General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Let's Not Forget OWS... [View all]Luminous Animal
(27,310 posts)issue oriented. Their target is not a specific political party but rather those who wield power and facilitate inequality. Members of both parties do that in spades.
The teabaggers are becoming increasingly irrelevant as a movement because they tied themselves to electoral politics. They never had a chance of influencing institutional change because they never understood that it is nigh impossible to do that by joining the institution. Sure they got a few of their outlier members elected to Congress (some of which already lost their seats) but getting their agenda passed in a 435 member House was like whistling in the wind. It's akin to Kucinich et.al; who day after day, month after month, year after year, propose pro-peace, pro-FDR programs but can never get legislation passed (and often end up voting YAY for such that they advocated a NAY). The teabaggers' issues became subdued by the inertia of the institution. The teabaggers didn't grasp the long haul.
OWS, on the other hand, quickly instituted and continues to carry out studies and discussions of people's movements. They understand (as did MLK Jr.) that in order to engender effective change, they must not be beholden to any political party. They understand that activism is a moving train and not a station stop at the ballot box. Sustained economic & social activism is extra-ordinarily difficult. Unlike winning a congressional seat, it offers no paycheck. Unlike volunteering for someone seeking that paycheck, it rarely ends up in a clear victory (or defeat) even after decades of advocacy. OWS is not seeking a quick celebratory win "against the man" that merely makes them a member of "the man".