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It's been a year since the Occupy Wall Street movement sprang up. Until last year, mainstream political discourse did not include nearly as much emphasis on such populist concerns as rising income inequality, tax policies that favor the rich, growing influence by large corporate interests in elections and the reckless deregulation of financial institutions that resulted in the 2008 crisis. It is hard to miss them now.

These concerns still impact 99% of Americans. The movement has affected the political narrative in our country.

We can see Occupy's impact in the current presidential campaign. Whereas Bill Clinton's 1996 re-election strategy focused on the idea of "triangulation" -- taking centrist positions on key economic issues to isolate his Republican opponent on the right -- President Barack Obama has taken on much more of a populist stance, mobilizing his Democratic base and economically stressed independents against an opponent whom his campaign is depicting as the quintessential representative of the 1%.

Occupy activists justifiably express skepticism over how much to trust the president's left-leaning rhetoric when his actual economic policies have been decidedly centrist. Still, the fact that Obama's re-election campaign recognizes the advantage of decrying unfair tax laws and similar policies that affect middle class Americans is indicative of how the tone has shifted.

Unfortunately, much of the decline of the Occupy movement can also be attributed to the distraction from this year's election campaigns. Despite the Democrats' mixed record, the unions and many other potential allies necessary in building a real movement have felt obliged to focus their energy on re-electing Obama and helping other Democratic candidates.

Some police repression and serious violations of civil liberties by city authorities certainly crippled the Occupy protests as well, as did the media's tendency to focus too much on its more violent or flaky elements.

But, this does not mean that all is lost.

The Egyptian Revolution and other unarmed civil insurrections that have swept the world recently did not start and end during a few dramatic weeks or months when millions of people were on the streets. They were the culmination of many years of struggle, often initiated by young radicals engaging in small but creative demonstrations.

The Occupy protesters, even at their greatest numbers, were never able to do what successful movements must do in terms of developing a well-thought-out strategy, clearly articulated political demands, a logical sequencing of tactics and well-trained and disciplined activists who don't vandalize property or fight cops. Indeed, the Occupy protesters never developed enough of the structural elements necessary to truly be considered a "movement."

Most importantly, those involved never recognized that colorful protests are no substitute for door-to-door organizing among real people.

The United States has a long history of popular social and economic struggles, from the abolitionists to the Populists to the suffragists to the civil rights movement and, throughout much of that history, the trade unions. As Thomas Jefferson once beckoned his fellow Americans: "crush... the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations which dare already to challenge our government to trial and bid defiance to the laws of our country."

If the pressing concerns of the 99% are not addressed, don't be surprised if new incarnations of the Occupy movement emerge in the near future.

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Yup, the movement has lost it's national strength, if it ever had any. We've given up the Saturday demonstrations, but still do actions on a local scale, as do Occupy groups nationwide. It's become a more localized force, dealing with issues that effect individual areas.

For me, months ago it became nothing but bringing the above-mentioned issues to the attention of the people--hence my continuing to make signs--and I expected little else. It's no longer what it started out to be, but we talked to a lot of people, answered a lot of questions, informed people of things they were amazed to learn and never knew before. It's had that much impact; maybe it won't have any more, and I'm sure the righties here will gloat and crow over it not becoming a strong movement; go right ahead, I'm sure it will feel good. But we're not dead, by a long shot.

As the article said, the police and media did a good job of crippling us, and the disorganization of the movement did the rest. I saw it here; I actually quit a while back because of the frustration of the lack of any organization or real leader, but went back with a different attitude: that I was doing it because I wanted to, to have no expectations, and really only to bring people's attention to the issues, which we did.

An informed public is a stronger public; maybe that's all Occupy will ever do, maybe not. Maybe people forget as the MSM turns its attention to other, more dramatic news. So be it. At least we brought important issue that had been otherwis ignored to the national discussion.