“Occupy...” takes a winter break!

As the “Occupy movements” here and there are getting dismantled, I bet they're only going to morph into hibernation until waking up next spring. It's in fact a good thing that the local police forces are taking the protesters out of their potential cold misery, allow them to regroup, really get their act together and begin a serious national dialogue at the same time our two political parties get ready for their big 2012 campaign.

For the politicians, this couldn't have happened at a worst time. The “Occupy movements” just planted the seed, established the new “1-99” paradigm, convinced 75% of the American public that it makes sense and that our main problem is the work of corrupt politics, combined with the greed of both Wall Street and Big Business. The movements will now have to articulate their demands, if and when they do it, how and the big question is how will it play?

How can the Republican Party defend its “no new taxes” pledge? How can the Democrats tap into that discontent or jump onto that bandwagon without smelling bad or will these traditional parties' unease lead the way to a viable third-party movement? Of course, one could always surmise that this populist movement will peter out, but I don't believe the odds are in favor of that outcome....