Andrew, no. The "energy" that I was impressed with from the "occupy" people was their staying power. They're still there in Providence, they were in NYC and Boston until they were thrown out. They had something they believed in (I'm not sure what that was) and they kept after it.

As for the Republicans in that meeting tonight, sure those are the ones who put in the work and the time and the effort. Sure, it's impressive to see the work that they put in. But it's not the same kind of thing as I was talking about withe the Occupy people.

If the Republicans in that room want to impress, they'll stop their infighting, they'll stop their "me first" attitudes and they'll unify behind tonight's winner and go forward and build the party in a positive way. After four years of Obama, after seeing what Cicilline has done both in Providence and the lack of what he's done in Washington and after seeing how the system gets played at taxpayer expense, it's up to those Republicans to turn this around and at least win a few more seats next November. Eleven months to go, plenty of time for them to energize and start working together in one direction.

" how is this assembly of citizens looking to make a difference in their goverment and society any less worthy of respect than Occupy Wall Street?"

It's not, of course. But the GOP is (shock) on the right while OWS is left. Plus, the GOP is not willing to forego mod cons (plumbing, heat, four walls), however temporarily, to make their point.