The New York Times “Caucus” podcast recorded December 1 featured reporter and podcast host Sam Roberts wondering if it was a potentially dangerous tactic” for GOP candidates to insult the Occupy Wall Street movement. This exchange came a minute and a half from the end, after Roberts asked how the Occupy movement’s “99%” slogan was playing out in the Republican primary.
Trip Gabriel: “From what I’ve seen, you know, it’s a foil for these candidates. They are using it to kind of attack the whole Occupy movement and the whole ‘99%’ slogan as examples of class warfare. These are big broad targets for many Republicans and Republican commentators and they might have more of a role come general election time, when there’s a Democrat who might be making the same arguments that the Occupy movement made. But at this point it’s a crowd-pleasing line, you know, from a Newt Gingrich or a Michele Bachmann to rip these demonstrators. You know, ‘Why don’t they go out and get a job?’ You know, they shouldn’t, ‘What do they want, us to pay their college tuitions and buy them cars?’"
Sam Roberts: “Is that a potentially dangerous tactic, since even most Republican voters are more likely to be among the 99 percent than the one percent?”
