WASHINGTON — Republican presidential contender Herman
Cain amplified his criticism Sunday of the growing Occupy Wall Street
movement, calling the protesters “jealous’ Americans who “play the
victim card.”
Cain’s remarks, on CBS’s “Face the
Nation,” came in an escalating war of words between Republicans and
Democrats over the merits of the movement, which has spread from New
York to other cities across the nation.
GOP
politicians in recent days have stepped up their criticism of the
protesters, with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., calling them
“mobs” who have pitted “Americans against Americans.”
But Cain, surging in popularity among many conservatives, seems to have had among the most virulent responses to the protests.
Cain
suggested that the rallies had been organized by labor unions to serve
as a “distraction so that many people won’t focus on the failed policies
of the Obama administration.”
The banking and
financial services industries aren’t responsible for those policies,
Cain said. “To protest Wall Street and the bankers is basically saying
you’re anti-capitalism,” he said.
Presidential
candidate Newt Gingrich, who appeared on the program with Cain, offered a
more measured response, but blamed the White House for the discord.
“There
a lot of people in America who are angry,” Gingrich said. “This is the
natural product of President Obama’s class warfare.”
Speaking
on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., chairman of the
House Budget Committee, also blamed Obama, whom he accused of
fear-mongering.
“He’s preying on the emotions of
fear, envy and anger. And that is not constructive to unifying America,”
Ryan said. “I think he’s broken his promise as a uniter, and now he’s
dividing people. And to me, that’s very unproductive.”
Ryan
cited protests in his home state of Wisconsin this year over
collective-bargaining legislation when asked about the Wall Street
movement. “I don’t disparage anyone who protests their government in
favor of better government, no matter what perspective they come from,”
he said.
Asked whether Cain’s criticism was representative of the party, Ryan said, “I think Herman’s speaking for himself.”
House
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., appearing on ABC’s “This Week,”
essentially called Cantor a hypocrite for criticizing the Wall Street
protesters while embracing the tea party movement.
“I
didn’t hear him say anything when the tea party was out demonstrating,
actually spitting on members of Congress right here in the Capitol, and
he and his colleagues were putting signs in the windows encouraging
them,’ Pelosi said.
Pelosi said she supported the movement’s “message.”
“I
support the message to the establishment, whether it’s Wall Street or
the political establishment and the rest, that change has to happen,”
she said “We cannot continue in a way that does not — that is not
relevant to their lives. People are angry.”
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