I have been following the Occupy Wall Street movement as it was seen by both the media and the Democrats like Elizabeth Warren as their version, the Left’s version, of the TEA Party. And it landed here in NH as well by starting a meeting in Manchester and then Concord, and then back to Manchester (with a few videos done at that last one).
I had put up what I thought was the definitive infographic that pointed out the common complaint between the Occupy Wall Street folks and the TEA Partiers. Absolutely, we agree that the problem is Greed – greedy corporations willing to pay elected officials for access and influence as well as greedy elected officials (and bureaucrats) for willingly taking (and sometimes "requesting") such monies and perks. Greed knows no bounds, be it for money or for power. Or in some cases, both.
Now, some might think "Skip’s turned into a broken record on this". In some ways yes, and others, no. You see, it is just another version of the same old political problem:
- Some of us just want to be left alone, and want government to remain in the background, quietly umpiring the rule infractions as opposed being front and center and bossing folks into behaving in Politically Correct ways. Do the (few) things that individuals can’t easily do and do them well.
- Others want to, for the lack of an even more simpler explanation, grow Government in ways that remind me of the full-of-themselves hall monitors – just on steroids (these ARE the power hungry folks that just can’t leave others alone because they don’t trust anyone else than themselves to be bright enough to run their own lives).
Now, having gotten that out of my system, notice this new infographic put up by Sherry Gould of Occupy Concord (NH, that is):
I have no doubt, having spent time at the Occupy Manchester, that the intersection, the "Middle Ground" is a true statement. I’m not sure that I’d agree with the right side, totally, of what this says of the beliefs of the TEA Party. I’m quite sure that the left side does describe what the OWS believes. The problem parts are the lower left and right corners.
If you follow the link for Sherry, you can see the conversation. The link to Open Secrets that Seth provides completely blows the the declared information in the lower right hand corner:
| Top 10 Heavy Hitters: | |
| ActBlue | $55,745,059.00 |
| AT&T Inc | $47,571,779.00 |
| American Fedn of State, County & Municipal Employees | $46,167,658.00 |
| National Assn of Realtors | $40,718,176.00 |
| Service Employees International Union | $37,634,367.00 |
| National Education Assn | $37,051,378.00 |
| Goldman Sachs | $35,790,579.00 |
| American Assn for Justice | $34,715,804.00 |
| Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers | $34,292,471.00 |
| Laborers Union | $31,876,950.00 |
| View Full List | |
| Based on data released by the FEC on September 26, 2011. | |
12 of the top 20 are unions; add in ActBlue (a Left / Liberal donation aggreggator with a widget that allows folks on Left leaning sites to donate to their cause or candidate), so make that 7 out of the top 10, 13 out of the top 20, which completely shreds the point that Sherry subtly tries to make in that lower right hand corner.
I also…
…asked for a citation for the lower left, as I pointed out that if it were true, here in NH we’d be saying Senator Bill Binnie instead of Senator Kelly Ayotte. And here is where two of the Leaders of Occupy NH, Sherry and Bill Gould, go squirrely.
When it was pointed out that the untruths (alright, the outright LIE of the right corner) of the corners, both Bill or Sherry tried to hide behind the "Middle Ground" as if a vote by their General Assembly completely voids the truth or lie of a statement. When it was pointed out that the corners, when shown to be false, would detract from their overall message:
But Bill, a cigar is not a political message – an infographic like this is, right (and is not a cigar)? Isn’t it paramount that verifiable facts are given, regardless of the "middle message"? Otherwise, that "middle" message can get discredited (and other collateral damage) which has ramifications going forward such as "it’s just propaganda".
Now, I may not agree with their politics (er, at all) but I do agree with their main point – Crony Capitalism is a danger and evil to our Republic. I disagree with their remedy – more Government to more highly regulate corporations even as they give Unions and Social Organizations (both of which beseech and rent-seek from Government), I can only agree with what I wrote as to what they are trying to do:
"it’s just propaganda"
So, what do you think of a movement that can’t be truthful when errors, verifiable errors, are pointed out?
