The Democratic Party Is Far From Having A Lock On The 2008 Elections.
The Streets Of Denver Could Trash Every Hope As Problems Left Unresolved By The Party May Well Finally Prove To Be The Undoing Of Our Party. The Voice Of Rage Voters And More Radically Inclined Activists Is At Hand! Will All The Democratic Party Dreams Go Up In Smoke In The Summer Heat In The Streets Of Denver And Minneapolis? Will They End In Blood Steel And Fire In Summer Convention Protest Turned Riots?
Current Related Graphic Political Commentary: (1) Political Piranha, (2) Ed’s McCain Button, (3) McCain Rambo Bomb Iran, (4) Save Us From K Street, (5) Voters Are Not Dumb, (6) Bush Guilty, (7) We’ll Swear, (8) Obama Veep, (9) Denver/Minneapolis {#s} : 1,2,3,4 and 5.
One danger in Denver may have been eliminated by Hillary Clinton’s Campaign Closure but as long as she has not released her delegates, (the stated reason being the legal ability to continue fund raising to pay down her debt), the potential for a problem still exists and will remain in the fore front of the minds of those prepared to protest in Denver.
The issue of Barack Obama’s nomination integrity seems well in hand, but issue concerning the integrity of the Party, Racism, Iraq and Iran , Justice and Impeachment, and the legion long list of War Crimes and Constitutional defiance by this administration still stand and answers will be called for in the streets of Denver and Minneapolis.
The situation remains dangerous. My next post with be from Denver with an update from the inside…but for now…currently estimating that 100,000 demonstrators will fill the streets of Denver.
Those protesters will come responding in anger to the Democratic Party’s obvious belief that “if you do nothing; there will be no consequences”, or least that has been the party line from the day that Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared Impeachment “Off The Table” and laid waste to her position in history. There are consequences for inaction as surely as there are for ignoring a melanoma spreading on one’s arm in the belief that it will simple go away on its own.
There are two components to the dilemma facing the party as it begins the journey towards Denver: (1) That harpy line that we can’t do anything that “might” generate sufficient controversy to endanger the election of Democrats and the recapture of The White House in November 2008, and (2) that which they do not wish to even whisper, let alone acknowledge, the fact that a vast majority of the Congress are as guilty of a collaboration with the administration in both unconstitutional and criminal enterprises as flagrant as Nazi collaborators in World War II, either by design or by incompetence…and they know it, and we know it and we will carry that knowledge to Denver seeking redress.
They know full well that their guilt is so egregious that the only way that they can avoid the clear focus, exposure and definition in the media in editorial tabloid sensationalism is to move obliquely ahead ignoring every mention and diverting the attention of the electorate in whatever direction is necessary to affect deflection. They need not fear for that media is a tainted as the administration and the congress.
As the Bush Administration has begun to unravel as of late, as Gasoline prices soar over the record $4.00 mark headed for Fourth Of July pyrotechnic explosion at $5.00, as consumer choices now food, gasoline, medications and just paying the mortgage and monthly bill, all imperiled, and the electorate’s feeling of impotent hopelessness is giving way to rage and some very ugly thoughts and words…finally.
There are more people worried about their personal economic survival than there are those enthralled by the success of Barack Obama. That is not good!
As you read further and consider the sources and personalities of the restless radical protestors determined to have their say and make their points one way or another, just tuck this thought in the back of your mind; what would happen if in the midst of the potentially explosive mix in the streets the labor unions of America, principally the Teamster Truckers would say: ”We have had enough, and the big rigs descended on Denver with a vengeance”.
The veil of oil pricing is being lifted and explained in terms that even the layman can grasp and now understand that he is being bled dry by design, raped by speculators who don’t give a damn about anyone but themselves or this nation’s welfare and the Congress is impotent, incompetent and to politically timid to lift even its little finger.
Iraq may once again become a campaign issue because that is all War Hawk McCain knows, but it has languished because it was not personal to a sufficient population of America. The economic crunch facing America is local; it is personal and for all but the elite rich it is becoming increasingly intolerable by the day. It is the stuff of which social and political explosives are fashioned…and it being carried to Denver and Minneapolis!
The out front lead in Denver protest/resistance organization is Re-Create “68”. There have been break- aways and there have been new organizations join the fold either under the umbrella or in confederated alliance mode.
http://www.recreate68.org/album1_dnc_015.htm
World Can’t Wait What if people came forward and put out a political pole in opposition to the Democratic convention in August? What if THIS was the new terms of things? The Democratic nominee in 2008 will not speak for us. We have to challenge their accommodation to the Bush program.
World Can’t Wait is endorsing the ReCreate 68 coalition, and forming our own working group for Denver.
http://dncdisruption08.org/?p=74
http://www.unconventionalaction.org/
It is not a matter of no one being aware of a build up of protest elements in Denver, Minneapolis and across the country; it’s more a function of people not paying attention, more of the “it can’t happen ostrich syndrome: and simple damn dumb denial. It really doesn’t matter that within the protest elements and organizations that there has been a sifting out of those dedicated to non-violence from those either inclined to confrontation or violence, or at least suspected of that inclination, because when is all said and done, it’s a matter of over 100,000 people in the streets with a multiplicity of concerns, grievances and advocacies in the rarified Denver atmosphere, the heat of August and pent up frustrations of trying to gain access to exercise free speech, and whatever it is that folks have in mind.
There are elements of the far left and far right that will be close contact, police powers dealing with a situation that they have no experience with. All it takes is one mistake one flash and you have hell to pay. No reason or rationale for calm and preserving the victory that Democrats thirst for matters; some of these folks just don’t care; some of them want a revolutionary change within our party, and some are willing to allow, or even cause things to get worse in the hope that the inevitable reaction will usher in the paradigm shift in American politics that will truly right the ship of state.
There are too many accumulated issues, political, social, economic, philosophic, world-versioned and local all in the stew pot. That can make for a bad brew. I have said so often that such confrontations are the result of multiple movements and ferment coming together. We are there. Chicago “68” was labeled a police riot. It is so easy to drag that label and vitriol back out. Any act of resistance and arrest can suddenly became “police brutality” in the streets and the mob move into action!
Anarchists Stalk Democratic Convention Published: January 24, 2008
Unconventional Action hopes to see the largest gathering of anarchists in American history in Denver in August. The group that may be the most prepared for the 2008 Democratic National Convention is also the least likely to be prepared. It doesn't represent labor unions or mainstream progressives, but anarchists. A loose coalition of anti-authoritarian factions from across the nation have formed an outfit called Unconventional Action, with the express goal of disrupting and shutting down the DNC and RNC. Activists say that anarchists in this country have never planned such a large-scale action so far in advance of a specific event, and certainly not with such openness and strategy.
The stylized website www.unconventionalaction.org includes mission statements, how-to guides and downloadable posters, maps and zines. "Only direct action will stop the war," reads one flier. "Start organizing to smash the conventions," says another. Resources includes a printable map of downtown Denver, with the Pepsi Center and hotels where delegates will be staying clearly marked, as well as such other potential targets as the offices of Halliburton, Northrop Grumman and Newmont Mining. In Minneapolis/St. Paul, where the RNC will be held, anarchists operating as the RNC Welcoming Committee are compiling maps, photographs of the city and timetables of political events where they may stage such disturbances as blockades, infiltrations and other actions.
American anarchists regard both Democrats and Republicans as enforcers of the same imperialist system, and their drive this time is fueled by disappointment with the 2004 convention protests. Though tens of thousands of demonstrators filled the streets of New York and Boston, many radicals felt the actions led by large liberal groups like ANSWER and United for Peace and Justice had little impact. So this election cycle, affinity groups such as the Black Bloc and Crimethinc are spurring the radical movement to take the lead.
"There's nothing better than the convention to encapsulate the essence of the Democratic Party and the two-party system," says Clayton Dewey, an organizer for Denver's Unconventional Action. "It is a sham democracy. The candidates have been chosen, the platform has essentially been chosen by the party leaders. They bring in some delegates, and really, all they do is cheerlead for these scripted events. The media fawns over it. It's a multimillion-dollar party at the expense of taxpayers and Denver residents."
Chapters have been formed in San Francisco, New York and at least a dozen other cities. Since last August, planning conferences called "consultas" have taken place in St. Paul and Denver. Along with building a "horizontal, inclusive framework for protests," groups have even begun fundraising. Organizers estimate that each city will need $50,000 for convergence centers, legal costs and other expenses.
"We are not going to let the Democrats have a free ride," says Dewey.
Their theme: Anarchists Arise!”
http://www.thedenverdailynews.com/article.php?aID=606
http://thedrunkablog.blogspot.com/2008/04/free-lunch-and-dnc-disruption-training.html
FBI seeking informants in the Twin Cities
http://midwestgreenscare.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/fbi-seeking-informants-in-the-twin-cities/
http://crashtheconventions.com/2008/05/15/fbi-seeking-out-informants-in-twin-cities/
http://crashtheconventions.com/2008/01/28/anti-dnc-landmarks-in-denver/
http://newsds.org/bulletinfiles/sdsbulletin3-electronic.pdf
http://www.workers.org/2008/us/conventions_0228/
Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention (RNC) will be held on Sept. 1-4 in St. Paul, Minn. On Feb. 9-10, in St. Paul’s twin city of Minneapolis, the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War met with more than 60 other organizations to plan events protesting the Republican agenda.
The coalition consists of local anti-war and solidarity organizations, unions and social justice groups. Three national anti-war coalitions were also represented at the conference: Troops Out Now Coalition (TONC), the ANSWER Coalition and United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ).
Other organizations present included the International Action Center; Freedom Road Socialist Organization; Latinos Against the War; Fight Imperialism-Stand Together; Students for a Democratic Society; New Jersey Solidarity-Activists for the Liberation of Palestine; the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera; Teamsters Local 743 and AFSCME Local 3800.
A press conference for local and national media included speakers from the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War, TONC, UFPJ, ANSWER and the Arab American Action Network.
Conference on RNC and DNC in Olympia
On the same weekend as the Minneapolis conference, youth and students met in Olympia, Wash., to discuss preparations to counter both the Republican and Democratic national conventions. About 100 people attended, mostly students from Seattle and surrounding areas, with others from Minneapolis and the states of Colorado, Oregon and California. The National Lawyers Guild and a few educators were there to listen, observe and offer advice when asked.
Protest organizers from Minneapolis and from Denver, where the DNC will be held on Aug. 24-28, gave presentations on the preparations that had been made, problems encountered and the significance of the respective conventions.
For the DNC, two activists who are part of the Recreate 68 Alliance spoke. Glenn Spagnuolo of the All Nations Alliance and Larry Hales of the youth group Fight Imperialism-Stand Together (FIST) presented to the audience in the late evening for an hour and a half. Spagnuolo explained that R68 was formed in January last year by local Denver activists from the Latin@, African-American, Native and white communities, representing such different issues as racism, imperialism, anti-war, anti-globalization, for immigrant rights and Indigenous rights. They agreed to work together to create a week of political solidarity in resistance and protest.
The idea of Recreate 68 is being used to move communities forward by looking back at a time of great resistance to war and racism.
Spagnuolo made reference to the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense and its Ten-Point Program, where the party provided security, free breakfasts for children programs and education in many communities.
He also spoke of the government’s brutal attacks in response to the party’s activism, the anti-war positions of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, the mass movements against oppression headed by organizations such as the American Indian Movement, the Young Lords, the Gay Liberation Front and many other groups.
Racism, imperialist war, poverty—all the things that come with capitalism—are still with us, Spagnuolo explained, and though Cointelpro is not around in name, the government has other forms of surveillance and of targeting activists, such as the massive Homeland Security apparatus.
The Larry Hales Issue will be prominent on The Denver Table!
http://www.raisethefist.com/index1.html
Larry Hales of FIST spoke about the numerous cases of police brutality in the Denver area, such as the case of Loree McCormick-Rice and her then-12-year-old daughter Cassidy McCormick, who were both beaten by an Aurora, Colo., cop. He spoke of the occupation of the oppressed communities by police and the role of police in capitalist society.
http://panafricannews.blogspot.com/2007/12/larry-hales-denver-activist-attacked-by.html
http://www.workers.org/2008/us/hales_0424/
http://www.iacenter.org/actions/hales0208/
http://fistyouth.wordpress.com/2008/04/21/fist-leader-at-aa-picket-line-fighting-a-common-enemy/
http://www.proletarians.com:8080/2007/us/dem-con-0405/
Hales asked the students to be mindful of the communities and the people whom they are claiming to represent. The residents of communities of color are faced with police terror all the time, not just during marches and rallies. Police brutality is a daily reality for many working and oppressed people.
He told them that they must be sensitive to the needs of the people and be aware of history that is being made today. For instance, Hales said, a white woman and a Black man are running for president. Though they both represent the interests of the imperialist U.S. ruling class and their agenda would be to appease the ruling elite, there are many oppressed people who see the fact that they are running and that one or the other may likely win the general election as a milestone.
People will be out in the streets for many reasons, and activists have to keep focused on the issues while at the same time being aware that some people are looking at these candidates as a victory for women and Black people. It will take time for them to see what the development really means, as the next president goes about her or his business running the U.S. imperialist colossus.
A whole week of activities, rallies and marches is planned for the DNC by Recreate 68. To find out about them, visit recreate68.org.
The loose coalition of groups opposed to American involvement in the Iraq war, which helped defeat Republicans in the 2006 midterm elections, is considerably less sympathetic to the Democrats and plans massive protests at the party’s national convention next summer in Denver, said Michael T. Heaney, a political science professor.
“We see a very clear shift in the anti-war movement against the Democratic Party just in the last couple of months,” said Heaney, who has written an article on anti-war activists that appears in the July edition of American Politics Research journal. “And the basic reason for that is the anti-war forces are very disappointed that the Democrats have not kept their promise to bring the troops home, which was their mandate after the 2006 election.”
The upshot is that instead of focusing their energies on demonstrating at next year’s Republican Party convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul as they did at the party’s 2004 convention in New York, the key players in the anti-war movement have decided to shift their emphasis to the Democratic gathering in Denver, Heaney said.
“We’re going to see tens of thousands of people protesting outside the Democratic National Convention,” he said.
The danger for the Democrats is that the news media will seize upon the disunity and project an image of the party not having its act together, which will ultimately create public uneasiness with the idea of a Democratic candidacy, he said.
“It definitely has the risk of costing the Democrats the election,” he said. “And this should be an election that the Democrats walk away with just based on the fact that the American public is so dissatisfied with the war in Iraq.”
Contrary to conventional wisdom that anti-war groups are aligned with the Democratic Party, Heaney and Fabio Rojas, a sociologist at Indiana University, found divisions within the movement. Roughly 40 percent of these activists support the Democrats, 20 percent a third party such as the Green Party and 2 percent the Republicans. Another 39 percent identified themselves as independents. (Percentages total 101 percent due to rounding).
We’ve been working with national organizations, among them A.N.S.W.E.R.org, United for Peace and Justice, CODEPINK and others, as well as numerous Colorado organizations, to prepare for this event.
Tent State University, Adam Jung Alliance for Real Democracy
Just Bear In Mind That These Groups Are Determined to Rain On The Democratic Party Parade!
Anti-abortion groups set DemCon '08 protest plans
Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust, Christian Defense Coalition, Operation Rescue
Since 1988 the Christian Defense Coalition has been protesting the national conventions of both parties. In their first year, Mahoney said, hundreds were arrested during the Democratic convention in Atlanta for protesting at abortion clinics.
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/groups/christian_defen/index.html
The new coalition, called Alliance for Real Democracy, is a network of local and national groups, including Code Pink, United for Peace and Justice, the American Friends Service Committee, the Green Party of Colorado, the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Colorado Street Medics, and Students for Peace and Justice.
On The Net all Of The Following lead back to “ ReCreate “68”
- DenverDNC.org
- 2008DenverDNC.org
- Denver2008DNC.org
- Denver2008DNC.com
- 2008DNCDenver.org
- 2008Denverconvention.com
- ChangetheDNC.org
- ChangetheDNC.com
- Stopthe2008DNC.com
- Stopthe2008DNC.org
- NoDNC2008.org
- NoDNC2008.com
- Recreate68.com
- Recreate68.org
And we have these types of things being said with increasing escalating frequency!
“We need a revolution of the oppressed over the oppressors. Obama and the democrats need to be overthrown also.”
On “Recreate 68.” It seems that every liberal with a bone to pick says something about the name.
GET OVER IT, THAT SHIP HAS SAILED.
For anyone who has been listening, Recreate 68 has stated their intentions quite clearly.
I’m not a cliff-notes for liberals who are at the moment too busy vouching for the democrats to listen for 2 seconds, so I guess they can stay lost in their sectarian fog. They have been warned, informed and alerted of the plan(s)--developed in association with local groups like Recreate '68.
Anarchists and Anti-Authoritarians: join us in Denver, Colorado, August 24th-28th as we engage in coordinated Direct Actions against the Democratic National Convention, its corporate sponsors, and the military/police occupation of public space. Respecting diverse tactics and the autonomy of affinity groups and individuals, Unconventional Action has created the following framework to maximize our impact as we disrupt the DNC.
Unconventional Action’s strategy at the Democratic National Convention will hold the Democratic Party accountable for promoting unjust policies: environmental degradation, the enforcement of arbitrary borders, attacks on the poor, complacency in war, and racist policing. We will expose to the nation that the Democrats and Republicans are two sides of the same coin, both parties funded by the same corporations and upholding the same unjust political system which fails to meet the needs of the vast majority of people. Anarchists and Anti-Authoritarians are urged to engage in a broad variety of tactics to disrupt fundraising events and prevent Democratic delegates from voting for no-choice candidates. Unconventional Action will honor and support autonomous actions while coordinating a highly publicized assault on the pageantry, violence, and abuses of the Democrats and the two-party capitalist system.
Unconventional Action will target a variety of the 1,500 proposed fundraisers, countless delegate hotels, and designated institutions perpetuating global injustice. Using space reclamation, street theatre, direct confrontation, positive action, and a broad array of other tactics, we will force the national media to question the Democratic Party’s failures, hold Democratic candidates accountable for their abuses of power, and engage in direct actions that reflect our ultimate goals of joy and liberation through creativity and confrontation.
Asked whether the Recreate ’68 will bring a repeat of the rioting and violence that gripped Chicago during the ’68 convention, Spagnuolo said: "That will be up to the Denver Police Department. Any violence would be at the hands of the Denver Police Department."
In today's Denver Post June 06, 2008 : Greens Advocate Peace
Denver Greens chair and Colorado Greens co-chair, Claire Ryder, emphasizes that the Green Party stands by its Ten Key Values and the principle of non-violence:
We promote non-violent methods to oppose practices and policies with which we disagree, and will guide our actions toward lasting personal, community and global peace.
We are proud of our commitment to this credo -- we stand for peace in Iraq, we stand for peace in the United States ... and in Denver, Colorado.
Link: Convention Protest Hit By Groups' Split | Denver Post
The American Friends Service Committee, the Green Party of Colorado, the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Colorado Street Medics, and Students for Peace and Justice.
(In can tell you after my last multi-state tour that not all of the members of these organizations support or are inclined to follow their leadership, so don’t be misled into believing that great solidarity exists within all of them.)
Activists who plan to protest at the Democratic National Convention this summer are splitting with the umbrella organization, Re-create 68, because of concerns over its rhetoric and tactics.
The new coalition, called Alliance for Real Democracy, is a network of local and national groups, including Code Pink, United for Peace and Justice, the American Friends Service Committee, the Green Party of Colorado, the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Colorado Street Medics, and Students for Peace and Justice.
"We've separated ourselves; we're not part of Re-create 68," said Claire Ryder, chairwoman of the Denver Green Party.
Ryder said many activists had attended Re-create 68 meetings and were not comfortable with its organizational techniques.
Nevertheless, she said, "This has all been very difficult because a lot of them are our friends. We've worked together on a lot of other issues over time."
Glenn Spagnuolo, an organizer with Re-create 68, said he doesn't mind the new structure.
"More power to them," he said.
Spagnuolo characterizes the groups that are splitting with his as liberal Democrats who are largely white and middle-to-upper class and want their party to guide the country out of the war in Iraq.
(To Spagnuolo and those of like mind; these are the same people who celebrated the 2006 elections and were betrayed by the very people and party they supported, activists that have explored every peaceful passive path of ”proper resistance” to bring the Iraq War to closure and Bush and Cheney to Impeachment, both failed goals as they are viewed as noisy talkative, petition signing, meeting going failures. They are seen as Ghandi lovers and supporters of The Declaration of Independence.)
He described Re-create 68 as representing minorities, anarchists, communists, socialists and "radicals" who don't support Democrats or Republicans.
(People of this cast of mind don’t care who is elected because they don’t see anyone as an improvement so long as the system remains intact so that line of logic and plea falls on deaf ears. Change has to be more than cosmetic and symbolic; and promises have to have substantive programs behind them, the meat on the bone, not just altruistic rhetoric.)
Both his organization and the Alliance oppose the war, he said, and neither one advocates violence. (Obviously, there are those who don’t believe those words.)
However, the statement of nonviolent principles listed on the Re-create 68 website includes the right to self-defense, which has raised questions within the moderate flank of the local activist community.
Adam Jung, a University of Denver student who represents Tent State University, which pulled out of Re-create 68 in May, said he doesn't think Re-create 68 is planning violence. But he expressed concerns about Spagnuolo's insistence that he would resist police.
"This isn't like Cuba or the Revolutionary War," Jung said. "If attacked by a police officer, I wouldn't respond violently. I'm going to comply."
And that is where the two sides part company if and until something goes very wrong in the streets of Denver or Minneapolis; then all bets are off!
Michael Heaney, a political science professor at the University of Florida who has studied the antiwar movement, looks at the local split against the larger backdrop of the new political scene now that Sen. Barack Obama is the presumptive Democratic nominee.
"This forces them to strategically rethink the whole idea of protest (tactics).
"Do they really want to create chaos in the Democratic Party at a time when the Democrats are poised to nominate the first African-American candidate in history who many are satisfied with?"
For some the answer is yes. For The far Right their issues are not Obama’s issues.
http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2008/06/graphic-political-commentary.html
But for now; take care I am off for Denver.
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