The Occupy Wall Street protest movement comes to Pennsylvania. Smaller-scale demonstrations and groups emerge to support the cause in cities and towns across the state, including Harrisburg. We'll talk with a member of Occupy Harrisburg and get historical perspective on progressive protest movements.  Join the conversation live at 8 PM tonight by calling 1-800-729-7532, post a comment to facebook or email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Rick Smith hosts a nightly 9-Midnight radio program, "The Rick Smith Show:  Where Working People Come to Talk," on WIOO-FM.   The 44-year old father of three describes himself as a former truck driver, Teamster, and a former member of the Tea Party.  He drove a truck for unionized freight carriers, including Roadway Express, for 20 years and started hosting his radio talk show six years ago.  "It gives me a chance to present alternative ideas that aren't in the mainstream talk-radio world," he notes.

"Early on, I was a supporter of the Tea Party until it took this bizarre, rightward turn, this whole anti-government turn, because I think people need to be involved, active, educated and engaged," Smith explains. "I agree with the message that something is not working for us.  We're seeing the wealthy get wealthier and the poor get poorer and the middle class get squeezed.  There's something amiss.  Then it (the Tea Party) took a very pro, laissez-faire business perspective -- the answer is not looking to public policy, the answer is not we-the-people-through-our-government, the problem IS the government.  And that's kind of where they lost me."

Occupy Wall Street began September 17 in New York's financial district as a repudiation of corporate and financial-industry power in American government.  Members of the movement call themselves the "99 percent" in a nation, they claim, is being run by the richest one percent of Americans.  Their stated goal is to "strip the corporate culture of its power and return it to its rightful owners, the citizens of the USA."

At an organizational meeting at the Midtown Scholar Bookstore over the weekend, folks joining Occupy Harrisburg formed work groups and agreed to stick to protesting national issues, like the corporate and political structure of the country, rather than parochial issues, like trying to oust Harrisburg Mayor Linda Thompson.

"I am a big supporter of anything that gets people involved in their government," Smith says.  "What's happened over the last 30 years is there has been an interest, but it has divorced people from their government.  So I see people taking to the streets, taking to groups to have input in an active and informed way.  I want to be a part of that."

Smith has participated in the demonstrations in New York and in Philadelphia.  He's helping to organize the Harrisburg group.  Joining him on this week's show are Terry Madonna, Ph.D., director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs and professor of public affairs at Franklin and Marshall College, Eric Epstein, co-founder/coordinator of Rock the Capital and chairman of Three Mile Island Alert, and Gil Smart, associate editor and columnist for the Sunday News in Lancaster.  Check out Gil's video commentary about OWS.

"People are angry, people are frustrated and for the first time people are having a forum for their voice to be heard, to vent their frustrations, and then to talk to others who are just as angry and looking for a solution," Smith observed.  "This isn't a one-shot deal.  We are going to organize something.  We are going to organize committees and we are going to come together and make decisions as a group.  Exercise Athenian democracy, which is excruciatingly painful as you saw in Philadelphia, but still is exciting, I think."

Eric Epstein, who helped move local nuclear-power protesters from the fringes to a stakeholder in the energy industry, says the occupy forces have resonance given the down economy.  "I think it’s a legitimate and visceral reaction to cronyism," he argues.  "The problem in America is that cronyism has permeated the marketplace and the legislature and I think people are exasperated.  They correctly perceive that people in business, people in politics, people in power, don’t listen.  And it is hard to predict where the movement will go.  The reason the Tea Party was successful was because they were focused on the frustration that most Americans had with rampant spending."

The fact that the Occupy Wall Street movement is populated by many young Americans doesn't surprise Epstein.  "I think we’re seeing the beginning of an intergenerational chasm.  A lot of the cuts that have occurred over the last few years have targeted the poor, the vulnerable, but also the young.  You see a lot of students who can’t get a job, people who can’t get loans and don’t see much of a future.  They’re making a rather startling announcement that they’re not going to take it anymore.  And the only way for them to effectuate real change is to do what the Tea party did: Stay on point and have a role to play in electoral politics," he says.

Critics, including Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain who ramped up his displeasure last Sunday, say the movement lacks focus and seems intent on creating a class war in America.  Cain told viewers of "Face the Nation" on Sunday that labor unions are stirring up the protests as a way to deflect attention from what he considers the failed policies of President Obama.  At least one local video snippet shows a man identifying himself as working for the  AFL-CIO who exhorts Occupy Harrisburg members to prepare to "get arrested, go to jail and go right back down there." Is the overthrow of U.S. capitalism the group's goal?

Absolutely not," asserts Rick Smith.  "Maybe it's putting some controls on it. A lot of it is saving capitalism. Bringing back Glass-Steagall, bringing back some kind of transfer or withholding tax on stock trading so it doesn't act as much of a gambling casino as it has become.  I talk to a lot of these kids (the protesters) and they're college kids who want the American Dream.  They want what their parents and grandparents had -- the ability to get an education, to get a job, and to live a solidly middle-class lifestyle, and be able to do better than their parents, and to be able to provide for their children to do better than they are doing."

Former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell told conservative radio host Laura Ingraham this week he sympathizes with the protesters' message but urges them to leave the streets and head to the ballot box if they hope to achieve lasting change.

For now, Occupy Harrisburg members search for a location for their encampment.  Peaceful civil disobedience is what they promise.  "Look, If it takes occupying the Capitol like they did in Wisconsin, that may be something that may have to happen at some point down the road," Rick Smith adds.  "I am in no way, shape or form advocating any type of violence nor would I stand with anyone who advocates any form of violence whatsoever because that only hurts your message."  Join the conversation tonight at 8 on witf TV.