A new poll from Princeton Research Associates for National Journal shows that public opinion is trending steadily and strongly in favor of the Occupy Movement:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/10/19/1028134/-Occupy-Wall-Streets-first-victory,-intwocharts
That's good news. The bad news is that the support is still soft, with the largest majority falling into the "Somewhat Agree" category. It's good, but it could be better. And it will have to be better. Now is the time for this fledgling movement to show its strength, to solidify the message by issuing a call to action that moves beyond the parks and into the legislatures.
Cenk Uygur has called for an end run around the Congress and SCOTUS, invoking the right of the states to ratify an amendment to the Constitution declaring that "Corporations are not people. They have none of the constitutional rights of human beings. Corporations are not allowed to give money to any politician, directly or indirectly. No politician can raise over $100 from any person or entity. All elections must be publicly financed."
If any one of the states brings forth such an amendment, the states may vote to ratify that amendment into Constitutional law, thus avoiding the need to seek the approval of the very politicians who serve the 1% at the expense of the 99% and our entire democratic republic. It is brilliant. But more than that, it serves to highlight at once the two very central thrusts of this entire movement:
1.) That the extreme redistribution of both wealth and political power experienced over the last three decades has fundamentally undermined this nation's governmental process and philosophy
and
2.) That corporate influence over both the electoral and legislative process is a particularly toxic venom that must be eliminated if this nation is to thrive economically, politically, or philosophically.
I can't find a thing wrong with this goal. For a media that pretends not to understand the chief aim(s) of the Occupation, there can now be no doubt. For an administration that cannot ignore the Occupation much longer, nor appear too friendly without alienating its masters, there is a "will of the people" out. For the onlookers who wish to understand the "how" so that they can sign on to a practical, meaningful, and purposeful movement, there is a cause. And for the various groups wrestling for control of the microphone, there is a future.
If this strategy is successful, it is the new paradigm for which the protesters on the front lines have awaited so patiently and with such great dignity, in the parks, in the rain, in the skirmishes, and in the jails. No longer is there any question of whether there is room at this new table for every issue to be brought forward and worked through to a solution that satisfies the will of the people. Should the states find the means to assert that the federal government derives its power from the will of the people, there is no stopping that people from asserting their will.
In 30 days, we have seen this Occupation move from a media blackout to the image of an unfocused, disorganized, and paltry band of professional malcontents to a rapidly expanding, absorptive, and potentially viable *process* of democracy. With every step into the unknown and every refusal to do things in the same old way, the pundits have declared its faith naà ¯ve -- even to the point of childishness. But faith in the power of the democratic process has sustained this movement with little other visible support. Now it is time to call in the full and certain support of the remainder of that 99% that agrees with our complaint but sees no practical solution. They voted to be the people they'd been waiting for. They want to become the solution. With their faith, this Occupation could move the mountain to Mohammed. From the states where they live, and the streets where they Occupy, all the way to Washington.
I say we do it.
Occupy: The Revolution, Phase II