Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Tuesday, November 01, 2011

John Boehner On Occupy Wall Street: 'I Understand People's Frustrations'

Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) said he understood the "frustrations" behind the Occupy Wall Street movement Monday in a speech at the University of Louisville.

"I understand people's frustrations," he said, according to Politico. "The economy is not producing jobs like they want and there's lot of erosion of confidence in our government and frankly, under the First Amendment, people have the right to speak out ... but that doesn't mean they have the permission to violate the law." Protesters have occupied Zuccotti Park in Manhattan for about six weeks, inspiring other protests across the country.

About 40 people protested Boehner's golf game in Newport Beach, Calif., earlier this month. In response, his communications director said that the speaker appreciated the concerns of all Americans and wanted to find "common ground" where both parties could come together to create jobs.

Occupy Chattanooga members also recently protested Boehner's appearance at a fundraiser for Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.).

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said in early October that he was "increasingly concerned about the growing mobs occupying Wall Street." He later acknowledged the "growing frustration" in the country, while not disavowing his earlier comments in an interview with Fox News.

President Barack Obama also recently said that he understands the "frustrations" behind the Occupy Wall Street protests.

Boehner added in his speech Monday that he hoped that the demonstrations would "continue to be peaceful."

Origin
Source: Huff 

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