Should the GOP 2004 convention be shades of Chicago 1968?

[wuushew]

I don't want any physical injuries, but I think the greater good would be served by SOME rioting and good hooligan fun.

Honesty what is the last GOP convention that you can clearly recall?
2000,1992? Thats because they are always cornbread boring affairs.

These are dark times and the GOP needs some kind of dark mark for the history books. History correctly realizes that the country was tearing itself apart over Vietnam,racism, and other issues in 1968, nobody blamed the protestors.

[FarLeftRage]

1. It may be worse...

Just think of all those irate New Yorkers who have to put up with it.
Just think of all those protesters - antiwar and others.
Just think of all those poor and unemployed who have nothing to lose but their chains.
Just think of all those anarchists, who will revel in the chaos and confusion!

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. Not worth it

What did the riots in Chicago get us in 1968? Richard Nixon! No way! We must take back our country in the only way we can-work to register as many voters as possible and make sure they get to the polls and vote Democratic.

[wuushew]

4. Big difference

Chicago = Democratic convention = big loss in 1968
New York = Republican convention = stolen election thanks to fraud

[Aaron]

28. If Dems lost because radicals unafilliated with the party protested in '68

Why wouldn't similar protests unafilliated with the party do the same thing to the pubs in '04?

[Cha]

3. I was looking for something that I thought I had bookmarked but

cannot find! It was a link to the Protesting at the 2004 repug convention in NYC!

If that DUer reads this ..could you please post again!

You had all the suggestions for proper Protesting and a link to better ways to do things to keep it very non violent!
:kick:

[FarLeftRage]

8. You may want to check these

http://rncnotwelcome.org/
http://counterconvention.org/

[Cha]

16. Thank You! FarLeftRage! These are Great!

There is still at least one more link to a site for Protesting @ the 2004 repug convention!

I'm going be there just like Feb 15, 2003! :kick:

[FarLeftRage]

21. I will be there from August 28 - Sept. 7, 2004

Protesting the whole damned thing... Provided I don't get thrown in the clink or hurt.

[Cha]

26. Good for you! I know it doesn't take much to get thrown in "the

clink"...witness the People who got thrown in on Feb 15, 2003 for wanting to get closer to the speakers! That's the way I heard it anyway!

[Devlzown]

20. Here's a good one.........

http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0335/harkavy.php

[Terwilliger]

5. you mean Republicans will be there questioning their leaders?

no, WE must make the Republican National Convention the absolute worst thing that happened to Republicans in 2004 (Bush's loss close behind)

[Renew Deal]

6. There are two parts to this.

One is that the republicans should feel the displeasure that people feel for them coming to NY. The other is that the NYPD are a rough bunch. Rioting in NYC is not advisable unless you like pain.

[Cha]

9. I think we can get our Point across without Any rioting!

About a Million homemade signs and bullhorns should do the trick!

And whatever else street art comes to mind! :kick:

[tedoll78]

7. A friend proposed something to me.

People gather in the streets of New York and lay down on the Bush's route to the convention center. If the route can be blocked, it might take hours for guard officials to arrest and remove the protesters. Here's the crux of the theory:

The later Bush's speech is delayed, the fewer people will see it.
The fewer people see it, the less of a convention bounce he'll get.
Even if it's just an hour later, it'll hurt his bounce on the east coast and central time zone as more and more folks are going to bed.

Tear gas and rubber bullets would probably be part of the equation; I can easily see the national guard going all out to get Bush to the convention center on time.

[Cha]

11. I remember your post from the other thread about Protesting in

NYC! Do have the link to all the info the thread starter gave? :-)

[tedoll78]

15. I think..

it's on page 3 of Editorials.

[Cha]

25. Thanks, tedoll,it was on Page 2.

:toast:

[RichV]

12. Replays

Isn't it coverage of the speech rather than the live speech itself that more ppl are likely to see on the TV? I can't imagine the whole country actually sits and watches the conventions as they drag on and on. They see highlights later over and over. Sure, some watch, but I'd imagine they're mostly party loyalists and political junkies. Correct me if I'm mistaken.

[tedoll78]

17. Actually,

acceptance speeches get really nice ratings. Seen by millions. I honestly think that Gore's Kiss, along with the speech he wrote for himself, was what made the 2000 race so close (compared to how he was lagging behind for most of the year).

[Renew Deal]

14. NYC is not a GOP friendly town but..

The cops and national guard will do their job. Tear Gas and rubber bullets are the least of your problems dealing with the NYPD. They are hardcore. There wasn't even trouble when the WTO came to town.

[Zhade]

22. Even better!

Secure everyone to each other, and make sure they all have gasmasks. That'd make it a lot harder to disperse the protestors with tear gas, plus the de-securing factor.

And it wouldn't hurt to take some Ridge-approved plastic sheeting to place over yourself, for the rubber bullets.

If I can make it, I'm going to come equipped: homemade plastic armor and a gasmask. GOD, I so want to be there next year. We need to shut the place DOWN.

[tedoll78]

23. I've actually heard of..

bringing children, babies, and videocameras as discouragement against the use of force. You can imagine the media playing videotapes of babies being shot at with rubber bullets. An interesting idea, but I have really bad feeling about that. Makes me queasy.

[Cha]

27. Plus no one wants to subject their babies to the "maybes" of it!

All though I did hear of Protesters in NYC in Feb that got through barricades because of having wee ones!

[ShaneGR]

10. I honestly believe there will be over a million protestors

Think about it. If there aren't a million people protesting it's a disappointment.

[Cha]

18. It felt like there were a Million on Feb 15, 2003! Now that was

statement and so much more than a "focus group"!

[tedoll78]

13. And I have my own proposal.

One the night of Bush's acceptance speech, every protester show-up at the site with a candle and a sign. The signs will read "Stop exploiting tragedy for political gain." The candles will be lit all at once after sundown (close to the speech), and perfect silence will be strongly encouraged. THAT would make for a stunning visual. A noisy, naughty crowd would be expected and easily mocked by the talking heads.. but silence would be an unexpected statement that would speak louder than a thousand molotov cocktails.

[FloridaPat]

19. I lived in Chicago during those riots. I got to talk to a lot of

people that worked in the hotels etc that got the worst of the riots. The rioters tore apart hotels and restaurants. Got a lot of attention and arrests, but my opinion is the wrong people got hurt. As usual.
Millions of people coming out in New York and not destroying anything would be fantastic. I think if I lived in New York, I'd be on vacation that week.

[Cha]

24. Okay! Here's a link to another thread &site about major Protesting @

the repug convention!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=103&topic_id=8969

>snippnet<
"Your motto should be: Protest smart, not violent."

"If keeping yourself under control doesn't sound like much fun -- stay home."

'Keep in mind that the borough of Manhattan is a 23-square-mile island. About 1.5 million people live there, and a great many more work and visit there. The NYPD takes crowd control very seriously. Also, don't even think of getting around Manhattan in your car."