The impact of Occupy Wall Street

The Occupy Wall Street movement has exploded across the United States and to countries all over the world. Generally speaking, Republicans have reviled the movement with some exceptions. Democrats, however, are much more receptive to the protests.

The overwhelmingly Democratic Los Angeles city council, for example, voted to support the local Occupy movement.

Even President Obama gave a mild endorsement when he empathized with Occupy Wall Street's cause.

Whether the Occupy movement can help Democrats win elections though is still a matter of contention. Can they have an influence similar to that of the Tea Party for Republicans?

A lot will depend on whether the movement sees the advantage of leveraging the energy of followers toward winning elections.

At the very least, the Occupy demonstrations, should help raise awareness, especially among young people, of how we got into such a terrible economic mess. The great leap in economic disparity over the last few decades did not come about by accident.

Maybe that knowledge alone may be enough to motivate people toward seeking change in the voting booth.