Thousands of protesters streamed through the halls of the Capitol building yesterday in protest of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposed 2011 budget that included sharp cuts to Education, public employees and social service programs. Despite multiple attempts by the protesters to disrupt the proceedings, the budget was approved by the Senate and Assembly. What protesters dubbed as a Madison-style “occupation” amounted to something closer to a camp-in as community groups arranged with police to sleep in a section of the building. About 300 people stayed over.
Much of the day was spent attempting to disrupt proceedings in the Senate and Assembly. The police acted quickly, shutting down public galleries and encircling the two meeting chambers. A series of tense standoffs ensued with protesters surging toward the doors in an attempt to open the galleries and, eventually, to enter the floor of the Legislature itself. Democratic and Republican representatives were visibly shaken as they realized that only the police protected them from the angry crowd.
Though outwardly projecting calm, police in the Statehouse were clearly intent on pressuring the protesters to leave. They denied access to the building to anyone carrying a sleeping bag. Then, as the hunger of the crowd grew, “Pizza Gate” ensued.
Community organizations contacted police to set up a delivery spot for dozens of pizzas to feed the crowd. Police initially denied them access. However, the order went through and, as the delivery trucks appeared, the crowd surged forward. After a standoff, the pizza was allowed to flow into the building.
A slice of pizza was a slim reward for the ambitious protesters. Many came to carry out direct actions aimed at shutting down the Legislature and occupying the building. Yet, they were prevented from doing so, not by the police, but by the leadership of community organizations intent on keeping the peace in the building.
Participants report that the leaders of groups such as New York Communities for Change, the re-incarnation of ACORN in New York State, actively opposed attempts to occupy the building. They claimed to have made a deal with State police for a spot to sleep and argued that the direct action would put elderly protesters and children at risk.
A loose coalition made up primarily of students and rank-and-file labor activists argued for a shutdown, but could not win the consensus of the crowd. The community organizers were rhetorically skilled – accustomed to operating inside of a lobbying framework, yet still able to sway a crowd with militant rhetoric. They quickly and efficiently pulled the plug on the direct action.
Ultimately, the protesters were herded into a designated sleeping zone and the offending Democrats and Republicans were spared from facing a confrontation with the crowd as they exited.
The lack of arrests shaped media reports, which presented the protests as more a lobbying trip than anything resembling the multi-day takeover of the capital in Madison, Wisconsin. Earlier deal making by trade unions with Democratic Party budget cutters prevented a coalition similar to that of Wisconsin from developing.
Despite the limitations placed on the protest, the mobilization did serve to disrupt the notions of political consensus being marketed primarily by Democratic Party officials. Cuomo and Democratic leader Sheldon Silver could no longer praise the virtues of “bi-partisanship” as hundreds chanted, “Come out. Come out. Face the people you left out!” Phony political consensus died an inglorious death in Albany at the hands of the protesters.
Now that the budget has been approved, New Yorkers will be left to face the dire consequences of the cuts. Homeless folks will have to deal with sharply reduce support programs. Children with autism with the possible elimination of home-based therapy. Students at CUNY with declining educational quality and rising tuition. And teachers in New York City with a trip to the unemployment line. All of these things done in a bi-partisan effort to defend the wealth accumulated by the richest 5 percent of the population in the State over the last 30 years.
Let the Albany Occupation that turned into a camp-in be a lesson. Transformative politics need to be more than just presenting respectable opposition in order to win a few allies in the Legislative chambers. Direct action can speak a truth to the power being exercised above people’s heads by politicians in both parties.
The time to use this protest weapon is now and, much like the Civil Rights movement, all are invited to participate in the defense of our schools, our social programs and our State. Direct action can produce direct results.
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Billy Wharton is a writer, activist and the editor of the Socialist WebZine. His articles have appeared in the Washington Post, the NYC Indypendent, Spectrezine and the Monthly Review Zine. He can be reached at whartonbilly@gmail.com. Become a FAN on Facebook.
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