CHAPTER SEVEN OWS and US Electoral Politics: An Early Critical Assessment Christopher Malone and Violet Fredericks Barricades or Ballots? Coexistence, Coordination, Cooperation, Co-optation In the weeks following OWS’s encampment in Zuccotti Park, an enor- mous amount of energy, both positive and negative, fastened on dis- secting the Movement for clues as to how it would impact American politics. Mainstream press outlets, blogs of every political hue, the political class, twitter feeds, and Facebook pages were engrossed with intense discussions over questions such as: Does OWS have a unified message? 1 What exactly are its demands? 2 Who are its leaders? 3 How does something as “democratic” and procedurally participatory as the General Assembly ever get anything accomplished? 4 How will the Movement affect political outcomes if it eschewed “conventional” politics? 5 In its responses, OWS maintained an elegant parsimony that befuddled detractors at the same time it chastised anyone who claimed to speak for the entire Movement. Here is a typical one: “We are our demands. This #ows movement is about empowering communities to form their own general assemblies, to fight back against the tyranny of the 1%. Our collective struggles cannot be co-opted.” 6 Through the cacophony of the back and forth, the presumption was nonetheless Welty_CH07.indd 191 Welty_CH07.indd 191 11/15/2012 2:21:56 PM 11/15/2012 2:21:56 PM