by David Safier
This is four minutes worth watching. MSNBC's Chris Hayes got ahold of a proposal by a lobbying firm, sent to the American Bankers Association, proposing an $850,000 oppo research effort against Occupy Wall Street. The purpose would be to create "negative narratives" to combat positive attitudes toward the movement and politicians supporting it. The firm held out the possibility to the ABA the movement could not only help Democrats in their campaign to rein in banking, but it could force Republicans to withdraw some of their support of the banking industry.
On the "So what?" side of this story is the argument that the memo was a sales pitch from a lobbying firm which was rejected by the ABA. On the "This is a big deal" side is the peek this memo gives us into the money which can be spent at the drop of a hat — Less than a million to stop these punks? Chicken feed! — and the type of smear campaign it can create. That old "vast right wing conspiracy" isn't just about going after Democrats and giving Republicans a political leg up. It's about keeping the money and power flowing to the 1%.
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