'Occupy Congress' attempts to get lawmakers' attention

Tuesday marks the debut of Occupy 2.0. Gathering on the steps of the nation’s Capitol building in Washington Tuesday morning, Occupyers from around the United States plan to mark the day dubbed “Occupy Congress.” 

Says one of the event’s organizers, lawyer and author Kevin Zeese, “The world will see the beginning of a much more sophisticated, angry and targeted Occupy movement.”  

With some 30 activist groups, supporters from local movements around the country as well as some 10,000 Facebook supporters stating their intention to show up, organizers hope this will be the largest Occupy gathering yet.

“If the first three months of the movement awakened the country’s elites,” says Mr. Zeese, “our American spring will scare them.”

The significance of the date, according to the Occupy Congress website is to welcome the 2012 House of Representatives back to town: “We need to be there en masse as soon as they begin their legislative session to let them know that they’re not going to waste another year. What better way to welcome them back than to have a huge demonstration that will drive the conversation on the ground and in the media.”

While the day will include standard Occupy events such as a rally, an open-mike period, and a General Assembly, it will also include carefully-choreographed, one-one-one visits to individual lawmakers. Directions for setting up an appointment are on the website, complete with guidance for identifying your local representative and how to contact them.

Villanova University social movement researcher Catherine Wilson calls Tuesday’s action an important escalation of the movement’s potential power.  

“By moving its site of operation to the halls of Congress, Occupy hopes not only to frame the key political issues at hand but also to influence political decision-making by building relationships with public officials,” she notes via email. Support from public officials would benefit Occupy as a whole by lending the movement legitimacy, she says.

But lobbying members of Congress reduces the original spirit of Occupy Wall Street to politicking, says Drexel University professor George Ciccariello-Maher. 

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