The Occupy Wall Street movement in New York City is pitting two of the nation’s most prominent figures against one another.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and her counterpart, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, are squaring off in an effort to capitalize on the movement.
Speaking earlier in the week at a Values Voter Summit in Washington, Mr. Cantor said he was “increasingly concerned about the growing mobs occupying Wall Street and the other cities across the country.”
Mr. Cantor described the movement as “the pitting of Americans against Americans,” and scolded those who would condone them.
The charge was met with criticism from Ms. Pelosi, who slammed the Virginia Republican’s statement, saying it was little more than partisan politics.
“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,” Ms. Pelosi said during an interview ABC’s “This Week.”
The debate over the movement comes as a number of high-profile politicians have offered their thoughts on the movement. Speaking earlier this month, President Obama said he understood the reasons for the movement, adding that he is monitoring the movement, which has spread to dozens of cities nationwide.
“I think it expresses the frustrations the American people feel, that we had the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression, huge collateral damage all throughout the country … and yet you’re still seeing some of the same folks who acted irresponsibly trying to fight efforts to crack down on the abusive practices that got us into this in the first place,” Mr. Obama said.
