Election

16 Arrested During Election Night Celebration in Charles Village

CEM — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 11:21:32 -0800

Here's a letter that we received and wanted to share with everyone. If anyone else would like to publicize first-hand information about the police misconduct in Charles Village on Election Night, or has other Election Night experiences they'd like to share, please post your comments here or email us at cem@centerforemergingmedia.org.

Marc,

During the night following the election, my roommates and I walked
down to 33rd and St. Paul and started celebrating the election of
Barack Obama. We quickly gained support of local students, and our
group of seven quickly grew to over 400. What was a beautifully
patriotic evening, filled with unity and gentle celebration, quickly
turned into fear and chaos as the Baltimore Police Department randomly
(and illegally) assaulted, intimidated, and arrested many members of a
peaceful crowd.

Last Spring, President Ungar invited you to speak at Goucher to a
group of Goucher students, faculty, and staff. President Ungar
personally invited me at the last moment, claiming it was essential
that I hear you speak. Your discussion inspired me to want to get more
involved with our city, and this semester several of my friends and I
moved down to Charles Village from Towson, in order to become true
Baltimoreans.

On November 4, the six of us - all sophomores at Goucher, voted
for the first time. Sending in my absentee ballot to my native
California was one of the most exciting things I have ever done, and
we were all excited to partake in making history. Just a month before
hearing you speak at Goucher, I had the opportunity to shake now
President-elect Obama's hand at an election rally in Wilmington. I
took the train up to Wilmington by myself, and I instantly befriended
a group of students from the University of Delaware. The feeling of
unity was overwhelming, and I instantly knew this campaign was unlike
anything else in history.

The night of Nov. 4th was no exception. My roommates and I had to get
outside to celebrate. People joined quickly and we were suddenly
flanked by members of the community, students from several
institutions, schoolteachers, and professors - all united and chanting
"USA! USA!". The Hopkins Campus Security respected the crowd and kept
it under control, and it became a truly beautiful event. I was
surrounded by people I had never met before, of all colors: black and
white, Muslim and Jewish, old and young, from near and far all
celebrating under American flags.

You have already heard about what the police did last night. They
arrested two of my roommates and another one of my friends, for
reasons that were never disclosed. I stood and watched while my
roommate, a 19-year-old girl from New Jersey, was grabbed by the
throat by two policemen twice her size and had her arms bound so
tightly behind her back, she was screaming in agony.

I have talked with Goucher President Sanford Ungar, and he has already tried to help us get our
voice heard. The fact is that this happens every night in this city,
without a single mention in the Sun or on the local TV news. These
students and the professor that were arrested were never told their
rights and were fingerprinted, photographed, intimidated, and forced
to spend hours in cells with people charged with violent crimes.
Fortunately, my friends and the rest of these aforementioned sixteen
that were arrested are lucky enough to be backed up by institutions
like Goucher College and Johns Hopkins University.

I know this letter is far from brief, and I appreciate that you have
taken the time to read this. I was inspired by your discussion at
Goucher, and wanted to know what I could do to change something in
this city. I think Baltimore is a beautiful place buried in an
inconceivable amount of filth. Before election day I couldn't fathom
how I could help, or what I could even help with. I now know the
intricacies of how the Baltimore Police Department detains citizens
without Mirandizing them, charging them, or respecting their basic
freedoms. I feel I can speak on behalf of everyone who witnessed
Tuesday night's atrocities when I say that we want to help.

The sixteen people arrested last night were picked randomly. It could
have been anyone. I have spoken with and know personally several of
those arrested and can tell you that they were all respectable and
respectful citizens that have done so much already to make this city a
better place. Will these volunteers, public school teachers, artists,
and professors voices be drowned out?

I hope not.

Thank you again for speaking to us at Goucher. Baltimore needs you,
and is lucky to have you.

Thank you,

Nick Bourland
Goucher College class of 2011

Day After the Election by Marc Steiner

CEM — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:25:33 -0800

Last night, I went to my daughter Chelsea’s home to watch the returns. She was having a watch party. It was the perfect venue for that night for many reasons. Chelsea’s mom, Sayida Stone, my first wife and a dear friend, is African American. Chelsea is a Black woman, a mixed race child of America. She has three children, my grand children. Their father, Ebon, a schoolteacher, martial artist and musician, is Afro-Italian-Puerto Rican. From the beginning, Chelsea was deeply moved by Obama’s candidacy. It was their time, it was their day, and it is their time now.

Chelsea’s sister, Alana, her mom’s daughter with her husband who is Jamaican, is 21 years old, a brilliant artist and a junior at MICA. I call her my daughter once removed, she calls me Saba, which is Hebrew for grandfather. Alana was there with a dozen of her classmates. Young, African American, Latino, Asian, mixed race and white who worked for this campaign, who believed in this message of hope.

Chelsea’s friends who were there ranged from 28 to their early forties, every color of the American rainbow. Her mom, her husband Jenel, and others of our generation were there, as well.

The feeling in her home was electric and explosive, but explosive with peace and hope. When Obama was announced the next President of the Untied States of America, there was a pandemonium of joy, screaming, shouting, hugging, singing and champagne corks popping.

I looked around realizing this was their day. These young people believed so deeply and were so full of what the future might bring to us all.

While watching television it was hard not to notice the contrast between the Obama supporters in Grant Park in Chicago and the McCain supporters. Obama’s in a public park with thousands of people of every generation and race in America and McCain’s in a private club for the wealthy and all, well not all, but almost all, white.

This was an election of the two Americas from which we were born and in which we still live. Our great nation has no state religion. Our state religion is our democracy, our belief in freedom and liberty. The USA was founded on liberty and slavery in the same breath. Imagine that and think about that for a moment. Liberty and slavery are the foundations of our nation. The roots of the contradiction and the hope that dwell uneasily together in our nation’s soul were alive and palpable last night in this election.

Maybe the tenor is about to change. Race and racism hurt America. It is a deep wound in the Black American spirit. It is a burden of pain in white America, as well.

The man who was voted in to become the 44th President of the United States of America may be changing the tenor and tone of our nation. In the spirit of the civil rights warriors, he was unbowed and non-violent in his stand against his tormentors in this campaign. When Barack Obama was faced with lies and low blows dealt by his opponents, the Republican Party and their independent advocates, he responded with dignity, strength and love. So many of his supporters screamed that he should fight back, blow for blow and spit in their eye. Barack Obama chose to hold his head and his sense of morality and ethics high, so he kept walking straight ahead amidst the verbal blows and lies. He set a standard for his supporters and the America he believes in. The roots of that way of responding politically come from Martin Luther King, the Student Non Violent Coordinating Committee, Fannie Lou Hamer and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and the civil rights movement of the 1950’s and 60’s that they gave birth to and that gave birth to them. It bodes well for what we may be able to do in America together.

I am not naïve about the difficulty that lies ahead of us. Barack Obama is not the savior; he is the embodiment of hope for many Americans. The struggle is now on to define our future. We can now fight for something rather than against it. We will have a seat at the table for the debate on our nation’s future. We have serious work ahead of us.

Good gumbo, too, last night... A gumbo of America in the room, a gumbo of America who voted Obama, and a great gumbo in the pot.

Change We Cannot Quit On by Stavros Halkias

CEM — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 07:49:29 -0800

Here are some thoughts written late last night by CEM intern and UMBC student Stavros Halkias. We'd like to encourage everyone to send in their post-election thoughts. Post comments here, email us at cem@centerforemergingmedia.org, or call us on the air today between 5-6pm at 410-319-8888.

Voting for the first time in my life was legitimately exciting. From the moment I entered my polling place, which happened to be my elementary school, I was overcome with emotion. In the building where I first learned what the office of the president was, I would have a hand in choosing the next person to occupy that office. Even better, I was supporting a candidate I actually believed in and held incredible hopes for. My nerves and elation were held together by an overarching sense of purpose. I was part of a societal change, with my ballot serving as tangible proof. Why can’t I feel like this everyday? Why can’t every day be Election Day?

Despite these feelings, as I walked out of that polling station I couldn’t help but wonder “What’s next?” Barack Obama had the kind of campaign and following that was unprecedented in this nation’s history. His campaign deposed Democratic royalty in the primaries, broke all kinds of fundraising records, and truly inspired vast numbers of people for the first time in decades. The sobering realization I came to was that campaigns and administrations are two very different things. Historically, the energy campaigns create largely dies after the immediate goal of election is met. We can’t allow that to happen this time. All the people who voted for Barack Obama on Tuesday, all the people that were part of the historic movement for change in our country, must challenge themselves further. To borrow a few words from the President elect’s victory speech, “This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.”

So, don’t let things go back to the way they were before Barack came along. Don't rely solely on his administration to make change. Let Barack Obama's election be the beginning--not the end--of your efforts. Become more civically involved. Start helping your community in any way you can. Identify problems and work towards them yourself. Volunteer. Tutor at-risk youth. Protest injustice. Support more change-minded politicians. Study social change movements. Do something! Take the energy you put into the campaign and move it to your community, don’t let it go to waste. Don’t just get excited and wait for change-- make change and make everyday Election Day.

-Stavros Halkias

More Follow-up on Protests and Arrests During RNC by Sonia Silbert

CEM — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 10:31:58 -0700

Sonia Silbert, Co-coordinator of the Washington Peace Center, wrote last week with updates on the mass arrests and detentions by police of activists during the Republican National Convention in the Twin Cities. Here are some more reports from her from later in the week. You can also listen to her interview with us during the RNC on The Marc Steiner Show - click here.

Click here to read more!

In The Jail - treatment and abuse.

Tuesday morning we called the jail and learned that Jonathan and Kari were being held on felony charges, which blew us all away. There was no way they could have the evidence to back that up, so we were sure the charge would be reduced when they finally saw a judge, but it meant that they would be held another night in jail.

As of Tuesday evening, our friends had been in jail over 24 hours. Kari, the 20-year old, had managed to call her mom in Pennsylvania, who called the legal line in a panic. I got her phone number and called her back to reassure her regarding why she got arrested (photographers are scary, I guess), how she would be treated (kept with the protesters, not the general prison population, and I didn’t tell her about the rumors of prisoner abuse that were seeping out of the jail), and what would be the repercussions of this (she’ll be freaked out, but there’s no way she’ll be convicted of a felony…Inshallah).

JAIL SUPPORT

Wednesday afternoon, I went down to the jail where people had been doing a vigil all day. Everyone who had been arrested on Monday had to be charged and released by today since it had been 36 hours – it turned into many more hours than that, but they started the process at least at the 36 hr mark. Our friend Tobin, the minor, had gotten out that morning and his dad had flown him back home. His police report basically just said that he was recognized at an earlier action and that was all the evidence provided – we were all pissed that the public defender didn’t ask for the charges to be dismissed. He has a court date back in Minnesota in October.

There were about 100 activists sitting in the grass outside the jail talking, playing guitar, eating, etc. Needless to say, we were surrounded by riot cops, some on horseback, on all four corners. They continued to group and regroup throughout the afternoon and evening, letting everyone know we could be raided, detained and arrested at any time. Our crimes? Some kind of felony I would guess. Talking too loud or something.

One by one, arrestees were meeting with public defenders, standing in front of a judge, getting (most of) their possessions back and then being released. We went into the court building which was surrounded by wire fencing and guarded by National Guard.

Our friend Aaron, who is an Iraq vet from Chicago, pointed out that even here you could see a huge difference between city cops and the National Guard. The RNC had $50 million to spend on policing the Twin Cities and every cop had brand-new full-body riot gear – padding from shoulder to toe, helmets, gas masks, tools and toys bulging out of every pocket so they had a hard time walking too fast. The Guard, on the other hand, were wearing their camo (so they couldn’t be seen in the city?) and a flak vest without any protection in it. Even in a case like this, the funding doesn’t go to the members of the military. Funny, because it sure feels like a military state out here.

Kari finally went in front of a judge and got her charge reduced to a misdemeanor, just like Jonathan. However, for some reason her judge gave her $300 bail, while Jonathan had none. Some of the main organizers who had been locked up all week were being held on $70,000 bail, which they negotiated down to $1000 bail. Apparently bail bondsmen usually only charge 10% (this is information I now know), but for the RNC protesters they were raising their charges a lot. We were told we’d have to pay $200 to get a bondsman to pay her $300, so the 5 of us from our affinity group went to an ATM and split the amont and pay her bail.

Hours later, I got a collect call from Ramsey Co. Jail on my cell phone from Kari. I knew that I’ll only have 45 seconds before they’d cut me off and demand money, so I quickly told her that we had paid her bail and were all waiting outside for her. She said that the money hadn’t shown up in the system yet and they were transferring her back upstairs to another cell.

She sounded so scared and sad, as if she was never going to get out. I felt the same – if they had lost the bail money (which had to be cash and we had been given no receipt) or were just going to take forever to process it, she’d have to spend another night in jail, this time without many of the activists she had been in with all week.

About half an hour later – about midnight – a group of arrestees are released all at the same time and everyone rushed over to applaud them and see who it is. We are all kinda glum, knowing it wouldn’t be our friends, when through the crowd I see Lily, Ryan and David grinning the most honest and joyful smiles I’ve ever seen, and I peak over the heads and I see Kari! She’s been released and has no idea why and is so happy to be out of there.

Within minutes Jonathan and a group of guys are walking down the fenced walkway and there is a beautiful Hollywood moment when Kari and Jonathan run towards each other and he picks her up and spins her around with one arm while flipping off the jail with the other hand. It was pretty great.

The riot cops have backed off – perhaps we’re not as scary when everyone is so happy. At one point, 2 cops weave their way through the celebration and folks start chanting “You’re sexy, you’re cute – take off that riot suit!”

ABUSE IN THE JAIL

As more people get out, we hear more stories from inside the jail that are pretty awful. There are two guys who have been beaten up pretty badly by the guards inside – one has been released, one they couldn’t find in the system. The one they couldn’t find was James, Lisa’s friend and a member of the Pagan Cluster. Jonathan said the 5 or 6 cops went into his cell with batons and beat him up and then moved him elsewhere.

The one who was released was a 19-yr-old named Elliot. He later spoke at a press conference detailing what had happened. He and others had been chanting for medical attention and 5 or 6 cops came into his cell, punched him unconsceiounce, then banged his head against the floor, waking him up. They took him to a separate cell where they put a hood over his head with a gag and used pain compliance holds on him for about an hour and a half – this included disconnecting his jaw and bending his ankles all the way backwards. He had bruises and scrapes on his face and was obviously still traumatized.

A friend of mine who I was watching the press conference with broke down while listening to Elliot’s testimony – he had had similar pain compliance holds used on him by the cops 4 years ago. I had felt traumatized enough being detained at gunpoint and feeling vulnerable on the streets – this intense torture by government officials is something that I don’t know if you ever recover from.

Watch Elliot's testimony here.

On The Streets: harrassment and more mass arrests

Police harassment and arrests continued throughout the week even though the main protests that were designed to block the conventioneers were only planned on Monday. The police presence and abuse throughout the week is hard to overstate. Veteran activists said they hadn’t been so scared or seen such police activity since Miami in 2003 – the FTAA protests notorious for its brutality. That mobilization sent many activists I know into support roles because they couldn’t be on the street anymore.

This kind of police aggression is not the norm for mobilizations – even when “those scary anarchists” are involved. It’s amazing how quickly it becomes normalized though – just don’t walk alone, take off that black hat, oh, there’s another row of 40 riot cops, let’s cross the street. People get used to everything, but this was a rapid normalization of an extreme police state. “Minnesota nice” was out the window.

TUESDAY

Tuesday afternoon, there was an all day peace concert at the state capital – Rage Against the Machine was going to make a surprise appearance at the end of it, but the cops wouldn’t let them play for some reason. So the band stood in front of the stage and passed one bull-horn back and forth and sang some of the crowd’s favorites… they then led the crowd down to join the Rally for the Poor Peoples' Economic Human Rights Campaign that was started out further down the hill. The riot cops were out in force and seemed to be looking for a fight I guess. In any case, they tear gassed and pepper sprayed the crowd again – the Poor People’s March organizers got out of there as the cops started escalating their tactics.

I was at an action in downtown Minneapolis at a party thrown by the American Petroleum Institute for Republican delegates and lobbyists. We were doing a parady, dressed up as oil execs and thanking the Republicans for supporting more and more drilling. Billionaires for Bush have now become Lobbyists for McCain and they came to the celebration. A lone polar bear also made an appearance and got in a death match with Sarah Palin who, as all have been hearing, is pretty tough in situations such as this. The bear didn’t fare too well. While we were greeting party attendees, we also were getting text messages that our friends were getting beat up and tear-gassed in St Paul… our crew got out okay. Funnily enough, our cynical chants of “Drill! Drill! Drill!” were echoed inside the RNC later in the week, but I guess those folks were serious.

Later that night we found out that the Bedlam Theater, a local music venue in Minneapolis that had a punk show on that night, was also surrounded by riot cops. I think about 100 people were arrested at that show. It seemed like the cops were using this week to harass local activists or venues they’d had their eyes on for awhile.

WEDNESDAY

I went to Peace Island, a local peace conference, that was perhaps the stereotype of a peace conference – lots of lovely grey-haired aging hippies. One of them raised her hand and said that she was outraged at the police brutality and harassment throughout the week and how they were targeting protesters based on their appearance. She suggested that all the grey-haired folks in the audience put on bandanas and black hoodies and go out in the street and protect the activists! Everyone applauded, but no one rushed outside.

I still felt uncomfortable walking around in my own black hoodie, even though the temperature had dipped into the 60’s and it was needed. The targeting based on appearance was scary and continued all week. I suppose it’s cliché to say, but it’s an amazing reminder of what I think it’s like to walk around as an African-American young man…

RAIDING THE LEGAL OFFICE

As I was leaving the conference, I got a text that the legal office was being raided and was calling for observers. By the time I got there, the cops were gone and media cameras were everywhere. The legal office’s location had been kept pretty secret from the general public – you had to be escorted there by someone who was working there – because the consequences of its being raided would be really awful. They were in the same building as I Witness Video, which was filming the convention. At the RNC in NY 4 years ago, I Witness’s footage had proven the innocence of a lot of protesters arrested by NYPD.

The cops showed up at that building because they claimed they had received a phone call from someone in the building being “held hostage by an anarchist”. They didn’t have a warrant and weren’t let in, but the building almost evicted the legal office and they were restricted to having only 8 people in there at a time after that. Given that the phone was ringing off the hook from calls from the street and the jail, there were piles of info from those calls that needed to be entered into the database, and lawyers were operating out of that office to collect statements, challenge the use of force by the cops and work to get folks released, this was a big hinderance.

MORE ARRESTS

On Thursday, most of my affinity group left town, including Jonathan and Kari. The cops hadn’t returned most of their property, including Kari’s camera, but they had to leave that place. I agreed and avoided downtown St Paul. It was the last day of the convention and there was a student anti-war protest. Apparently they were a little slow on their march and had reached the end of the time on their permit around 5:00 or so and the cops trapped them on a bridge. My friend who was there said he had never seen so many cops – not this week, not at other protests. There were lines of riot cops, cops on horses, bicycle cops, and then a row or two of National Guard, plus snow plows and dump trucks to block streets. The students sat down on the bridge and the cops used tear gas and concussion grenades and arrested about 400 of them. 400! This included about a dozen journalists, including a Democracy Now! producer who who had been arrested at Monday’s protests as well.

That night, IVAW member Adam Kokesh and two CODEPINKers got into McCain’s speech and interrupted him. The CODEPINKers said it was incredibly easy to get into the convention. There was no way they could’ve gotten into the DNC because the security was so tight, but the RNC was a piece of cake. All three interrupted McCain’s speech and none were arrested.

As of Friday, I believe everyone has been bailed out, many though generous donations from allies.

OVERALL

Overall, about 800 people were arrested this week – after seeing the judge, only about 30 of the 130 felony charges are still standing. There are many civil suits being discussed; I think Amy Goodman and the 30 or 40 or so journalists who were arrested are doing their own suit, and the ACLU and the National Lawyers Guild are both planning suits as well. It’s funny to think back on Friday night and how shocking that original raid of the convergence space was. It seemed so outrageous and worthy of its own civil suit all by itself. And then the week began and we realized that was just the beginning.

HOW TO HELP

Donate to the legal support fund for general arrestees and for the lead organizers who are being charged with pretty serious charges. Also donate to the Welcoming Committee for organizing all logistics for the weekend. Links to donate are at www.nornc.org.

Get some media attention! The police brutality was barely covered in the mainstream media, even more liberal outlets such as NPR or the NY Times. Call your local station, write a short letter to the editor, and demand coverage of such extremism.

Also, hug an independent journalist! Check out Democracy Now! and your local Indymedia site for the news the other guys don’t want you to hear, then forward all this info on to any other caring folks you know.

Read Sonia Silbert's blog here.

From Lea - Not About the Issues, huh? and "The Mirrored Ceiling"

lea — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:45:44 -0700

As I try and recover from the most derisive, hateful and misleading (Rudy Guiliani representing the joys of family values and small town America?) convention I have ever had the non-pleasure to witness, I'm sitting and pondering about the next few weeks and trusting that the actual issues and not I'm-a- hockey-mom-and-you're-not-you-elitist-rich-non moose-eating Democrats, will make way to discussing our soaring unemployment rate, our bizarro trade deficit, our over 40 million fellow citizens with no health insurance, poverty, HIV-AIDS...shall I continue?

Click READ MORE below!

Rick Davis, John McCain’s campaign manager said this week, “This election is not about issues.” “This election is about a composite view of what people take away from these candidates.” That is unbelievably frightening. Issues don't matter, huh? The last time we elected a president we wanted to have a beer with, we descended into eight years of hell.

So, I decided to torture myself just a bit more and check out the mainstream media web sites, and as I clicked across net-land, I came across this blog entry by Judith Warner for the New York Times. She brilliantly states my beliefs, and I wanted to share:

The Mirrored Ceiling
by Judith Warner
http://warner.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/the-mirrored-ceiling/?em

It turns out there was something more nauseating than the nomination of Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate this past week. It was the tone of the acclaim that followed her acceptance speech.

“Drill, baby, drill,” clapped John Dickerson, marveling at Palin’s ability to speak and smile at the same time( http://www.slate.com/id/2199250/) as an indication of her unexpected depths and unsuspected strengths. “It was clear Palin was having fun, and it’s hard to have fun if you’re scared or a lightweight,” he wrote in Slate.

The Politico praised her charm and polish as( http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13147.html) antidotes to her lack of foreign policy experience: “Palin’s poised and flawless performance evoked roars of applause from delegates who earlier this week might have worried that the surprise pick and newcomer to the national stage may not be up to the job.”
“She had a great night. I thought she had a very skillfully written, and very skillfully delivered speech,” Joe Biden said, shades of “articulate and bright and clean” threatening a reappearance. (For a full roundup of these comments go here: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13147.html)

Thus began the official public launch of our country’s now most-prominent female politician. The condescension – damning with faint praise – was reminiscent of the more overt misogyny of Samuel Johnson.
“A woman’s preaching is like a dog’s walking on his hinder legs,” the wit once observed. “It is not done well; but you are surprized to find it done at all.”

Palin sounded, at times, like she was speaking a foreign language as she gave voice to the beautifully crafted words that had been prepared for her on Wednesday night.

But that wasn’t held against her. Thanks to the level of general esteem that greeted her ascent to the podium, it seems we’ve all got to celebrate the fact that America’s Hottest Governor (Princess of the Fur Rendezvous 1983, Miss Wasilla 1984) could speak at all.

Could there be a more thoroughgoing humiliation for America’s women?
You are not, I think, supposed now to say this. Just as, I am sure, you are certainly not supposed to feel that having Sarah Palin put forth as the Republicans’ first female vice presidential candidate is just about as respectful a gesture toward women as was John McCain’s suggestion, last month, that his wife participate in a topless beauty contest.

Such thoughts, we are told, are sexist. And elitist. After all, via Palin, we now hear without cease, the People are speaking. The “real” “authentic,” small-town “Everyday People,” of Hockey Moms and Blue Collar Dads whom even Rudolph Giuliani now invokes as an antidote to the cosmopolite Obamas and their backers in the liberal media. (Remind me please, once again, what was the name of the small town where Rudy grew up?)
Why does this woman – who to some of us seems as fake as they can come, with her delicate infant son hauled out night after night under the klieg lights and her pregnant teenage daughter shamelessly instrumentalized for political purposes — deserve, to a unique extent among political women, to rank as so “real”?

Because the Republicans, very clearly, believe that real people are idiots. This disdain for their smarts shows up in the whole way they’ve cast this race now, turning a contest over economic and foreign policy into a culture war of the Real vs. the Elites. It’s a smoke and mirrors game aimed at diverting attention from the fact that the party’s tax policies have helped create an elite that’s more distant from “the people” than ever before. And from the fact that the party’s dogged allegiance to up-by-your-bootstraps individualism — an individualism exemplified by Palin, the frontierswoman who somehow has managed to “balance” five children and her political career with no need for support — is leading to a culture-wide crack-up.
Real people, the kind of people who will like and identify with Palin, they clearly believe, are smart, but not too smart, and don’t talk too well, dropping their “g”s, for example, and putting tough concepts like “vice president” in quotation marks.

“As for that ‘V.P.’ talk all the time … I tell ya, I still can’t answer that question until somebody answers for me, What is it exactly that the ‘VP’ does every day?” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9poCWnGIb8 )Palin asked host Lawrence Kudlow on CNBC sometime before her nomination. “I’m used to bein’ very productive and workin’ real hard in an administration and we want to make sure that that ‘V.P.’ slot would be a fruitful type of position.”

And, I think, they find her acceptably “real,” because Palin’s not intimidating, and makes it clear that she’s subordinate to a great man.
That’s the worst thing a woman can be in this world, isn’t it? Intimidating, which appears to be synonymous with competent. It’s the kiss of death, personally and politically.

But shouldn’t a woman who is prepared to be commander in chief be intimidating? Because of the intelligence, experience, talent and drive that got her there? If she isn’t, at least on some level, off-putting, if her presence inspires national commentary on breast-pumping and babysitting rather than health care reform and social security, then something is seriously wrong. If she doesn’t elicit at least some degree of awe, then something is missing.

One of the worst poisons of the American political climate right now, the thing that time and again in recent years has led us to disaster, is the need people feel for leaders they can “relate” to. This need isn’t limited to women; it brought us after all, two terms of George W. Bush. And it isn’t new; Americans have always needed to feel that their leaders were, on some level, people like them.

But in the past, it was possible to fill that need through empathetic connection. Few Depression-era voters could “relate” to Franklin Roosevelt’s patrician background, notes historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. “It was his ability to connect to them that made them feel they could connect to him,” she told me in a phone interview.

The age of television, Goodwin believes, has made the demand for connection more immediate and intense. But never before George W. Bush did it quite reach the beer-drinking level of familiarity. “Now it’s all about being able to see your life story in the candidate, rather than the candidate, with empathy, being able to relate to you.”

There’s a fine line between likability and demagoguery. Both thrive upon manipulation and least-common-denominator politics. These days, I fear, this need for direct mirroring — and thus this susceptibility to all sorts of low-level tripe — is particularly acute among women, who are perhaps reaching historic lows in their comfort levels with themselves and their choices.

Just look at how quickly the reaction to Palin devolved into what The Times this week called the (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/02/us/politics/02mother.html?em) “Mommy Wars: Special Campaign Edition.” Much of the talk about Palin (like the emoting about Hillary Clinton before her) ultimately came down to this: is she like me or not like me? If she’s not like me, can I like her? And what kind of child care does she have?

“This election is not about issues,” Rick Davis, John McCain’s campaign manager said this week. “This election is about a composite view of what people take away from these candidates.” That’s a scary thought. For the takeaway is so often base, a reflection more of people’s fears and insecurities than of our hopes and dreams.

We’re not likely to get a worthy female president anytime soon.

Thanks Judith.

Just my opinion folks, and you know what is said about those...

-Lea

Whatever you sellin', I ain't buying, by Guest Blogger Ronnie Djoukeng

CEM — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:42:45 -0700

It’s the economy stupid! The famous words from Democratic political strategist James Carville flashed in my mind while Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin gave her speech. The McCain ticket is gambling big time that the trifecta: toughness, Iraq, and military service will pre-occupy voters mind. There’s something Reaganesque about the McCain approach too – it’s tried, true, and tired.

Click READ MORE below!

Here we are in the 2nd millennium and the Republican National Convention is homogenous and monolithic—it lacked diversity. The cowboy stance of fighting terrorism isn’t currying favor with Americans or the rest of the world and Republicans couldn’t be more indifferent. The RNC permitted Guiliani the glib speaker to be a man of contradictions. In order to elevate Palin, he shot himself in the foot. In order to contrast Palin and Obama’s political upbringing, Guiliani chose the words cosmopolitan and flashy to describe Barack and Chicago since Palin is from a dull small-town of Wasila with a scant population less than 10,000. During his speech, one had to wonder what descriptive language Guiliani would have used to portray New York City in all of its glory? If Guiliani was supposed to be selling Palin, it was more akin to window shopping—ogling at the shiny merchandise from the window but never enticed to actually purchase. And if Palin was supposed to be selling the need for the McCain/Palin ticket, she demonstrated their ticket constitutes a want not a need.

The rhetoric might have felt good last night, but it is unclear what role if any Palin would play to ensure Americans feel this way for the next 4 years? Palin deliberately chose not to articulate any policy positions. The feel good mainstream references and false aphorisms she spoke will have to resonate with the rest of America and independents before the elections take place. The most celebrated mainstream axiom of all – “where’s the beef”— fittingly describes Palin’s speech. Palin touched on job creation vis-à-vis her position on energy, but the scope of her detail appeared esoteric to Alaska excluding the steel plant workers of Ohio or motor city assemblymen of Michigan.

It is unclear what direction McCain’s speech will take tonight. If he is trying to sell his patriotism, he doesn’t have too – Americans are aware that he is a decorated veteran. Although, he should wonder how patriotism will resonate with voters considering his Party dismissed his war record during the 2000 elections. And it was his Party that selected a candidate without a veteran record in the form of George W. Bush. And don’t forget it was his Party that trivialized the patriotism of another war hero’s candidacy for president. Indeed, Hillary was right last week when she declared – “McCain is more of the same” this is Bush III after all.

Ronnie Djoukeng

Ronnie Djoukeng is a Maryland blogger who can be found at her group blog, http://5andapossible.blogspot.com/ .

Marc's Response to Palin's Speech

CEM — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 09:15:21 -0700

The Republicans really kicked it out last night. They laid out their battle plan and came out swinging a message that will resonate with that portion of the American public that could go either way in the election. Their votes could be the ones who will decide who becomes the next President of the United States.

Palin proved herself a combatative, tough, smart and savvy politician last night, and those who spoke before her provided a powerful build up to her speech. On Tuesday night, I thought well, these guys are boring and have no spark. I was surprised knowing how smart, and at times underhanded, their campaign strategists can be. They have the Karl Rove team in place, after all.

Click READ MORE below!

Well last night they pulled it off. First, former Md. Lt. Governor Michael Steele spoke and gave the conventioneers a new slogan that caught on like wild fire. Remember when McCain, in North Carolina I believe, said we have to “Drill now, Drill here?” Well, Steele came out with a play on that shouting “Drill, Baby, Drill!” which itself was a play on the sixties slogan, "Burn, Baby, Burn!" that people chanted in the inner city riots of 1965 and 1968. The delegates ate it up and chanted this new slogan all night long. It will be a campaign cheer to whip up the crowds from here on through November 4th. Ahh, some white folks just get so titillated at hip Black speak.

When former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani spoke, the crowd spontaneously broke out in the cheer "Drill, Baby, Drill!". First it was clear the Rudy had not listened to the Steele’s speech because he smiled, repeated the phase with an incredulous laugh. It showed the rallying power of that slogan, but it also showed how no one in power listens to Steele. He is their symbol with so little real substance. They don’t have many African American voices so his role is important to them.

In between Steele and Giuliani, former presidential candidate Governor Huckabee of Arkansas spoke. He was the soft opening. His was a pleasant kind voice during an evening of non-stop assault on the Democrats. He spoke of hatred of racism, growing up poor and coming from proud working class roots. His line of the night was that he decided to work his way out of poverty and not wait for the government to pull him out.

Rudy Giuliani was a pit bull. He stoked the crowd, belittling Barack Obama and the Democrats in general. I thought he would never end but he did his job. He loved being up there, the bad boy New Yorker taking on his Democratic neighbors.

Governor Sarah Palin clearly will be the one who go for the jugular against the Democrats in this campaign. She told America that she has a loving family with all the foibles and problems of every other family. She was the every woman of hard working mothers. Yeah, my baby has Down Syndrome, I love him and I have to keep going and working. I will be the advocate for Special Needs families in the White House.

One of the central themes of the campaign emerged, as Sarah Palin and the other speakers took the stage. They will argue that McCain’s POW experience, serving America, not bending in front of his evil (and that was one of the word of the night) tormentors at the Hanoi Hilton is the kind of courage and integrity America needs. They will argue that the Democrats are untested, Palin has a run a state and McCain stands up for what is right and they will take on the Beltway establishment.

Their themes were clear:

McCain was right about the War and the Surge. He had the courage to fight and we are winning the war in Iraq because of it. The Democrats are defeatist with no understanding of victory.

The Democrats want to raise taxes on small business and on all of us to make government larger, which is not what we need for the economy and the 21st century.

America needs to be energy independent, which means drilling for oil, and we will use alternative energy too. Democrats don’t get it; we can have our own oil and not be dependent on the world.

They touched that part of America’s soul that is conservative. They did it deftly with a saber, while belittling the Democrats and their candidates.

The war is on. Obama may have the lead now, but you can see where the blood will be drawn in the next two months.

McCain’s turn tonight. We will see what he does and how the Democrats respond.

What did you think?

-Marc

Lea Gilmore - Sarah Palin Speaks

lea — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 06:36:07 -0700

Sarah Palin speaks. Lets give it to her, she was phenomenal. Her presentation, her engagement, her fiery delivery wowed the Republican base, and a new conservative mega-star was born.

As the loudspeakers played the Sly Stone dance maker “I'm Everyday People,” there was a moment of irony for me. Because unlike the Democratic convention, I didn't see the rainbow of “everyday” people I know. I saw an overwhelming white audience, oh yes they did find some black Conservatives and Latino delegates to be within camera shot.

Click READ MORE below!

Palin's speech vehemently energized the Republican base. But will the searing attacks on Obama and so-called liberal ideals speak to Independents? That being said, her role has clearly been defined as the “attack dog.” Joe Biden will have to step lightly when “attacking” back given the obvious dynamics, a fact that I am sure was taken into consideration during the vetting process that produced this unlikely nominee – a 72 year old heartbeat away from being the next leader of the free world.

Palin hit this speech out of the proverbial ball park.

It looks like it is time for Hillary to practice the glowing support she gave Senator Obama last week. By passionately speaking out now, Hillary can end the comparisons and stop the McCain camp in it's tracks for going after her “18 million supporters.” Silence from her will just be giving permission that those oh so important voters are fair game. Hillary can make it known that just because two powerful, dynamic politicians share the same internal plumbing, women are not interchangeable and to believe so is an insult to us all.

Back to the speech...

Going for Obama and those who have questioned her small town experience Palin stated, "Since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves. I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a 'community organizer,' except that you have actual responsibilities." Ouch.

Palin delivered a populist message, referring often to her young family. She also touched on the theme of the day – Reform. "Here's how I look at the choice Americans face in this election," Palin said. "In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers. And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change."

With her family sitting in the audience, thousands of cameras focused on her 17 year old daughter Bristol and her fiance', and now with the world focused on Palin, we are being thrown into a campaign of 'your style versus my style'. I would much rather it be 'your ideals versus mine'.

I may adore her new shoes, but I fundamentally disagree with most of Palin's ideology. The former is not how I choose my vote. The issues matter, and the dressing of the messenger doesn't, and that goes for both political parties.

McCain speaks tonight.

-Lea

Obama Speaks Well, but...by Dr. Eric Durham

CEM — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 06:01:28 -0700

Hello America,

This is The GoodDoctor reporting once more....and I have shifted my attention that of the Republicans this week. As we know, their convention got off to a slow start due to Hurricane Gustav. (It seems that God answered their prayers to rain out Obama's speech one week too late.) But, now it seems they are "ready to go on the attack!"

Click READ MORE below!

...and what's the favorite attack line this political season? Barack Obama speaks well...but it takes more than speech to be a president. Now, this particular attack irked me when Clinton used it in the primary, and I am still somewhat puzzled by it. What else to politicians do during campaigns besides speak? Everyone who is vying for the White House is speaking. And if we are honest, American history shows that most of their words are LIES anyway. It seems to me that because Bararck Obama speaks better than his adversaries, that now speaking (rhetoric) has now become some sort of malformation. SPEAKING IS WHAT IS REQUIRED AT THIS STAGE OF THE GAME. ...and by the way, Obama's rhetoric seems to be borrowed by several Republican speakers. I've just listened to Romney and Huckabee talk about CHANGE in their speeches at the RNC.

All the speakers tonight (9/3/08) mentioned Democrats wanted to raise OUR taxes. Okay, the Democrats are running on taxing corporations that have not shared wealth, and lowering taxing on the middle-class. So, is the middle-class THE AMERICAN PEOPLE or the the corporations? Listening to the Republicans...and considering their POLICIES you would have to assume that CORPORATIONS ARE AMERICA.

Now, to Rudy Giuliani...he was utterly DISRESPECTFUL. His sarcasm intolerable. If anything was made present tonight, it was that the Democratic ticket has A LOT MORE CLASS. He laughed...he snickered...he poked fun at Obama's role as a community organizer. Rudy, honestly, YOUR PRESIDENT has driven middle-America into the shape that it is in now! Who can be more incompetent than GEORGE BUSH? One point out of many mis-leading points.... "We're the party that ended slavery." Rudy, the constiuents of your contemporary Republican party were in the Democratic party during the Republican initiatives. They were called "Yellow Dog Democrats" of the Solid South. Rudy, you should know this history. So, I'm assuming you're being "slick."

My opinion of Sarah Palin is now that she is ready for the taking. It's time to take out the "guns" because she's a "Hockey Mom," and by her own words, their "pitbulls with lipstick." Alaska gets more federal assistance than any other state in the nation. So, Alaska is a WELFARE state. I wonder why Mississippi, Maryland, Georgia, Alabama, or the Carolinas don't get that much Federal assistance? Something worth thinking about.

I would also say that the Democrats should put their gloves on...because it is going to take a fight to beat these Republicans. When did CHANGE become the goal that the parties share? Obama has been talking about CHANGE from the beginning. Did you all consult with him on sharing this task, Sarah?

As I assumed, it's going to be a VERY INTERESTING political season. Bring it On.

-Dr. Eric Durham

Dr. Durham is a Professor of Communications at Morgan State University. He blogs as the Good Doctor at http://drericdurham.blogspot.com/ .

Richard Vatz reviews Sarah Palin's Speech

CEM — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 05:55:45 -0700

From RedMaryland.Blogspot.com:

All I can say is “wow.” And when John McCain ascended the stage after Governor Palin’s speech, he said “wow” too.

What an amazingly auspicious speech for an aspiring Vice President candidate to give. In the Geraldine Ferraro era, all of the rhetoric of a major female candidate had a defensive cast. This speech was a confident, aggressive speech by a female candidate for Vice President who knows what she thinks and knows from what values her assertions come.

Click READ MORE below!

A little lead up, if I may – if I must. Governor Mitt Romney’s speech and Governor Mike Huckabee’s speeches were not bad, although I must say Gov. Huckabee is an acquired taste. Gov. Romney said Washington has changed, and the real change would be a move to conservatism. He also rang some good notes on the Democrats’ love of dependency and aversion to seeing evil when it occurs. Gov. Huckabee took some good shots at the effete quality of Senator Barack Obama and added an effective allegory involving soldiers who teach children what it means to earn something.

Now to the Republican Rhetorical A-team. Rudy Giuliani is a brilliantly convincing and persuasive speaker, and one feared that he would be so compelling that Gov. Palin would pale (no pun intended) by comparison. He emphasized all of the right matters: that Governors as executives must make decisions, while senators are all persuasion with little or no real-world reality testing. He hit on the “surge” issue, as almost all Republican convention speakers have done, with the notation that Democrats in the one visible test of leadership in the past 2 years failed on the decision, failed on the follow-up, and failed to recognize the surge’s success. Sen. Giuliani emphasized Sen. Obama’s contrasting indecision and took a neat shot at one of Majority Leader Harry Reid’s irresponsible remarks, “This war is lost.” If the Republicans ever run out of Reidian dumb mots, they need new and better researchers.

Sarah Palin not only hit her speech out of the park, but she first went through the Democrats’ mitts. Women should be proud that their first presidential or vice-presidential candidate had all of the strength and aggressiveness-without-offensiveness required of candidates for the vice presidency. Gov. Palin was consistent in her praise, but never in awe, of Senator McCain. His impressive war biography, best articulated by Sen. Fred Thompson last night, was mentioned by all speakers tonight.

Gov. Palin’s attacks on Barack Obama were all fair game, in acceptable political taste, some with great humor – and \telling\. She said that while her former job as Mayor was derided by some Democrats, it was sort of like being a “community organizer” (Obaman claim to fame) , but with “actual responsibilities.” This line of argument had several iterations, and she also detailed the devastating list of liberal values that would undermine a president who put America first: negotiating with Iran, terrorists, and ignoring our need to “drill now.”

She used her own Reidism, “I can’t stand John McCain,” to further promote her presidential nominee. Thank God Reid is the poison well that never stops giving.

Gov. Palin detailed her own willingness to curtail financial corruption, whatever the party that commits it. Her prioritizing of honesty and integrity in government came through loud and clear. Her fluency in discussing energy policy was reassuring. The only thing lacking in her speech was evidence of sophistication in dealing with Islamic radicalism, resurgent Russian imperialism, and the complex challenges of China.

I usually rank elocution as the least important variable in a speech, but Gov. Palin’s had to be exquisite, and it was. Surely, the outcome of this powerful, moving address was to erase doubts regarding her viability from many low intensity supporters on the right and on the left.

Richard Vatz is professor of Political Rhetoric at Towson University
rvatz@towson.edu