Former NYC Mayor Ed Koch (some of us still lend the softer pronunciation of his name to the brothers Charles and David) has played hot and cold with progressive causes, and likes to flirt with Republicans about leading fervently pro-Israeli Jewish voters against Obama.

But here, on Al Sharpton’s show Monday night, Koch reverses field: He’s now going to campaign for Obama (for background on Koch, Israel and the president, see Greg Sargent here), and he attacks Republicans for having lost all sense of justice, even patriotism. “They don’t care about the country,” he says. “They’ve given up on that, and that’s why I think the American public will give up on them.”

And perhaps most surprising, Koch “absolutely” supports Occupy Wall Street and wants the recession-creators sent to prison.

I think it is an outrage that no CEO, no CFO of any corporation, major corporation on Wall Street, or the banks, has been convicted and sent to jail for having engaged in criminality and bringing on the Great Recession. And some did, no question about that. A poor kid steals a bike, he goes to jail; a guy steals millions and he gets a civil fine, which is becoming the cost of doing business.… I’m distressed that the Attorney General has not been ordered by the president to pursue them.

How’s he doing?

 

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