Dear Commons Community,

During this weekend’s broadcast of “The McLaughlin Group,” host John McLaughlin asked his panel about what would happen to Occupy Wall Street as its novelty wears off and the weather gets colder. MSNBC commentator Pat Buchanan’s response was:

“It’s going to end very, very badly with these folks in the winter,” Buchanan said, “and they’re not going to be getting publicity and they’re going to be acting up and acting badly like the worst of the demonstrators in the ’60s … not just overnight camping: They’re going to start fighting with the cops.”

Newsweek contributor Eleanor Clift response was:

“There was [already] one fight with the cops in Oakland: An Iraq war veteran was hit with a projectile in the head and is in critical condition,” Clift said.

“I don’t know who you blame for that, but I know how I view it. I think they have staying power … and secondly the suffragists who stood in front of the White House — they thought they would go home when it got cold. They heated bricks for them to stand on. I think these people have some staying power.”

Tony