DEM's UNITE AGAINST THE "O"

Dem unity, minus Obama By The Hill Editors - 10/04/11 07:42 PM ET After months of squabbling, Democrats on Capitol Hill have united in recent weeks. And in an unusual twist, they have done it in spite of President Obama. House Democrats, who have helped the GOP pass controversial bills this year, drew the line on a stopgap spending bill last month. The White House, meanwhile, did not threaten to veto the Republican legislation. Unable to persuade skeptical conservatives, House Republican leaders gambled by bringing the measure to the floor — and they suffered an embarrassing defeat. While a subsequent bill passed, House Democrats had served notice: They were tired of being pushed around. More and more Democrats are publicly challenging Obama on a range of issues. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) ripped the administration on Tuesday for considering keeping U.S. troops in Iraq beyond this year. In a floor speech on Tuesday, Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) questioned Obama’s strategy in Afghanistan. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), meanwhile, are at odds with Obama on the trade deals he just sent to Congress. Reid has committed to moving them, though he has made clear he is not a fan. Pelosi has put the White House on notice she will not be twisting arms to pass the agreements.  Congressional Democrats are not exactly embracing Obama’s jobs plan. Pelosi has called for an up-or-down vote on it in the House, but Reid is in no rush to schedule a vote. Reid, who is worried about keeping his majority, is well-aware that voting on Obama’s proposal puts some of his politically vulnerable members in a tough spot.  If they vote for it, Republican opponents will use it in campaign ads next year, seeking to tie them to a president who calls himself the underdog for reelection. If they vote against it, liberals in their states will complain, and that could hurt turnout on the left. The Hill reported this week that Obama’s relationship with congressional Democrats is deteriorating. In a way, that could be good for Democratic legislators who are attempting to forge an identity away from the president. It won’t stay that way, of course. When there is a Republican presidential nominee in 2012, Obama and Democratic members will make up and get back together. For now, they’re on a break. And the breathing room might do both sides some good. More from The Hill ♦ Senate Dems buck Obama on jobs ♦ Jobs bill illustrates art of beating a dead horse ♦ Obama says he’s 2012 ‘underdog’ ♦ Rep. wants special counsel to find out if Holder lied ♦ White House targets lawmaker for criticizing solar loans

Senate Democrats Scrap O's Job's Bill

Union Thugs and Wall Street Occupiers

Labor Unions Join Wall Street "Occupiers" for Mass Rally

Demonstrators with the "Occupy Wall Street" march against police brutality, Sept. 30, 2011 New York City. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

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By GREGORY J. KRIEG

Oct. 5, 2011

The cavalry has arrived in Lower Manhattan. Representatives from no fewer than 15 of the country's largest labor unions will join the Occupy Wall Street protesters for a mass rally and march today in New York City.

The AFL-CIO, United Auto Workers, and Transit Workers' Union are among the groups expected to stand in solidarity with the hundreds of mostly young men and women who have spent the better part of three weeks sleeping, eating, and organizing from Zuccotti Square.

Their arrival is being touted as a watershed moment for the "Occupy" movement, which has now seen copycat protests spring up across the country. And while the specific demands of the "occupiers" remain wide-ranging, the presence of the unions – implicitly inclined to making more direct demands – may sharpen their focus.

Today's action is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. ET, when the protesters in Zuccotti Square march approximately one mile north to Foley Square, where they will be met by community and labor leaders. Then, at 4:30 p.m., they plan to march together back down toward Wall Street. They do not yet have a city-issued permit for the gathering, but are now pursuing one.

The "Union March" is expected to be the movement's largest yet and there is the potential for a significant number of arrests. The New York Police Department booked an estimated 700 protesters Saturday as they attempted to cross the Brooklyn Bridge, bringing the total number arrested to over 1,000 in less than three weeks.

Wall Street Occupier On Brooklyn Bridge Protest Watch Video

Rep. Jackie Speier on 'Top Line' Watch Video

Wall St. Protesters' Home BaseWatch Video

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, speaking at a retirement community in Florida yesterday, denounced the movement. "I think it's dangerous, this class warfare," he said.

While some on the ground welcome the concept of a showdown with the "one percent," organizers (who claim to represent "the 99 percent" of Americans they say are being trampled on by the financial elite), say they remain committed to "non-violent" protest.

The question for today, though, is what affect the presence of labor unions will have on the tenor of the demonstrations. To date, Occupy Wall Street has set their agenda during twice-daily "general assemblies" with large-scale votes and directly elected "working groups."

The unions do not operate this way. They are top-down organizations. Their leaders, though elected, make most decisions autonomously. They are well-versed in fashioning specific appeals, the very concept of which runs counter to Occupy Wall Street's purposefully abstract message.

"Think Facebook or Twitter: These protesters have adopted that same decentralized structure, Columbia University political science Professor Dorian Warren told ABC News yesterday. "There's no one leader. It's not top-down. It's much more democratic, much more 'open-source.'"

"One of the beautiful things about [Occupy Wall Street]," says Professor Yochai Benkler, co-director of Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet and Society, "is that it is a movement defining itself as it 'becomes.'"

While the concept of "becoming" or "creating space" for dissent, as organizers preach, might seem a bit far off to grizzled union vets, it's a bedrock of the "Occupy movement." But to the hundreds who've made their beds on Zuccotti Park's stone encampment the meta-narrative probably seems a little bit beside the point. Whatever the risks entailed in opening up their action to different groups, with different acting ethics, they're happy for the new support.

But as history reminds, there's no such thing as "free love."