Despite Costing City of Boston Thousands, Mass Governor Greets and Hugs ‘Occupy’ Protesters

The Blaze

A Boston Herald report published Saturday reveals that “Occupy Boston” protesters have already cost the City of Boston $146,000 in overtimes since the camp-in began, with costs expected to keep growing as the movement shows no signs of slowing down. Despite costing the state’s largest city thousands, Massachusetts Democratic Governor Deval Patrick spent Saturday “trying to understand,” protesters. The Boston Globe reports on the governor’s meet and greet:

“’I’m trying to understand,’ Patrick said, sipping from a cup of Au Bon Pain coffee. ‘There’s a range of issues and interests and you can’t get all of them from the media.’

The governor chatted with a few protestors, some of whom hugged him, about their concerns over unemployment, income taxes, and education funding.
As they spoke, a man with a long blond beard holding a sign with an anti-war slogan yelled repeatedly ‘Who here has a $4 million home, raise your hand.’
Patrick did not respond. As he walked away, he was repeatedly stopped by demonstrators, both thanking him and raising their concerns.”
Saturday was Patrick‘s first visit to protesters in Boston’s Dewey Square. The governor’s office did not notify major media outlets of the planned visit, and the event was not listed on Patrick’s public agenda. He said after walking through the camp that he better understands the range of views and was sympathetic to concerns about unemployment, health care and the influence of money in politics.

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