A Charter for the 99 Percent

After November 6, 2012, the big sound rippling around the world was not a chorus of bipartisanship, not a whoop of euphoria, but a collective sigh of relief. Still, it must not be forgotten that nearly half of America’s voters were sulking. The party that represents them with retrograde doctrine skulks and schemes to tie President Barack Obama up in knots. Thanks to gerrymandering, it controls the House. Thanks to its bulldozer strategy of automatic filibusters, it will obstruct a Senate majority if it can. The battles over plutocracy and government will continue.

Now, the next phase of a 99 percent movement needs to get—and keep—busy. Why do I say “next phase”? Because the Occupy movement that came about in 2011 has, for now, most likely accomplished close to its maximum, given its style of organization. In effect, whatever its evenhanded contempt for conventional politics, Occupy did great good work for Obama and the progressive cause. Not least, the movement had the effect of encouraging Obama to run a head-on campaign against a vulture capitalist. Whether he follows through depends not only on his resolve and acumen but on the wind at his back.