Last night more than 400 police evicted the Occupy Wall Street protesters from Zuccotti Park in New York City. This came one day after police evicted Occupy Oakland protesters from Frank Ogawa Plaza, and two days after mayors in Portland, Denver, and Salt Lake City all evicted their cities’ Occupy crowds. The story in every city was virtually the same. What was at first considered a cute protest overwhelmingly supported by the media and liberal politicians, steadily turned into violent, drug infested, public health risks.
For conservatives, this story’s arc was inevitable. This movie had played out before, on a smaller scale, 40-years ago on Alcatraz Island. Liberals, on the other hand, are perpetually disappointed that their best intentions never seem to work out in real life. And so it appears we are destined to be forced to watch this movie over and over.
Even before Zuccotti Park had been liquidated, one of the founder’s of the Occupy movement, Adbusters editor-in-chief Kalle Lasn told The Guardian that perhaps it was time for OWS to pack up for the winter: “The other side is owning the narrative right now. People are talking about drugs and criminals at OWS.” Lasn now says OWS will be back for a “spring offensive” with fresh targets.
The poor, and thanks to the Occupy movement increasingly poorer, City of Oakland will not get to wait that long. Last night, the remnants of Occupy Oakland met at the Oakland Public Library to decide what to do next. Three options were proposed: Reoccupy Frank Ogawa Plaza, occupy Snow Park (a smaller park near the downtown), or occupy vacant buildings in Oakland. The third option received the loudest applause from the crowd. That isn’t going to end well.
Around the Bigs
The Washington Post, Supreme Court to hear challenge to Obama’s health-care overhaul: The Supreme Court announced Monday that they will hear a constitutional challenge to Obamacare. Arguments will be held next March, right around the law’s second anniversary, and the Court has scheduled five-and-a-half hours of them. A final decision is expected in June.
The Wall Street Journal, Europe’s Economy Weakens, Adding to Fears: Industrial production, stocks, and the Euro all fell yesterday as the continent continued to face what German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday called Europe’s “most difficult hours since World War II.” The data suggest “the euro-zone will soon fall back into another fairly deep recession,” Ben May, economist at consultancy Capital Economics, told The Journal.
Reuters, Chance of 2012 U.S. recession tops 50 percent: A San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank says the European debt crisis has raised the chance of a recession in early 2012. “A European sovereign debt default may well sink the United States back into recession,” the report reads. “However, if we navigate the storm through the second half of 2012, it appears that danger will recede rapidly in 2013.
The Wall Street Journal, Loan Backer’s Cash Runs Low: An audit of the Federal Housing Administration estimates there is a 50% chance the agency will run out of money next year, triggering a taxpayer bailout.
The New York Times, Students Lose Zeal for Aiding Obama Again: Interviews across the country shows that while college students may still vote for Obama, they are more interested in finding jobs then helping his campaign.
The Los Angeles Times, Immigration from Mexico in fast retreat, data show: Census figures show that fewer people are entering the United States, while many are returning to their homelands. A lack of jobs in the U.S. and stepped up immigration enforcement by states are contributing to the decline.
Gallup, Satisfaction with way things are going in U.S. remains near historical low: Only 12% of Americans are satisfied with the way things are going in the United States. Eighty-six percent are dissatisfied.
The Washington Examiner, Obama: I delivered ‘change you can believe in’: President Obama told a hometown Hawaii crowd that he has delivered “change that you can believe in” during his first term in office.
NBC News Denver, Occupy Denver costs adding up for city: Denver has spent $365,000 paying for police, sheriff’s officers, public works, environmental health and Denver Health personnel to deal with Occupy Denver.
The San Francisco Chronicle, Occupy Oakland’s cost to city soars to $2.4M: Occupy Oakland has cost the city $2.4 million in cleanup and police costs already.
Campaign 2012
Cain: Herman Cain stumbled repeatedly in a Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel editorial board meeting Monday, blanking on his position on Libya and supporting collective bargaining for federal government unions.
In other Cain news, Louisiana pediatrician Victor Jay Zuckerman held a press conference to confirm many of the details surrounding Sharon Bialek’s sexual assault claims against Cain. Zuckerman was not there for the actual incident, but he did confirm that he met Cain with Bialek and that Bialek did visit Cain in Washington on the weekend in question.
Righty Playbook
At The Volokh Conspiracy, Orin Kerr says the lengthy five-and-a-half hour oral argument scheduled by the Supreme Court for Obamacare is a good sign for repealers. “The Court’s decision to give these issue so much oral argument time suggests to me that at least some of the Justices see these cases as extraordinary, likely a necessary step if the Court is to decide the cases in an extraordinary way. I still think it’s quite unlikely that the Court will strike down the statute, but the award of so much oral argument time should be a hopeful sign for the challengers.”
Cato’s Ilya Shapiro says the Supreme Court’s decision to hear Obamacarecould be bigger than Roe v Wade. “This litigation implicates the future of the Republic as Roe never did. On both the individual-mandate and Medicaid-coercion issues, the Court will decide whether the Constitution’s structure — federalism and enumeration of powers — is judicially enforceable or whether Congress is the sole judge of its own authority. In other words, do we have a government of laws or men?”
At The Corner, Yuval Levin reminds conservatives that whatever the Court does to Obamacare, Congress will still have much cleaning up to do on health care.
Lefty Playbook
Digby compares the clearing of Zuccotti Park to “the early days of Tahrir Square.” “Ultimately, just as in Egypt, these moves will turn out to be counterproductive. The Occupy movement had been struggling to maintain traction. This will give it significant new traction and momentum.”
University of Michigan’s Juan Cole calls the clearing of Zuccotti Park, “the end of the First Amendment.”
The Washington Post‘s Suzy Khimm worries what will happen if extended unemployment insurance benefits and payroll tax cuts aren’t renewed by Congress once they expire at the end of 2011.
