
Exit, stage left
Occupy support drops more than 20 points in . . . San Francisco?
One would think that the Occupy movement and San Francisco were made for each other. Perhaps at one time they were, but a new Survey USA poll shows that even the City by the Bay has its limits. The poll of 500 adults in the San Francisco area — surely the most progressive-friendly poll sample ever taken — shows that almost half of those who supported the Occupy movement in general now have changed their minds.
The topline results break down thusly:
Supported/Still do: 32%
Supported/Now oppose: 26%
Opposed/Now support: 3%
Opposed/Still do: 31%
Not sure: 8%
According to this poll, Occupy support in the Bay area would have been 58/34 at one point. Now it’s 35/57, which is a flip of 46 points in the gap. Combining support and opposition numbers, Democrat support for Occupy is now 40/56, and even among self-professed liberals, where 27% have switched to opposition, it’s only 52/35. Among San Francisco adults. Note too that the movement has not gained converts in anything like the numbers they are alienating, which means that the longer they go, the weaker they are getting politically.
I admit it. It was all my fault.
It’s no secret that I was never an OWS supporter. I am generally cynical about protest movements in general, but this one triggered all kinds of alarm bells from the beginning. While not all my suspicions have proven correct, none of them have been proven wrong.
I lost some friends to the Koolaid. One thing I warned them about was that the tactics, rhetoric and “visuals” of the protesters would alienate the people they were trying to win over. They didn’t listen to me. They mocked me and called me names.
It turns out I was correct.
So I admit it. It’s my fault. I was right.
I wonder if they’ll ever forgive me?
Filed under: OWS | Tagged: #OWS | 23 Comments »