Here’s an even better spokesman for the Occupy movement than the one I featured at Monday night’s event when Obama came to St. Louis. Molloff was fiery, but she made some outrageous sounding claims without taking the time to explain herself. Richard Trumka of the AFL-CIO spells out what he thinks the movement is about and what he believes the Occupiers should call for. His thoughts are not served up with jalapeno sauce, but they are hearty, healthy fare.
Translation: “Please Mr Thieves, you got rich stealing from us and reducing the middle class to poverty, but if you’d suddenly have a religious conversion and give it back everything would be wonderfullll….”
Clue: thieves do not give back ill-gotten booty because you tell them it would be nice of them to do so.
Union executives used to know you don’t get anything by asking gently. You need to show the thieves that their lives will get a lot more uncomfortable by continuing to steal than by giving a fair deal. When union leaders lost that knowledge union membership went from 50% to 8% and falling, and our wages and benefits have lost ground since the 70s.
With all that mealy-mouthed fluff we can see how it happened.
By now Jeanine Molloff has seen what the forces of coopting look like. Good luck to her as she and the rest of the 99ers try to find reality in all the BS they will be surrounded with.