Durbin, Kirk Weigh in on Occupy Movement
By aaroncynic in News on Oct 18, 2011 9:15PM
As the Occupy movement grows both worldwide and here at home, more politicians are weighing in with their opinions of the movement's members and goals. Illinois’ two Senators gave their opinions recently, which reflect their respective bases. After Occupy Chicago attempted to make camp in Congress Park, Senator Dick Durbin told the Chicago News Cooperative, “I think they’ve tapped a public sentiment that is concerned about the inequality of wealth in America and the struggles of working families as well as the power of Wall Street.”
That however, was not an endorsement. Durbin also reflected the typical tepidity Democratic politicians have towards populist movements, telling the CNC that the Occupy Chicago was “unfocused in terms of an agenda” and that he wasn’t “certain they would have been card-carrying Democrats going into this.”
Republican Mark Kirk echoed some of Durbin's "unfocused" sentiments. WBEZ reports told reporters in a news conference that Occupy Chicago “feels like undisciplined, unfocused, unintellectual anger” and that “if Congress actually followed their direction, we would have a deep depression and millions of Americans would be out of work.”
Both are statements one would expect from party line politicians, and both reflect the distrust and misunderstanding many rank and file Democrats and Republicans have towards Occupy Wall Street. However, both Durbin and Kirk’s statements reflect the criticisms the movement has been making of politics in America. Democrats are too busy working about their own political backsides to stand up for anything, even when they have a solid base of support. Meanwhile, hard line Republicans like Kirk don’t seem to realize that millions of Americans are already out of work and the economy has been sliding towards a depression for quite a few years now.