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'Occupy' protesters stage sit-ins at Heller, Heck offices
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Steve Tetreault/Stephens Washington Bureau
Activists Terry VanRemortel and Sharyn Gawlick pass time Tuesday during a sit-in at the Washington office of Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev.
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STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
Updated: Dec. 7, 2011 | 7:57 a.m.
WASHINGTON -- The Occupy movement reached Capitol Hill on Tuesday when activists staged sit-ins in the offices of two Nevada lawmakers among selected others in Congress.
A half-dozen protesters sat in the reception room of Republican Sen. Dean Heller from noon until his office closed at 5:30 p.m., reading books and magazines and completing crossword puzzles after being unable to obtain time with him.
Brian Fadie, a member of ProgressNow Nevada, said the group initially ran into Heller in the hallway as he was on his way to a vote, "and he said he would try to meet with us." When they checked in with his staff, Fadie said they were told the senator had off-campus meetings the rest of the day.
"The senator's schedule obviously is done weeks in advance," Heller spokesman Stewart Bybee said in midafternoon. "They are welcome to stay. We are looking at the schedule and seeing if there are any openings. We do have a variety of meetings going on."
Meanwhile, another small protest group spent the afternoon at the office of Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., after requesting time to discuss unemployment, the mortgage crisis and economic inequality.
"We are being told he is not available today, so right now we are waiting to get an appointment to see him while we are in Washington, D.C.," said Jennifer Reed, a UNLV graduate student and a member of Occupy Las Vegas.
Neither Heck nor his spokesman commented on the protesters, who were asked to write down their grievances to be forwarded to the congressman.
A half-dozen Las Vegans were part of what organizers said were about 3,000 protesters at Take Back the Capitol day, put together by an offshoot of the Occupy movement and a variety of labor and community activist groups, including MoveOn.org and the Service Employees International Union. A protester outside the office of Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said the goal was to target 99 congressional offices by the end of the day.
"There are so many issues, you could just have a laundry list to talk to our congressmen about. This opportunity came up, and I wanted to have my voice heard," said Kristal Glass, a Las Vegas mortgage consultant involved in the Occupy Las Vegas movement.
Their message, Fadie said, was that members of Congress "need to start listening to the 99 percent of Americans who don't have the money to pay for lobbyists to be here all day, every day, lobbying for special interests."
Some protesters came prepared for confrontation, but the interactions generally were peaceful.
"We figured we'd get run out of one office before we went to another," said Sebring Frehner of Las Vegas, a student at Nevada State College sitting in Heck's office. "We are not amateurs at this. We know we are going to get run out."
In the Nevada delegation, organizers targeted Heller and Heck, who have drawn the ire of activists and opposition from Democrats after taking positions in favor of revamping Medicare and for questioning the long-term viability of Social Security without a similar restructuring.
About 4 p.m., protesters left Heck's office and went down the hall to the office of Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev. They spent 20 minutes there after being told he was not in.
Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., was not in the office when the protesters went by. Her staff gave them an office tour and invited them to sign her guest book, Reed said.
A spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said protesters did not visit his offices Tuesday.
Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760.
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Filthy trash. Run them out. This isn't freedom. It's pathetic.
Attacking those who have saved,invested, risked their capital, provided jobs and prospered in our society was OLV's mistake. They're radical. Here is their latest post on the Occupy Las Vegas Facebook Page....."WELCOME TO THE REVOLUTION. HALF OF US ARE INSANE. HALF OF US ARE STUPID. AND THERE'S A HUGE OVERLAP ON THAT DIAGRAM FOR "DRUNK". if you have a complaint, please realize that most revolutions are run this way and if you have a problem, well, yeah, that s*cks."...........What does this mean??? They don't relate with those of us who have sacrificed and worked hard all our lives. If they can't sacrifice, work hard and save like we did then they can just stay in their tents and end up bums.
So many people judge these protestors and others on appearance alone, How much or what do you know about these people? One of the people in the photo above, Sharyn Gawlick is a personal friend of mine, she is a person that worked hard at job (s) and was able to retire at 55yrs. old. But Sharyn didn't retire she puts in many hours volunteering in her community. The people are from ALL walks of life, Democrats, Republicans & Independents. This is about the economy, jobs, fair taxes, and much more. And the Big Banks, Big Corporations and etc. are sitting on trillions of $$$$$$$$$ and GE didn't even pay the taxes it owes. Get more knowledge and etc. about these people and the issues
Reid And Bezerkly (both Multi-Millionaires)have been in Washington almost -50- years combined (neither Heller or Heck are millionaires) // 8 out of the top 10 "RICHEST in the Washington "GANG OF 535" are Liberal Socialist Marxist DemonRATS ------ economic inequality ??? I agree - the DemocRATS have "TOO MUCH MONEY - WHY WON'T THEY SHARE IT WITH ALL THESE DO NOTHING, WANT EVERYTHING FOR NOTHING PROTESTERS ???"
banks need your tax dollars in order to survive. no bank left behind ....
If anyone is interested in Occupy collectibles for holiday gifts I suggest you check out eBay. No better way to support the revolution then by purchasing a part of it from an independent seller.
the occasional video clip that pans the crowds of occupiers is enlightening. many in the crowd appear to be gang bangers. the type that if you saw them while stuck at a stop light, you'd hit the power door lock button. who'd hire such riff raff ?
I hope they call in the exterminator and hazmat teams after the protestors leave...and replace the furniture.
Great Patriots...why doesn't the teaparty pay their $300,000 bill at a strip casino? I thought they believed in personal responsibility?
Bob Woodward says sitting next to Al Gore is 'taxing, unpleasant’
http://thehill.com/capital-living/in-the-know/197355-bob-woodward-sitting-next-to-gore-is-unpleasant-
alvinjh suspects the same would be true of MSchaffer--won't reveal which labs he worked at in atmospheric sciences..will continue to mock him publicly though..and post while "propagandizing against the propagandizers" (and dilettantes)
As surely as Lake Mead rises despite the pronouncements of its demise in the NY Times...