RNC Watch

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NYC Indymedia is reporting that "arrests during the Republican National Convention could reach 1,000 a day - three times the city's normal volume, Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said yesterday ... Morgenthau said the Police Department anticipates a significant increase in arrests in the weeks before and during the convention, which is scheduled for Aug. 30 to Sept. 2 at Madison Square Garden." [Read More]

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We dug up an old Newsday editorial in which the NYCLU highlights its concerns about the police behavior during the RNC:

"February 15th ... cannot be repeated. More troubling is the prospect of even more extreme tactics - such as the armored vehicles and rubber bullets used in November by police in Miami at free-trade demonstrations. Attending a demonstration must not put law-abiding protesters and their children in danger from the police."

Also, RNCPundit Patrol has some interesting media analysis about news coverage of those damn protest pens.

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NEW RNC MEDIA ANALYSIS BLOG, PUNDIT PATROL
In collaboration with the New York Indypendent and RNCWatch, we've launched a new weblog, RNCPunditPatrol, which will ruthlessly and entertainingly examine media coverage of what will probably be one of the biggest media circuses since Chicago 1968-- protests during Republican National Convention.

"Odds are that the the RNC protests will eventually garner their very own 'beat reporters,' that is, journalists who will be assigned to cover the RNC and the protests and nothing else. The blog will take an in-depth look at those, try and figure out what they're up to, and also examine RNC coverage more generally."
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GOP PLANS HUGE DUMBO PARK BASH
According to the Brooklyn Papers, "When the Republican National Convention rolls into town this summer, Manhattan won’t be the only borough getting a piece of the action ... Empire – Fulton Ferry State Park in DUMBO, tucked between the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridge overpasses, will be the site of a GOP sponsored blowout bash for nearly 15,000 news media personnel coming to town, according to sources working on the plans."
[Read More]
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TENSION BETWEEN BLOOMBERG, GOP GROWS PRE-CONVENTION
The New York Times is reporting: On paper, the Republican National Convention should be the four most fabulous days in Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's political career. He will be presiding over the largest gathering of fellow Republicans ever in New York, with the nation's eyes turned on his city and, presumably, the mayor himself.

But Mr. Bloomberg-- a lifelong Democrat who became a Republican to run for office-- finds himself in an uncomfortable political position, one that promises to get tougher as the convention nears. New York Democrats, who outnumber Republicans by a ratio of five to one, are complaining that their mayor is doing the bidding of the White House. At the same time, Republicans close to the White House say they view Mr. Bloomberg's Democratic background with suspicion and have clashed with his aides over logistical and financial details of the convention. [Read More]
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WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN DEMOCRACY? NYPD SAYS NO

John Tarleton of the Indypendent reports from outside election polls on Super Tuesday in New York:

Democracy wasn't doing so well Tuesday afternoon at 351 W. 18th St.

I went with my friend Patty to pass out a few leaflets outside the polling place at Bayard Rustin High School. While there, we were alternately harassed and threatened with arrest by five different police officers even as we stood beyond a sign that clearly marked the 100 ft. boundary where we could legally distribute political literature. The leaflets had information about this summer's protests against the Republican National Convention. The reason we were passing them out: to remind Super Tuesday voters know there are other ways to participate in a democracy besides voting.

Patty repeatedly asked the police to examine the fine print on the "No Electioneering" sign, which read in plain black and white "from polling place to this point." The first two police officers who came on the scene adamantly refused to read the law they were supposed to uphold, yelling back at Patty that they knew what the law was and that we had to move another 150 feet down the street or face arrest. One of them even told us we could cause our candidate to "lose points" if we continued to act out of line. Patty Heffley wouldn't back down. She's lived in the neighborhood for over 20 years and has passed out election day leaflets in front of this school before. The cops didnít know what to make of this large, loud woman in baggy pants and a bright red jacket shouting at them "I have every right to be here! I have everyright to be here! I know what my rights are!" I grabbed my address book and urged Patty to start calling friends to let them know what was up in case we were taken away. Read full article posted on NYC Indymedia

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RNC ORGANIZERS REPORT BEING CONTACTED BY THE SECRET SERVICE

The organizers behind the website counterconvention.org have reported they were contacted by the Secret Service on Thursday. The NYC Indymedia site has posted an email from counterconvention.org that reads in part:

After confirming that the inquiry was real (by calling the Secret Service main line in DC and confirming the agents name) we immediately spoke with a lawyer at the NYCLU who agreed to follow up with the Secret Service on our behalf. However, the Secret Service agent was unwilling to speak to our lawyer. Because we are unwilling to communicate with the Secret Service without our lawyer the agent only said that he would proceed with the investigation "through other means".

At this time we don't know why the Secret Service contacted us or what questions they had, because the agent refused to relay his questions to us through our lawyer. While receiving a phone call from an investigative agency like the Secret Service should always be taken seriously, we have no reason to believe this is part of any larger campaign or investigation on their part. CounterConvention.org is not involved in any illegal activities--the website is simply a tool designed to facilitate organizing work that groups around the city are taking on.

This letter is not being sent as an alarmist note, rather as one of information and caution. The Secret Service, FBI and NYPD will all be involved in policing activities around the Republican Convention and will be watching all public meetings, listservs and websites very closely. These agencies each have long histories of using intimidation to stifle legal protest and dissent.

The Secret Service will be working with the NYPD during the the convention because the government has designated the convention to be "National Special Security Event."

Since Sept. 11, there have been numerous other reports of Secret Service and FBI agents questioning activists and artists involved in legal forms of dissent. The Progressive recently published an exhaustive round-up of some of these cases in an article titled "The New McCarthyism." The Christian Science Monitor also published a similar article titled "Political Dissent Can Bring Federal Agents to Your Door"

Othe examples include:

• 19-year A.J Brown of North Carolina is visited by Secret Service and grilled for 40 minutes after they received a tip that her apartment contained "anti-American" material.

• FBI agents visit the home of retired telephone company worker Barry Reingold after he was overheard critizing President Bush at a San Francisco gym.

• In November, 2001 the Secret Service and FBI paid a visit to the Art Car Museum in Houston, Texas after receiving reports an exhibit titled "Secret Wars" may be anti-American.

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BUSH GAY MARRIAGE STANCE LIKELY TO BACKFIRE DURING NYC CONVENTION

President Bush's "decision to launch a culture war against gays could easily turn into a millstone around his neck by the end of summer," predicts American Prospect columnist Garance Franke-Ruta.

Franke-Puta goes on to note that New York City already recognizes gay marriages performed elsewhere; the state's two leading Republicans, Governor George Pataki and Mayor Michael Bloomberg both oppose a constitutional ban on same sex marriage; the New York village of New Paltz has already begun marrying same sex couples; and New York has some of the most active gay organizations in the country, including Lambda Legal Defense Fund.

Franke-Ruta concludes the article: "Bush is thus entering the lion's den by having the Republican Convention in New York. He has turned the city into enemy territory in the culture war. And as a wartime president, he should know the foolhardiness of parachuting into the heart of enemy territory without the aid of friendly locals."
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