Herman Cain to Protesters: If 'You're Not Rich, Blame Yourself'

It's not Wall Street's fault, he says in interview
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 5, 2011 11:24 AM CDT
Herman Cain on Occupy Wall Street: Blame Yourself, Not the Banks, If You're Not Rich
Herman Cain speaks to the media outside of Trump Towers on October 3 in New York City.   (Getty Images)

Mitt Romney may think Occupy Wall Street is dangerous "class warfare," but Herman Cain's criticism of the protesters gets personal: "Don’t blame Wall Street, don’t blame the big banks, if you don’t have a job and you’re not rich, blame yourself," he tells the Wall Street Journal in an interview. "It is not someone’s fault if they succeeded, it is someone’s fault if they failed."

Think Progress picked up on the quote quickly, calling it "heartless and uninformed" given the dearth of jobs available. Cain also is likely to raise eyebrows with this line: "I don’t have facts to back this up, but I happen to believe that these demonstrations are planned and orchestrated to distract from the failed policies of the Obama administration." His criticism comes as more top progressives embrace the Occupy Wall Street movement, including former Sen. Russ Feingold, notes the politicology blog. “This is like the Tea Party—only it’s real,” Feingold said. “By the time this is over, it will make the Tea Party look like ... a tea party.” (More Occupy Wall Street stories.)

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