The 53% were well represented at Tuesday night’s Republican presidential debate in Las Vegas.
Moderator Anderson Cooper asked the candidates to weigh in on the growing Occupy Wall Street movement, which has spread across the country — and the globe — as frustration with the status quo has taken hold.
There were not many of those frustrated people in the Las Vegas crowd Tuesday night.
Cooper asked Herman Cain if he stood by his controversial statement that the crowds packing the streets should blame themselves rather than Wall Street for their financial problems.
“Yes I do still say that,” Cain said as the crowd let out a mighty cheer.
“I still stand by my statement and here’s why. They might be frustrated with Wall Street and the bankers,” Cain continued, “but they’re directing that anger at the wrong place. Wall Street didn’t put in failed economic policies. Wall Street didn’t spend a trillion dollars that didn’t do any good. Wall Street isn’t going around the country trying to sell another $450 billion.”
“They ought to be over in front of the White House taking out their frustration,” he concluded. “So I do stand by that.”
Based on their sustained applause, the debate crowd was with him.
Update
Greg Sargent posted the video:
Evan McMorris-Santoro
Evan McMorris-Santoro has covered politics for TPM since 2009. Before that, he was a reporter at National Journal’s Hotline covering election 2008. He started his career covering local politics at newspapers in TN and his native NC.