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'Occupy LA' demonstrates why Obama should worry

3:10 PM on 10/07/2011

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Protesters hold signs as they march to Los Angeles City Hall during the 'Occupy Los Angeles' demonstration in solidarity with the ongoing 'Occupy Wall Street' protest in New York City on October 1, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

it's the first week of the month. September's jobless numbers are in. And the reports, according to the pundits, are better than expected. The 9.1 unemployment rate is stable and 103,000 jobs added in September. Obama is surely taking a moment to exhale. But with economic protesters lined up coast to coast, his re-election campaign organizers should be worried. In Los Angeles, the people holding signs, parading around parks, and fighting police, are passionate. Broke. And angrily disappointed in the president.

Click here to view a Grio slideshow: Occupy Wall Street goes West

After acknowledging the frustrated meaning of the protests, the president diverted blame.

"You're still seeing some of the same folks who acted irresponsibly trying to fight efforts to crack down on abusive practices that got us into this problem in the first place," he said.

The Republican retort was delivered by his nemesis Herman Cain.

"I don't have the facts to back this up, but I happen to believe that these demonstrations are planned and orchestrated to distract from the failed policies of the Obama administration," Cain said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. "Don't blame Wall Street, don't blame the big banks, if you don't have a job and you're not rich, blame yourself. It is not someone's fault if they succeeded; it is someone's fault if they failed."

theGrio: How 'Occupy Wall Street has seized the moment

Cain is obviously off base, lost in right field. While Obama appears to be unaware of the impact of the protests on his re-election bid.

"They tell us we live in a democracy and then give us a choice between two people who are essentially the same. So now we finally elect a black president, supposedly a progressive and almost nothing changes," says LA resident, Clay Claiborne, who says he can't get work as an independent computer contractor. "It's not even a question of the man in the White House. He's locked in a system that's already set up. I don't know how much Obama's really tried to change things, but I know he hasn't."

Claiborne, 62, sits on a step, smiling, observing Occupy LA protesters make a ruckus. The feel and vibe of the movement takes him back to the radical 1960s. "I think this has potential more than anything else we've seen in a long time. This is one of those things of historic importance. I don't think we've seen this kind of activity since the 60s. And the only way we're gonna have any substantial change is if the ordinary people get off their butts and start demanding it," he says pointing to the crowd of demonstrators. "This is what's gonna make a change."

Sitting in Indian style, a circle of activists quietly discuss plans and actions for Occupy LA's Outreach Committee. Samantha Cornwell, 26, is the only African-American in the meeting. In fact, black faces are scantly scattered among the current crowd of hundreds. Finding a sista here is like looking for a chocolate chip in a macadamia nut cookie.

"We're creating different modes of outreach, from just going out to the streets, metro stations, or different parts of the country and encouraging people to come down," says Cornwell, with obvious college bred diction. "I'm also a filmmaker so I'm making videos on a daily basis so people know we're here. You look around and there are a decent amount, but there could be more. I think there's support for it, but people need to come down. I think they're a little scared, because they don't know what it's really like here."

This week, unions jumped on board to show their support for the nationwide rally. Handing out flyers for a protest, Chase, 26, works for SEIU local 721, as an organizer with LA's 90,000 strong Service Employees International Union. But he's quick to mention, "I'm not speaking as their representative. I'm off the clock. I'm speaking as an activist in my free time with Occupy LA," he says.

"I'm here because we've done everything we were told to do as students and home owners. [We did] all the steps the power structure told us to, and we still got screwed. We're still loaded with student debt, with degrees that are worthless in the job market. We're still losing our homes, paying our mortgages like we've been told to. Following all the rules. And what that tells me, in this economy, is the American dream is dead. So we have to change the way the economic system works. We can revive that for our children. And we need our radical militant minority out here to come and really drive and inspire our members and build bridges so what happened in the Vietnam War doesn't happen now where union labor is battling in the streets with protesters. We should be on the same side because we're all economically oppressed and we're all workers."

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it's the first week of the month. September's jobless numbers are in. And the reports, according to the pundits, are better than expected. The "9.1 unemployment rate is stable and 103,000 jobs added in September":http://www.thegrio.com/money/103000-new-jobs-in-september-black-unemployment-dips.php. Obama is surely taking a moment to exhale. But with economic protesters lined up coast to coast, his re-election campaign organizers should be worried. In Los Angeles, the people holding signs, parading around parks, and fighting police, are passionate. Broke. And angrily disappointed in the president. Click here to view a Grio slideshow: Occupy Wall Street goes West After acknowledging the frustrated meaning of the protests, the president diverted blame. "You're still seeing some of the same folks who acted irresponsibly trying to fight efforts to crack down on abusive practices that got us into this problem in the first place," "he said":http://www.thegrio.com/politics/obama-acknowledges-wall-street-protests-as-a-sign.php. The Republican retort was delivered by his nemesis Herman Cain. "I don't have the facts to back this up, but I happen to believe that these demonstrations are planned and orchestrated to distract from the failed policies of the Obama administration," "Cain said":http://www.thegrio.com/politics/has-the-herman-cain-backlash-already-begun.php in an interview with the _Wall Street Journal_. "Don't blame Wall Street, don't blame the big banks, if you don't have a job and you're not rich, blame yourself. It is not someone's fault if they succeeded; it is someone's fault if they failed." theGrio: How 'Occupy Wall Street has seized the moment Cain is obviously off base, lost in right field. While Obama appears to be "unaware of the impact of the protests on his re-election bid":http://www.thegrio.com/politics/will-occupy-wall-street-hurt-or-help-obama.php. "They tell us we live in a democracy and then give us a choice between two people who are essentially the same. So now we finally elect a black president, supposedly a progressive and almost nothing changes," says LA resident, Clay Claiborne, who says he can't get work as an independent computer contractor. "It's not even a question of the man in the White House. He's locked in a system that's already set up. I don't know how much Obama's really tried to change things, but I know he hasn't." Claiborne, 62, sits on a step, smiling, observing Occupy LA protesters make a ruckus. The feel and vibe of the movement takes him back to the radical 1960s. "I think this has potential more than anything else we've seen in a long time. This is one of those things of historic importance. I don't think we've seen this kind of activity since the 60s. And the only way we're gonna have any substantial change is if the ordinary people get off their butts and start demanding it," he says pointing to the crowd of demonstrators. "This is what's gonna make a change." Sitting in Indian style, a circle of activists quietly discuss plans and actions for Occupy LA's Outreach Committee. Samantha Cornwell, 26, is the only African-American in the meeting. In fact, black faces are scantly scattered among the current crowd of hundreds. Finding a sista here is like looking for a chocolate chip in a macadamia nut cookie. "We're creating different modes of outreach, from just going out to the streets, metro stations, or different parts of the country and encouraging people to come down," says Cornwell, with obvious college bred diction. "I'm also a filmmaker so I'm making videos on a daily basis so people know we're here. You look around and there are a decent amount, but there could be more. I think there's support for it, but people need to come down. I think they're a little scared, because they don't know what it's really like here." This week, unions jumped on board to show their support for the nationwide rally. Handing out flyers for a protest, Chase, 26, works for SEIU local 721, as an organizer with LA's 90,000 strong Service Employees International Union. But he's quick to mention, "I'm not speaking as their representative. I'm off the clock. I'm speaking as an activist in my free time with Occupy LA," he says. "I'm here because we've done everything we were told to do as students and home owners. [We did] all the steps the power structure told us to, and we still got screwed. We're still loaded with student debt, with degrees that are worthless in the job market. We're still losing our homes, paying our mortgages like we've been told to. Following all the rules. And what that tells me, in this economy, is the American dream is dead. So we have to change the way the economic system works. We can revive that for our children. And we need our radical militant minority out here to come and really drive and inspire our members and build bridges so what happened in the Vietnam War doesn't happen now where union labor is battling in the streets with protesters. We should be on the same side because we're all economically oppressed and we're all workers."