@RNC: The buzz at Xcel, George and Laura Bush, Fred Thompson, Amy Goodman and convention protests
by Lisa Stone

Republican celebrities -- from Hollywood Boulevard and Pennysylvania Avenue -- were the highlight of Tuesday's Republican convention, even as a petition circulated against St. Paul police for their treatment of some protestors.

Early in the day, Backyard Conservative got a chance to see actor and former Senator Fred Thompson (and actor Jon Voight) even before Thompson delivers what Conservative Belle described as "a rousing and persuasive speech last night. He motivated the base, smacked the media's handling of Palin, convinced us of McCain's courage and strength, and delivered some great attack lines against Obama."

Belle criticizes all three broadcast networks for failing to air Thompson's speech, which got lots of buzz in Chilihead's live blog on BlogHer, as did President George Bush and First Lady Laura Bush.

While it was all "Minnesota Nice" inside the convention hall and Backyard Conservative caught some of Monday's peaceful protests on her personal blog, other protestors and journalists report a very different experience. In "Amy Goodman released but protests against police conduct at Convention continue," Professor Kim Pearson blogs: "Minneapolis police are under fire for their aggressive actions toward journalists and protestors even before the Convention began. For example, The Uptake has a report on an alleged police raid last Saturday on a house where Democracy Now! producer Elizabeth Press was staying. According to the report, police in riot gear burst through an attic to get find a room full of journalists..." You can watch the video of Goodman's arrest on Professor Kim's post.

Meanwhile, BlogHers continue to discuss Sarah Palin:

  • My kid support: Sarah Palin - Another working mother?
  • Kathleen Marie: Just my thoughts
  • Southerngirl: Why can't I ask?

    • ...all this fantastic discussion leads me to raise this post by BlogHer Alvenable. In "Politics, it's local," she emphasizes how important she thinks it is not to allow the presidential contest to distract from equally -- perhaps more important -- local elections. Alvenable writes, "To reiterate, if you're not happy with the latest crop of candidates at the top, make sure you're paying attention to those on the lower rungs of the ladder."

    Hmmm. What do you think? Are you? Should you?

    Image credit: Backyard Conservative

    Submitted by Lisa Stone (view blog) on Wed, 09/03/2008 - 08:00

    Comments

     

    Hi Lisa

    I just saw on the news before I head over delegates from Connecticut were doused with bleach on the way in to the convention center yesterday, including an elderly woman. The hazmat team had to come in.

    Submitted by BackyardConservative on Wed, 09/03/2008 - 06:18
     

    Story about CT delegates doused by protesters

    Thank you Backyard Conservative. I found this story on thie incident.

    Lisa Stone
    BlogHer Co-founder
    Surfette

    BlogHer is non-partisan but our bloggers aren't! Follow our coverage of the 2008 political conventions

    Submitted by Lisa Stone on Wed, 09/03/2008 - 07:33
     

    I don't care whether you are

    I don't care whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, those types of tactics are despicable.  I've been hearing both Republicans and Democrats speaking out against that type of violence by demonstrators.  Completely awful, what I'm hearing.

    Submitted by miteegirl on Wed, 09/03/2008 - 08:01
     

    In Today's Democracy Now

    Goodman confronts Police Chief John Harrington, who had apparently heard nothing of her arrest although it was the most watched video on YouTube yesterday.

     

    She asks this:

     

    "What is your policy with the press? How is the press to operate in this kind of environment?"

    And the police chief's answer is, more or less, that if reporters are in the area they will be arrested and they'll sort it out later.  That, my friends, is what is known as a "Chilling Effect"  - although the reporters may eventually be released and charges dropped, summary arrests (and confiscation of press credentials) is certain to have a deterrent effect on coverage of protests.

    If this were happening to our reporters in China or Thailand, (or for that matter, one of the BlogHer writers) I do not think anyone here would defend it for a second.

     

    Tacoma Mama

    Submitted by Tacomamama on Wed, 09/03/2008 - 09:49
     

    Freakishly Huge Video Screen with Waving Flag
    Backdrop. Why?

    No political relevance, but...Is anyone else freaked out by the giant video screen as the backdrop for the RNC stage?


    The first time I tuned in last night, someone was walking out of a little door on side of the screen that was projecting a giant waving flag. I immediately had a flash back of the last scene in The Truman Show.

     

    trumanshow.jpg 

     

    And then later, when Bush did his satellite speech, it was like a giant talking head, like in the Apple commercial (I'm dating myself) many years ago.

    ad_apple_1984_2.jpg bush-rnc.jpg

    The whole thing is very distracting to me.  Am I the only one?  Just wondering.

    Submitted by Catherine Morgan on Wed, 09/03/2008 - 13:55
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