ST. PAUL –A peaceful protest near the site of the Republican National Convention Monday gave way to acts of violence as some demonstrators attacked members of the Connecticut delegation, smashed windows, slashed car tires and threw bottles during an anti-war march, St. Paul police said.
More than a dozen people were arrested by police using pepper spray in some confrontations with demonstrators. Five people were accused of setting fire to a trash bin and pushing it into a police car, St. Paul police spokesman Tom Walsh said. Authorities didn’t have immediate details on the other arrests.
Most of the violence occurred in pockets of a neighborhood near downtown, several blocks from where the convention was taking place. At the request of police, 150 Minnesota National Guard soldiers helped control splinter groups near downtown long after antiwar marchers had dispersed.
Protesters attacked members of the Connecticut delegation when they got off their buses near the Xcel Center, delegate Rob Simmons told a local TV station.
A group of protesters came toward his delegation and tried to rip the credentials off their necks and sprayed them with a toxic substance that burned their eyes and stained their clothes, Simmons said.
One 80-year-old member of the delegation had to be treated for injuries, and several other delegates had to rinse their eyes and clothing, the station reported.
The rally was organized by the Coalition to March Against the RNC and Stop the War. The protesting groups included Iraq Veterans Against the War, Women for Peace, the American Indian Movement, Latinos Against War and the Teamsters union.
“We’re very excited to have such a diversity of people participating in our demonstration,” coalition member Katrina Plotz said, adding that the rally will “send a clear anti-war message to the Republicans and the world.”
Organizers anticipated 50,000 protesters but police estimated 8,000 to 10,000.
Demonstrators blamed Republicans and the Bush administration for paying more attention to war than to domestic issues.
“The demonstration will be voicing opposition to the war’s prioritization above human needs, such as building levees, the economy and health care,” Meredith Aby, a coalition member said.
Protesters carried American flags and signs saying, “Who Would Jesus torture?” and “Build Bridges, Not Bombs.”
Once protesters arrived at the state Capitol for the peace rally, political spectacles abound.
One protester danced to a satirical song, “Insane in the McCain Brain,” that parodied the popular 1990s rap hit, “Insane in the Membrane.” The dancing protester wore a mask of John McCain with a baseball cap turned sideways and a dollar sign medallion hanging from a gold chain.
The song’s chorus blared from a speaker: “One hundred years in Iraq.”
On his second song, the dancer was joined by a fellow protester wearing a President Bush mask. They changed into Hawaiian shirts to dance to “Bomb Iran,” mimicking McCain’s own satirical take during the primaries on the Beach Boys’ “Barbara Ann.”
Some onlookers were displeased by the march. Former U.S. Marine Bryan Haglund, who served in Iraq in 2005, 2006 and 2007, said the march “sickened” him.
On the weekend, authorities seized weapons and devices froma self-described anarchist group called the RNC Welcoming Committee, which was not among the organizers of the march. The devices were designed to disable buses, the sheriff’s office said. Five people from that group were arrested on suspcion of conspiracy to riot, conspiracy to commit civil disorder and conspiracy to damage property, the sheriff’s office said.
Goddam, I hope that hippie got his skull cracked wide open. Fucking hippies.
The protesting groups included Iraq Veterans Against the War, Women for Peace, the American Indian Movement, Latinos Against War and the Teamsters union.
From what I'm hearing this sounds like a group calling itself anarchists that set up shop just last week. They came into town & said they were going to do whatever they could to disrupt things. Most of the protesters behaved & followed the rules.
...The arrest of the "anarchists" came after nearly 5,000 protesters marched peacefully outside the site of the convention site.
While Walsh described the individuals as a being part of a "splinter group" from the main body of protesters, he said it would not characterize their activity as being a protest. "I think they did a disservice to those that came here to protest," he said. ...
Now that Thompson got Obama all opened up and lubed.....Lieberman has come in and and now is butt fucking him with 2 giant dildos. looks like he is bitch slapping him with his cock too.
I missed last night because I finally went & saw the Dark Knight but caught tonights show. Somebody should let President Bush know that it's not just the left that's angry & there was a reason he was going on before the network coverage started. Then again why bother?
Tonight everyone dragged out there foster children or talked about how they have some. While fostering children is certainly a noble thing, at some point tonight they became accesories & it was yucky.
Lieberman did a great job endorsing McCain. He doesn't have much clout as a democrat these days but less than 8yrs ago he was running for the VP slot himself. He did it without sounding like he was crazy but as an old friend stepping across party lines to endorse somebody he really respects & likes.
Olbermann said of Sarah Palin's speech, "People who like this sort of thing will find this... the sort of thing they like."
Andrea Mitchell is glumly interviewing a beaming Rudy Giuliani. By contrast, when Mitchell was reporting from Denver, she gleefully recounted the Democratic delegates' reaction to Obama's best lines: "Whooee! Whooee!" she said into the camera.
Kicking it back to Olbermann after the Rudy interview, Mitchell looked genuinely crestfallen.
I have got to watch the coverage on another network than CNN. Pretty much all they're doing is sitting around and interviewing a bunch of democrat activists who bash the GOP.
Cindy McCain is speaking right now. She's pretty hot for an old chick. I may have to add her to the "ancient babes who's ass cracks I'd like to stroke" thread.
McCain was was slow to get going tonight, and those asshole hecklers (how do they get in to these things?) broke his rhythm a few times, but he ended strong.
Also, his rallying cry at the end of the speech brought the house down: "Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight. Nothing is inevitable here. We’re Americans, and we never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history."
Yeah. It wasn't a hall full of demoralized looking people during the speech, the boring old fucker that was causing his own crowd to yawn, nor the empty seats on top.
It was the media coverage!!!!
Morons.
Still, the best part was when he accused the Republican Party of everything they've done these past 8 years and hopes that we'll trust him to be different.
Quote:
“I fight to restore the pride and principles of our party. We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us. We lost the trust of the American people when some Republicans gave in to the temptations of corruption. We lost their trust when rather than reform government, both parties made it bigger. We lost their trust when instead of freeing ourselves from a dangerous dependence on foreign oil, both parties and Senator Obama passed another corporate welfare bill for oil companies.
We lost their trust, when we valued our power over our principles.
We’re going to change that. We’re going to recover the people’s trust by standing up again for the values Americans admire. The party of Lincoln, Roosevelt and Reagan is going to get back to basics.”
um.. no thanks dude. Fool me once and all that.....
Hiya, Whotube. Glad to see more Iconoclasts around here than dumb and dumber.
Seriously, I'll admit that Obama gave a good speech. I can't say it was better than McCain's since I haven't watched his yet, but it was a good speech.
Most of the violence occurred in pockets of a neighborhood near downtown, several blocks from where the convention was taking place. At the request of police, 150 Minnesota National Guard soldiers helped control splinter groups near downtown long after antiwar marchers had dispersed.
