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One of the things I was never sure about is why is Occupy Wall Street in a park around three blocks away from Wall Street?

Occupy Tampa is in a park next to the Children's Museum and the Tampa Museum of Art. I guess those are facilities that 1%ers use.

President Obama and the Democratic leadership are making a critical error in embracing the Occupy Wall Street movement—and it may cost them the 2012 election.

Last week, senior White House adviser David Plouffe said that "the protests you're seeing are the same conversations people are having in living rooms and kitchens all across America. . . . People are frustrated by an economy that does not reward hard work and responsibility, where Wall Street and Main Street don't seem to play by the same set of rules." Nancy Pelosi and others have echoed the message.

Yet the Occupy Wall Street movement reflects values that are dangerously out of touch with the broad mass of the American people—and particularly with swing voters who are largely independent and have been trending away from the president since the debate over health-care reform.

The protesters have a distinct ideology and are bound by a deep commitment to radical left-wing policies. On Oct. 10 and 11, Arielle Alter Confino, a senior researcher at my polling firm, interviewed nearly 200 protesters in New York's Zuccotti Park. Our findings probably represent the first systematic random sample of Occupy Wall Street opinion.

Our research shows clearly that the movement doesn't represent unemployed America and is not ideologically diverse. Rather, it comprises an unrepresentative segment of the electorate that believes in radical redistribution of wealth, civil disobedience and, in some instances, violence. Half (52%) have participated in a political movement before, virtually all (98%) say they would support civil disobedience to achieve their goals, and nearly one-third (31%) would support violence to advance their agenda.

The vast majority of demonstrators are actually employed, and the proportion of protesters unemployed (15%) is within single digits of the national unemployment rate (9.1%).

An overwhelming majority of demonstrators supported Barack Obama in 2008. Now 51% disapprove of the president while 44% approve, and only 48% say they will vote to re-elect him in 2012, while at least a quarter won't vote.

Fewer than one in three (32%) call themselves Democrats, while roughly the same proportion (33%) say they aren't represented by any political party.

What binds a large majority of the protesters together—regardless of age, socioeconomic status or education—is a deep commitment to left-wing policies: opposition to free-market capitalism and support for radical redistribution of wealth, intense regulation of the private sector, and protectionist policies to keep American jobs from going overseas.

Sixty-five percent say that government has a moral responsibility to guarantee all citizens access to affordable health care, a college education, and a secure retirement—no matter the cost. By a large margin (77%-22%), they support raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans, but 58% oppose raising taxes for everybody, with only 36% in favor. And by a close margin, protesters are divided on whether the bank bailouts were necessary (49%) or unnecessary (51%).

Thus Occupy Wall Street is a group of engaged progressives who are disillusioned with the capitalist system and have a distinct activist orientation. Among the general public, by contrast, 41% of Americans self-identify as conservative, 36% as moderate, and only 21% as liberal. That's why the Obama-Pelosi embrace of the movement could prove catastrophic for their party.

In 1970, aligning too closely with the antiwar movement hurt Democrats in the midterm election, when many middle-class and working-class Americans ended up supporting hawkish candidates who condemned student disruptions. While that 1970 election should have been a sweep against the first-term Nixon administration, it was instead one of only four midterm elections since 1938 when the president's party didn't lose seats.


With the Democratic Party on the defensive throughout the 1970 campaign, liberal Democrats were only able to win on Election Day by distancing themselves from the student protest movement. So Adlai Stevenson III pinned an American flag to his lapel, appointed Chicago Seven prosecutor Thomas Foran chairman of his Citizen's Committee, and emphasized "law and order"—a tactic then employed by Ted Kennedy, who denounced the student protesters as "campus commandos" who must be repudiated, "especially by those who may share their goals."

Today, having abandoned any effort to work with the congressional super committee to craft a bipartisan agreement on deficit reduction, President Obama has thrown in with those who support his desire to tax oil companies and the rich, rather than appeal to independent and self-described moderate swing voters who want smaller government and lower taxes, not additional stimulus or interference in the private sector.

Rather than embracing huge new spending programs and tax increases, plus increasingly radical and potentially violent activists, the Democrats should instead build a bridge to the much more numerous independents and moderates in the center by opposing bailouts and broad-based tax increases.

Put simply, Democrats need to say they are with voters in the middle who want cooperation, conciliation and lower taxes. And they should work particularly hard to contrast their rhetoric with the extremes advocated by the Occupy Wall Street crowd.

Mr. Schoen, who served as a pollster for President Bill Clinton, is author of "Hopelessly Divided: The New Crisis in American Politics and What It Means for 2012 and Beyond," forthcoming from Rowman and Littlefield.

By a 67 - 23 percent margin, New York City voters agree with the views of the Wall Street protesters and say 87 - 10 percent that it is "okay that they are protesting," according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

Agreeing with the protesters views are Democrats 81 - 11 percent and independent voters 58 - 30 percent, while Republicans disagree 58 - 35 percent, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. Even Republicans, however, agree 73 - 23 percent with the protesters right to be there.

New York City voters say 72 - 24 percent, including 52 - 41 percent among Republicans, that if the protesters obey the law, they can stay as long as they wish.

A total of 72 percent of voters say they understand the protesters' views "very well" or "fairly well," with 17 percent who say "not too well" and 10 percent who say "not well at all."

Asked who is to blame for the current state of the nation's economy;

37 percent of New York City voters blame the administration of former President George W. Bush;
21 percent blame Wall Street and financial institutions;
18 percent blame Congress;
11 percent blame President Barack Obama.

New York City voters support 61 - 28 percent an extension of the state's so-called 'Millionaire's Tax.' Even Republicans support the extension 55 - 38 percent.

Voters also support 73 - 19 percent, including 48 - 40 percent among Republicans, tougher government regulation of banks and Wall Street firms.

From October 12 - 16, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,068 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones.

Dude, why do you keep asking me about the Tea Party? I am not a member of the Tea Party nor am I a Tea Party supporter.

I am not going to defend the tea party but if you want to make that point - the tea party is a subset within an organized political party. They have held events which were legal with permits, sanitation, and bathrooms. Events which did not involve taking over private property. There is a tea party message. There are tea party candidates. Here in NY one ran for Governor. I chose to vote for Cuomo over Paladino and Cuomo won.

Again I am not a member or supporter of the tea party but if you want to compare the tea party is waaaaaay ahead. OWS is disorganized, anarchanisitc, and illegal.

and based on the article extreme left wing radicals that are for wealth redistribution and against capitolism and willing to use violence to achieve their goals. Democratic pollsters have advised the party to stay away.

Here in NY they are in the news everyday

Every broadcast - every newspaper

Not all others HD. Only times I have visited Florida (or as I like to call it "God's waiting room") in the last 10yrs has been for business

Mikey and I have something in common after all. ;)

Do you have a 'solution'? I mean a specific policy that will correct the economic downturn? Our leaders don't even have that. I wouldn't expect American citizens to either to be honest. I would expect them to show their anger and put pressure on those in charge to change focus. And c'mon, kill the rich? You can stop the hyperbole.

Politicians are not going to embrace anything unless they think it will get them votes. Very few republicans embraced the tea party movement 2 months in. Remember too, this is a movement on the left and the president is supposedly on the left, which really isn't the case.

Your poll statistics would indicate that OWS is as popular as hot dogs and beer at a ball game. You would think embracing them would all but guarantee a complete victory.

You would think, but it's too new and the numbers not strong enough for anyone whose livelihood depends on votes to get behind 100% yet. Besides, the protesters are protesting them. Kind of hard to be for something that wants you to get the hell out of office because you haven't done your job right.

2010 was the second year in a row that General Electric recorded billions in profits and paid no taxes.
That doesn't happen with a flat tax with only exemptions for job creation unless GE single handedly solves the unemployment problem.

and if they did, then they deserve to pay no taxes. Its a push against what they for the alst two years except now there are millions more Americans earning paychecks and paying into the tax system.

On its own merit no its not a bad thing but its not a good thing either.

Its like making a fat person think about diet and exercise. Its great to get the thought into his head but it doesnt actually make him lose any weight.

That is another thing that you have said a few times, the tea party is either a sub-set of a political party, or it has been adopted by it. This of course is true, but if you were to ask a tea party person they would disagree. They like to consider themselves outsiders, free from any party labels and therefore uncorrupted by party politics, and there are a bunch of different groups without a single message either. Sure, a lot are similar, but not the same. Some focus more on gun issues, others more on tax issues or spending/bail out issues, or national security etc. Another criticism of OWS, not a single message. The tea party movement is much older than 2 months and still there are splinter groups all over the place all claiming the tea party label. So again, whether or not you are a supporter of anything or anyone or any group or movement, using the same criteria and critical eye for each would probably be the more rational approach, don't you think?

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From our founding, the Tea Party is the voice of the true owners of the United States, WE THE PEOPLE.

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This thread is not about the Tea Party. Occupy Wall Street cannot gravytrain any credibility off the Tea Party. OWS needs to stand on its own merits or fail.

You dont get more tea party than Palladino or Michele Bachman but they ran (run) as Republicans. They call them tea party favorites. But even leaving tea party out of this as HD recommneds, they still are different because they are different. The most recent protests in NYC before the OWS began were for same sex marriage. Regardless of how I feel about the issue I have much more respect for their protestors than OWS. They used civil disobedience and got arrested. They marched without permits. But they had a point. There was a bill they were fighting to pass. And it passed. They never resorted to taking over public property and pooping on peoples doorsteps.

MLK was referenced several times as was Ghandi. Again they had a clear focused point. A civil rights bill was passed due to MLK. Ghandi stood for India's independence. Clear, focused points. OWS is still lacking in that department and in my mind will remain different until they focus.

Yes. We both agree that the tea party has always been a Republican thing. I say they are the same people as the 'moral majority' in the 80's just rebranded.



Who? The media? Remember now, the tea party and any representative when asked will never say they are Republicans, ever, but the reverse is true.



? Of course. As is everything. You never see the same river twice and the tea party of last year is different from the tea party today. Not sure what this has to do with anything.



Good comparison. A one issue protest, pass a bill. Why? They had several reasons. What was unjust about the law as it was? Several points related to that. What would happen if it passed? A list of things that would happen to equal the rights between heterosexuals and homosexuals and another list of things that wouldn't happen to assuage the fears of those fighting the passage of the bill. One issue, lots of arguments.

OWS. One main issue, a more just economic system. Why? List of reasons. What is unjust about the laws as they are now? Several points. What would happen with a more just economic system? A list. One issue, lots of arguments.




Again with the pooping. How many people do you imagine are pooping in public in the middle of the park or on the street? Is one too much? 10? At what point does a minority of people in a group, even someone who might not even be there for the protest because as a NY'r you are aware that there are lots of homeless people in the parks, define the entire group?

The poop will be the OWS's most lasting accomplishment!

lol, the Post? That's like the weekly world news of ny dailies.

I guess to me a more just economic system is simply not specific enough. Same sex marriage may be one issue with lots of arguments but in the end the entire group supported one idea.

Same sex marriage is not legal. We want it to be legal. Make it legal. Same sex marriage bill passes.
People are discrimintated against under the law due to the color of their skin. We want it to be illegal under the law. Make it illegal. Civil rights bill passes.
India is an English territory. We want it to be independant. Make it independant. England grants independance.

The economic system is unjust. OWS wants it to be more just. __________________________. _____________________________.



And sorry about the constant references to pooping but its in the news every day. Today there were neighbors being interviewed who were pissed off with being pissed on.

Not really. Make it in favor of fat ass, golf playing, cigar smoking, Italian guys and I would be down with that.

nobody ever thinks about the fat ass, golf playing, cigar smoking, Italian guys......

That is because they are fat ass, golf playing, cigar smoking, Italian guys.

They will once I start Occupy Little Italy and we all start pooping on Mulberry Street.

Well, there is supposedly about 2000 people in the park. Or at least there were on the nice days. There are zero public bathrooms. My guess would be a ****load (pun intended)