Political Humorist P.J. O'Rourke once said, "The whole idea of our government is this: If enough people get together and act in concert, they can take something and not pay for it."
When the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protest began a few weeks ago, talk around conservative water coolers tended toward commentary on the grooming (or lack thereof) of the protesters or speculation on which liberal boogeyman was funding the movement (answer: all of them).
Mixed in was grudging recognition that in their protest against the corruption born of the Washington/Wall Street axis, the protesters may have a point.
Conservatives then began to ask — where does the protesters' point lead, and, what resolution do the Occupy Wall Street protesters have in mind for the problem?
And that’s when things start looking downright scary.
The resolution proposed by OWS, at least judging by the actions and media-reported demands of the protesters to date, is nothing less than the destruction of capitalism and the overthrow of the Constitution — all in the name of “fairness.”
“Fairness” seems to be defined as arranging a do-over for those who made poor choices in education, career, marriage, child-bearing, a home mortgage, and other matters that affect one’s economic future.
Far from being a remote prospect, this is a resolution that every American should fear as a growing number of Democratic politicians embrace the Occupy Wall Street “movement” and its goals.
From mortgage write-downs, to student loan forgiveness, to extended unemployment benefits, to green energy jobs, to free healthcare, every OWS demand involves an expropriation of property or an income transfer from working Americans to those deemed “less fortunate.”
Not surprisingly, by embracing the OWS crowd, Democrats are proving that P.J. O’Rourke was right. As one goes through the list of the OWS demands, it seems there is already an Obama administration proposal or Democrat-sponsored bill in Congress to address practically every one.
In 2009, the tea party came into being in protest against the policies the Occupy Wall Street crowd now advocates; nationalized healthcare, mortgage bailouts, subsidized jobs, and crony capitalism.
Those conservatives who are prone to sympathize with the Occupy Wall Street protesters should get real — just because the protesters have a deserving target in their sights doesn’t mean they want a conservative solution to the problem.
© 2013 Newsmax. All rights reserved.