Seen in one way, the 20 or so Occupy Wall Street protesters who have marched more than 200 miles from New York to Washington are be a bit late to the party.
When the marchers set out on foot earlier this month, they did so as a statement to tell the so-called congressional supercommittee not to retain the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.
In that sense, the protesters needn't have bothered. By the time the protesters actually enter the capital on Tuesday, supercommittee members will have already declared defeat all on their own.
But in another, crucial sense, these protesters represent the future of the Occupy movement. In its first two months of exuberant existence, Occupy has been both praised and criticized for having avoided any direct political engagement.
No more.
By taking a stand on specific issues — those of tax rates and federal spending — the "Occupy The Highway" marchers will be walking the entire movement into the realm of political force. It's a first step, to be sure, but an important one.
This march represents a clear way that the movement can fight even more effectively for the 99 percent despite having lost the ability to form encampments in New York and other cities nationwide. No doubt the Occupiers will have to feel their way through their path of political advocacy, but it needn't be as difficult as some may fear.
The protesters ought to reach out to those politicians who have already embraced their movement, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, or Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren. These trusted political leaders could help guide Occupy on effective political advocacy without getting co-opted.
Done in a smart, savvy kind of way, getting more deeply involved in policy and politics could well keep the movement ahead in public opinion. Polls clearly indicate Americans continue to back the goals of Occupy, even if they had begun to question the movement's use of encampments.
Article comments
1 - Dan
Despite leftist media and corrupt politicians attempts at portraying occupiers sympathetically, the staggering vileness that is so characteristically typical of left wing protesters has emerged in the public consciousness.
Andrew Breitbart has chronicled the repulsive depravity here.
2 - Dr Dreadful
I haven't seen much sympathetic coverage in the MSM at all, and Breitbart seems to be counting just about any crime that happens in the same city as an Occupy protest as somehow connected with it.
3 - El Bicho
No coincidence to see "staggering vileness" and "Andrew Breitbart" in the same post.