#OccupyLasVegas: The Winner of Last Night’s Republican Debate?

(Also at The Nevada View)





Apparently, the scene inside The Venetian last night turned into a complete and utter train wreck. Mitt Romney continued to call for MORE foreclosures and more families losing their homes to the big banks. He also fought with Rick Perry over which of them hates Latinos more. Meanwhile, Michele Bachmann desperately begged to stay relevant by throwing out empty emotional platitudes as Newt Gingrich effectively told us in Nevada to "suck it up" and enjoy the nukes at Yucca Mountain. Oh, and of course Herman Cain threw more pot shots at the formerly middle class workers who have been taking to the streets as part of the #OccupyWallStreet movement.

So should it really come as a surprise that the winner of last night's debate (other than Barack Obama) was #OccupyLasVegas? ProgressNow Nevada started the festivities outside The Venetian with a rally and quick press conference on what the Republican candidates were about to talk about.



Afterward, the Occupy Las Vegas activists began to show up and protest alongside the folks who showed up earlier. I know we've all heard plenty about what can be found at Occupy/99% movement events, but I wanted to give you a chance to see for yourself who makes the Occupy/99% movement.





No really, look closely at these photos (and the ones I posted at the top).





Yes, there were a few conspiracy nuts. And there were some Ron Paul fans. And there were some genuine socialists.

However, there were also unemployed workers. And there were frustrated students. And there were union workers. And there were angry seniors. And there was an amazing cross-section of Southern Nevada present outside The Venetian. For all of Wall Street's efforts to smear and denigrate the Occupy/99% movement, there's obviously far more to it than just the small radical fringes that's really resonating with the strong majority of Americans. And that scares the corporate powers that be.

This is what scares them.



They just can't lump together all the Occupy/99% protesters as "crazies". It's easy to zoom in on one person and try it, but it's not so easy to dismiss this kind of crowd. And it's not easy to dismiss the policy ideas that most in Occupy support that most Americans also support, such as making the super-rich pay their fair share so we can make better investments in taking care of our seniors, putting people back to work, and educating our future leaders. The big corporate powers that be simply can't spin that as "fringe" or "extreme", and that scares them.







The Republicans on the stage inside The Venetian last night may be in love with Wall Street robber barons, but the American people are not. That's the key takeaway from last night. And over time, it may just show that Occupy has more staying power than any of the clowns on the GOP stage in The Venetian.