Protest Groups Planning for Republican Convention

[kskiska]

One night last week, dozens of young people — anarchists, environmentalists, pacifists, and just about every other ist out there — crammed together in a Brooklyn storefront to brainstorm how they would take advantage of a unique opportunity a year away.

The man they view as their archnemesis, President Bush, will visit their turf next summer for the 2004 Republican National Convention at Madison Square Garden, a springboard for Mr. Bush's re-election campaign and for what dissenters say will be protests on a scale not seen in the city in dozens of years.

Those at the meeting discussed everything from where protesters could stay to proposed rally themes. One woman suggested, "How Bush stole the election in Florida," and another offered, "The politicization of 9/11." Perhaps most important, they promised to bring together their divergent voices in the name of tarnishing what is planned to be a shining moment for the president.

The meeting was an example of the growing number of discussions, meetings, e-mail communications and other forms of networking taking place across New York City among more than 150 groups planning demonstrations during the convention. The groups intend to voice their disagreement with the Bush administration's policies, especially the Iraq war, and the perception that his re-election campaign will politicize the commemoration of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.


more…
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/10/nyregion/10CONV.html?ex=1061092800&en=0a9ccb6fb5eec7c4&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE

[Khephra]

1. United for Peace and Justice

http://www.unitedforpeace.org/

I think that's them.

[Cha]

5. Yeah, they were the Great Organizers of the Feb15th Protest in

NYC! :kick:

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

10. FEB 15 th !! A day in History--should be a WorldWide holiday!!!

the day 3MILLION protestors joined in opposition to the U.S Invasion of IRAQ-

Never before in History has this happened !!
Phenomenal !!
Never before have so many people joined together on the same day for one common goal-

********THREE MILLION PEOPLE ******
FEB 15, 2003

I was there !

How 'bout you other DU ers ?

[calimary]

23. "Three million people" doesn't BEGIN to tell the tale.

I was at the Santa Monica beach protest that day and saw the coverage. Three million might have been what it was just in this country (although I think THAT may be slightly low-ball) but it was probably at least five times that around the world.

[Dan]

25. Demand release of the information pertaining to 9/11

Question:

What did Bush know,
and
When did he know it?

[study_war_no_more]

2. shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

:tinfoilhat:

[onehandle]

3. Shut the city down!

Damn the "protest zones". Block them from their own convention.

[Cha]

4. I wanna be there so bad! Just like I was on Feb. 15th 2003

Protesting that damn attack on Iraq in the bitter cold!


I swear I'm going! Can you imagine the collective energy of all those Democratic Souls? :kick:

[ElsewheresDaughter]

19. any outta staters that need a place to crash?

i have a cabin that sleeps 8 and 12 acres with a stream in the catskill mountians of upstate ny with room for plenty of tents too...2 hours north of NYC...trains and buses into grand central and penn station from town...and i have a van and will be diving to hoboken nj and taking subway or ferry across the hudson into NYC for the repuke convention protests....PM me if ya need a place for that date...wish i lived closer but what the hey...2 hour drive ain't that bad

12 miles from woodstock :7

[Guaranteed]

6. Let's put the rest of it aside and protest the war...

Chicago 1968. That was NOTHING.
I'm predicting multi-millions. I'll take time out to be there, for sure.

[topdog08]

7. It should focus on how Bush and Rove politicize 9/11

You will turn off the vast majority of people and simply be dismissed as whiners for protesting the war after the fact. Instead, they should focus on how he is STILL exploiting 9/11.

The sign I will be carrying:

HEY BUSH, 9/11 IS NOT A SLOGAN
GO EXPLOIT SOME OTHER TRAGEDY

[2cannan]

26. I like what Bruce Ticker proposes...

Rich Procter: 'Over our dead bodies'
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/article.php?sid=11258

Enough is enough. First we had to stare in horror as Bush and the Mayberry Machiavellis stymied the 9-11 investigation, covered up their shocking lack of 'due diligence,' hijacked the tragedy for partisan political purposes, and then used it to gin up a public relations "war" based on bellicose assertions, faked evidence and endlessly repeated lies.

<snip>
They have decided to push back the date of the Republican National Convention in New York City to the first week of September. This violates the "gentlemen's agreement" between the parties that both conventions will be over by Labor Day. More importantly, it announces to God and everybody that, yes, the Republicans are going to seize Ground Zero and use it as backdrop for Mr. Bush's Re-Coronation Pageant.

<snip>
And now, at the place where 3,000 Americans died on one of the most tragic days in American history, George Bush - the man who swore to get Osama bin Laden "dead or alive" but doesn't seem to remember that promise - he's going to dress this charnel house with red, white and blue bunting, hire a band to play "Hail To The Chief" and put on his best earnest, "presidential" face while he tells America to ignore the economic devastation his reign has produced - he's Mr. National Security.

I have a suggestion. I'd like to see a million Americans with signs outside the convention. I figure we'll need at least a million to get on television - any less and the pundits will ignore us. I want all those signs to say the same thing:

OVER OUR DEAD BODIES.

more...

[bearfan454]

17. I was there in Chicago in 1968

Very turbulent times just like right now.

[robbedvoter]

8. Feel the contempt! The tone is soo dismissive - doncha love NYT

he man they view as their archnemesis, President Bush, - Wow! crazy people, man! Bush haters and all that....
I was reading the paragraph you quoted and betting on the source: Moonie Times? Newsmax? What a piece of freeperish crap! But it's true: we'll be there!
And oh, the BS! 80,000 capacity for great Lawn? One million were gathered for the anti-nuclear rally in 1981 and close to that for concerts such as paul Simon or Diana Ross. They are scared shitless to allow us to gather in one place.
Thank you Al Sharpton! (A Mark green administration would have acted differently - but you wanted the GOP guy!)

[liberalnurse]

9. I fear it's going to be a war zone.

Ashcroft will sick Homeland Security on to this...... Oh , my mind is spinning. We won't be looked upon as protesters but as terrorist.

Oh, I want to be there.... I will stand up for the good cause. It's the American thing to do......

[aquart]

11. People better start RSVPing.

Beds will have to be found.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

20. aquart read post #19

[peabody71]

12. I'd say, if you've never traveled for a protest this is it!!!!!!

This is when the public will be watching.
We cannot be satisfied with sound bites in the media either.
Do what we have to do to get noticed and show the world that we don not support this Resident.
United we do not stand!

[0007]

13. junior is going down!

Barbara will have two little hatred badies to tend too as one termers.

[tedoll78]

14. A Proposal. Tell me what you think.

Let's make it a solemn protest. Everyone holding a sign with the same message: "Stop Exploiting 9/11."

Everyone holding a candle. Pitch silent.

My point is that solemnity makes a much deeper impression than shouting and chaos. Americans can turn on their TVs and see shouting and chaos anytime they want. Solemnity would be something different.. something effective.. it would convey a sense of sadness and seriousness.

A new tone, sure to hit home hard: Solemnity.

[tedoll78]

15. And now I propose an alternative protest plan.

we shut the city down. We find-out the Chimp's route to the convention, and we block the streets en masse. Thousands of people laying down in the streets, going limp. It would take a LOOONG time for the cops to arrest them all and get the route to the convention center open. The later his speech is at night, the fewer people see it. The fewer people see it, the less of a poll bounce he'd experience.

This is all in theory, of course. I wouldn't want to be arrested for plotting to disrupt, or anything else like that. This discussion is purely for academic purposes.

[Best_man23]

16. My Suggestion

Surround Ground Zero with protesters and hopefully, delay the repugs from laying the new cornerstone.

[realFedUp]

18. Backlash

If the protests get out of hand due to swat actions or anarchists
reactions, there could be a sympathy reaction from voters for Republicans.
There are other ways to protest this one. Find the higher ground.

[study_war_no_more]

24. one protestor will result in backlash

if they don't find one they will hire one. Quit worring about repuke backlash and backlash a little of your own ire at the ongoing class warfare.

[Ramsey]

21. They need to stay focused

I have been really disappointed that some of the rallies I have been to in Philly and DC have been too diffuse in scope, featuring every left-wing fringe group with a banner. When we went to the Philly anti-war rally on July 4th and saw that the speaker was talking about Columbia and the first banner in the parade belonged to the "Free Mumia" people, we left.

This rally at the RNC should be about Bush, all Bush, only Bush. About how he has lied and ruined the country. About how he is using 9-11 to stifle dissent and incite fear allowing him to run roughshod over the Constitution. It shouldn't be about globalization, or political prisoners in Latin America, or global warming. It makes me nervous that 150 different groups are lining up to participate. I hope they are planning to stay focused.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

22. That has been a beef of mine too...

Bush has done enough damage to our country and the world that we could have two days of speakers and STILL have something to talk about.

I want it ALL about Bush and his policies/actions. You can talk about some issues like global warming and political prisoners but in the framework of what Bush has done/not done in direct relationship to those issues (i.e, deleting warnings about GW in an envirnomental report, prisoners at GITMO).

But it should be All Bush ALL the time.