Outsiders to contenders: Occupy Wall Street, Bernie Sanders & a new attack on inequality

[portlander23]

Outsiders to contenders: Occupy Wall Street, Bernie Sanders & a new attack on inequality

In the months since launching his campaign, Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont, has proven to be an outspoken and unapologetic voice against economic inequality. He has repeatedly criticized the concentration of wealth at the top 1 percent, the fact that millions of Americans toil away for only minimum wage, and the growing financial burden of education.

If much of his platform sounds familiar, that’s because Occupy Wall Street protesters were airing many of the same arguments in New York’s Zuccotti Park and across the US four years ago.

Echoing complaints by Occupy that the US government has done little to rein in big banks and corporations in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, Sanders has called the economy “rigged” in favor of the wealthy. He has called for the breaking up of big banks and reducing the amount of money corporations can plunge into the political process.

Nowadays, many of those Occupy protesters are even campaigning for Sanders, who has said he wants to start a “political revolution.”

According to the Guardian, the influence of Occupy activists isn’t limited to people who officially join Sanders’ campaign. Former Occupy protester Stan Williams, now helping to run African Americans for Bernie, said that the skills he learned during the original protest have helped him spread Sanders’ message to minority groups.

Another Occupier, Charles Lenchner, has now co-founded the group People for Bernie Sanders. The organization is not affiliated with the campaign, but its creation marks another instance in which Occupiers have found themselves drawn to the Vermont lawmaker.

[99th_Monkey]

1. I wondered when this was going to start getting ink

this connection between Bernie & OWS.

Not exactly surprising, but noteworthy I suppose.