The Democratic Party moved a step closer to embracing the Occupy Wall Street movement as its own with the top campaign arm for House Democrats sending around a petition urging people to "stand with" the movement.In an email sent Monday morning, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Director Robby Mook appealed for signatures to an online petition in support of those who want "to let billionaires, big oil and big bankers know that we're not going to let the richest 1% force draconian economic policies and massive cuts to crucial programs on Main Street Americans."
The DCCC is trying to gather 100,000 names on the petition to "send a message straight to Eric Cantor, Speaker Boehner, and the rest of reckless Republican leadership in Congress."
The appeal comes after House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and other Republicans sharply criticized the protesters on Friday. At a Values Voter Summit in Washington, Cantor said he was "increasingly concerned about the growing mobs occupying Wall Street and the other cities across the country."
He described them as "the pitting of Americans against Americans," and scolded those who would condone them.
"Getting American back to work means fueling a culture of entrepreneurialism, a culture of competitiveness, a culture of inspiration and optimism," he said.
At the same summit, businessman and GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain called the demonstrations "anti-capitalism" and "anti-free market." On CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday, Cain said it is "anti-American" to protest bankers. He said Wall Street didn't write the "failed economic policies."
In response to Cantor, House Democratic Leader
Nancy San Fran NanPelosi
Congresswoman-for-Life from the San Francisco Bay Area, born into a family of politicians. Formerly Speaker of the House, but it's not her fault they lost. Really. Noted for her heavily botoxed grimace...
said Cantor is being selective in his criticism of popular movements.
"I didn't hear him say anything when the Tea Party was out demonstrating, actually spitting on members of Congress right here in the Capitol, and he and his colleagues were putting signs in the windows encouraging them," she told ABC's "This Week."
Pelosi said she backs the protesters in their message.
"I support the message to the establishment, whether it's Wall Street or the political establishment and the rest, that change has to happen. We cannot continue in a way that does not -- that is not relevant to their lives. People are angry," she said.
While the protesters have hit on everything from war to the current crop of Hollywood films, demonstrators primarily criticize the nation's big banks for burdening average Americans with loan debt, squeezing out borrowers, slapping customers with new fees and withholding trillions in capital. They say the richest 1 percent of the nation are hanging onto the wealth to the destruction of the other 99 percent of the nation.
A document put out at the end of September attempts to sum up the initial grievances. The Declaration of the Occupation of New York City takes aim at corporations for using an "illegal foreclosure process" to take houses; taking "bailouts from taxpayers with impunity" while paying "exorbitant" executive bonuses; holding "students hostage" with education debt; influencing politicians with donations and about 20 other offenses.