Occupying Senator Scott Brown's Office

[Huey P. Long]

Run time: 02:05 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN-1Rtbxay0   Posted on YouTube: December 07, 2011 By YouTube Member: videonation Views on YouTube: 73   Posted on DU: December 07, 2011 By DU Member: Huey P. Long Views on DU: 763

 
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"Take Back the Capitol" protestors wait outside Sen. Scott Brown's office in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on December 6, 2001. Photo credit: Massuniting


Occupying Senator Scott Brown's Office
George Zornick on December 6, 2011 - 8:35pm ET

This week, “Take Back the Capitol” brought hundreds of self-proclaimed 99 percenters to Washington in hopes of impacting key legislative battles that will take place between now and the end of the year. Thousands are sleeping either in pitched tents near the national mall, or in church basements, union halls, and community groups throughout the city—and participating in mass action during the day.

While clearly akin to the Occupy movement—many of the people I spoke with today came from Occupy encampments across the country—there is also heavy labor involvement in this push, with several union groups, most notably SEIU, lending organizing muscle. And unlike the deliberately non-electoral Occupy movement, “Take Back the Capitol” came directly to lawmakers’ offices with specific goals: primarily extending unemployment insurance, passing a jobs bill, taxing the wealthy, and not cutting too deeply into domestic spending.

Tuesday’s action involved splitting into state-by-state delegations and visiting Congressional offices to push for these specific requests. Some members, like Rep. Chris van Hollen of Maryland, spoke to the protestors, while many others did not.

I spent the day with the Massachusetts delegation, one of the largest of the state groups. About half of them—over 100 people—marched to the office of Senator Scott Brown and arrived a little before noon. They massed inside and nearby his office, and requested to speak with the senator. A staffer told the group Brown was “not available,” but offered to take two or three demonstrators to speak with Brown’s chief of staff, provided the conversation was not recorded.

The demonstrators rejected that offer and announced their intention to wait for the senator. They promptly made themselves comfortable on the couches, chairs, and floor inside Brown’s office. Dozens more demonstrators lined the hallway outside—this completely prevented Brown from coming into to his office unseen, since the only doors were in that hallway.

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