole world is watching.”
That last one is so absurd, it reminds me of those “First World Problems” pictures
Close enough for government work…..oh, look, people being shot in Syria for their freedom.
Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU. Please sign the drill now petition.
