“I’m So Scared of This Anti–Wall Street Effort. I’m Frightened to Death”


After weeks of hearing liberals advise the Occupiers that they must now pivot to supporting Obama’s reelection, I see this:

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Republican Governors Association met this week in Florida to give GOP state executives a chance to rejuvenate, strategize and team-build. But during a plenary session on Wednesday, one question kept coming up: How can Republicans do a better job of talking about Occupy Wall Street?

“I’m so scared of this anti-Wall Street effort. I’m frightened to death,” said Frank Luntz, a Republican strategist and one of the nation’s foremost experts on crafting the perfect political message. “They’re having an impact on what the American people think of capitalism.”

Luntz offered tips on how Republicans could discuss the grievances of the Occupiers, and help the governors better handle all these new questions from constituents about “income inequality” and “paying your fair share.”

What is my favorite part of this story? Is it that Frank Luntz — who knows a thing or two about discursive hegemony, as a friend put it today — is “frightened to death” because OWS is “having an impact on what the American people think of capitalism”? Is it that GOP governors are racking their brains to figure out how they’re supposed to address Occupy Wall Street? Or is it just this clause about “ . . .  all these new questions from constituents about ‘income inequality’ and ‘paying your fair share’ ”?

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