OWS - A Peek Behind the Curtain

[David Morris]

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_11/a_peek_behind_the_curtain033610.php

Chris and his team obtained a strategy memo from the D.C. corporate
lobbying firm Clark Lytle Geduldig Cranford (CLGC), led in part by
former aides to House Speaker John Boehner. The document, prepared for
the American Bankers Association, a firm client, outlines the kind of
coordinated pushback industry lobbyists have in mind in response to
the Occupy movement.

It’s an amazing peek behind the curtain. The bank lobbyists make clear
that they fear the Occupy protests, believe Democratic gains in 2012
would undermine financial industry power, and would like to invest
heavily in a media/opposition-research offensive that would try to
discredit both Occupy activists and any Democratic officials who
express any sympathy for the movement’s goals.

[...]

Indeed, the memo talks openly about aggressive warning shots at
progressive Dems — most notably, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) — as a
way of intimidating other Democratic lawmakers from aligning
themselves in any way with Occupy priorities.

Perhaps most amusingly, the CLGC memo alludes to the fact that the
bankers would rely on allied surrogates to launch attacks, since no
one likes the bankers themselves.

Chris explained towards the end of the segment:

“What’s contained in this short memo are all the most craven, corrupt,
and insidious forces of the status quo coming together to squash
Occupy. In fact, the document represents just about everything wrong
with America in four short pages.

“We have a lobbying firm whose web page glowingly advertises that Sam
Geduldig, a former Boehner staffer, ‘knows how to kill legislative
threats to his clients.’ Drawing up a battle plan for the financial
and its 1% members to use their deep pockets to attack the occupy
movement and protect the banks’ financial interests by creating
‘political cover’ for bank-friendly policies.