Wall Street rallies expanding

www.msnbc.msn.com

By Michael O'Brien
updated 10/4/2011 4:07:55 PM ET

WASHINGTON — Born on the streets of New York, growing protests aimed at the heart of capitalism have sparked hope among liberals that they're witnessing the birth of a movement to counter the conservative Tea Party.

The pieces are all there: ordinary citizens banding together for a cause; signs and protests announcing their grievances. Could the nation be witnessing the creation of a new political uprising?

The “Occupy Wall Street” demonstrations started last month in New York and have since spread across the country, born out of anger toward the financial community’s success during a time of prolonged economic hardship.

Liberals are optimistic that those protests will translate into the kind of lasting political movement achieved over the last two years by the Tea Party, which helped reshape the trajectory of American politics, particularly within the Republican Party.

The hundreds of activists who have flocked to the “Occupy Wall Street” rallies are encouraging supporters to march under the flag of a grassroots campaign aimed at political and corporate reform. And a weekend rally in New York even resulted in the complete blockade of the Brooklyn Bridge, catapulting the burgeoning movement into a topic of national conversation.

Those protests in New York have now entered their third week, and seem to only be growing, and the demonstrations have only spread; supporters point to 50-60 cities hosting their own rallies of varying sizes.

The hundreds of activists who have flocked to the “Occupy Wall Street” rallies are encouraging supporters to march under the flag of a grassroots campaign aimed at political and corporate reform. And a weekend rally in New York even resulted in the complete blockade of the Brooklyn Bridge, catapulting the burgeoning movement into a topic of national conversation.

Those protests in New York have now entered their third week, and seem to only be growing, and the demonstrations have only spread; supporters point to 50-60 cities hosting their own rallies of varying sizes.

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