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Video: Giuliani Thinks Occupy Wall Street Is "Millstone" Around Obama's Neck
By
Ben Yakas
Published Nov 5, 2011
Modified Nov 5, 2011
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Nov 5, 2011
Modified Nov 5, 2011
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Mayor of 9/11 Town Rudy Giuliani broke his legendary silence on Occupy Wall Street this week at the Defending the American Dream Summit. And he struck just the right Giuliani-esque tone: a mixture of condescension toward the protesters ("How about you occupy a job.") and damnation of President Obama, who he claims is responsible for the whole movement. Watch below:
I believe that Barack Obama owns the Occupy Wall Street movement. It would not have happened, it would not have happened but for his class warfare. And remember, as it gets worse and worse because it's going to get worse and worse, where it came from. Barack Obama. He praised it. He supported it. He agrees with it. He sympathizes with it. And as it gets worse and worse, I believe this will be the millstone around Barack Obama's neck that will take his presidency down.
As the American people look at Occupy Wall Street, what I believe that most of the American people say about Occupy Wall Street and all of its versions all over the country is: how about trying something different to help our economy instead of occupying Wall Street, and occupying Boston and occupying Oakland? How about you occupy a job. How about working? Working. Woohoo, working. I know that's tough. Woodstock is more fun, right? Woodstock is a lot more fun than working eight hours a day.
Previously, Giuliani was asked by Sean Hannity how he would have dealt with the Occupy Wall Street protests if he were still mayor, and responded that nobody touches Daddy's precious sidewalks: “Well I had a rule and I enforced it as best I could and pretty effectively. The rule was: You’re not allowed to sleep on the streets...Sleeping on the streets is a dysfunctional act. It harms the person, it harms society, it leads to unsanitary conditions that affect public health.”
He added that "if you want to stay over in New York City overnight, you got to rent a room, and if you’re homeless we got plenty of shelters for you." So by shelters, we assume he is talking about jail, since one of the cornerstones of Giuliani's administration was forcing homeless out of shelters and then arresting those left sleeping on the streets.
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9/11
millstone
occupy wall street
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rudy giuliani
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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