THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION: PROTESTERS KEPT AWAY FROM N.M. DELEGATES

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
Sept. 2, 2004

NEW YORK _ Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to demonstrate against the Republican National Convention this weekend. More than a thousand protesters were arrested for acts of civil disobedience earlier this week.

And almost everywhere one walks in this city there’s someone carrying an anti-Bush or anti-GOP sign -- and sometimes haranguing convention-goers.

At a reception at the Haier Building on Broadway for western state delegates Wednesday, a lone demonstrator in a T-shirt that said “Fuck Bush” yelled obscenities at guests standing in the line going in.

“Republicans go home,” he bellowed. “Pick someone else’s tragedy to exploit,” he said, apparently referring to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, which has been a constant theme at the convention.

However members of New Mexico’s delegation said Wednesday that they’ve had few if any encounters with demonstrators this week.

“I think the police are doing an excellent job keeping the protesters away from us,” said Sherolyn Smith DeSantis of Albuquerque.

John Gonzales of San Ildefonso Pueblo said the closest thing to protesters he’s seen is a group of bicyclists riding down the street yelling at pedestrians to vote.

“They weren’t saying anything anti-Bush or anti-Republican,” Gonzales said.

And in a city with a 5-to-1 Democratic registration advantage, New Mexico’s delegates said they’ve had mainly positive interactions with the locals.

Rick Lopez of Santa Fe said the only protesters he’s come across were near the Majestic Theatre Sunday when he and other New Mexico delegates went to see a performance of The Phantom of the Opera.

“On the way over to the theater, we discussed it with the delegates from Oklahoma and other states that if we came across any we’d only engage in positive conversation with them,” Lopez said.

On Tuesday night he got to put that into practice. “When we were strolling over to have our pictures taken, a woman whispered in my ear, `How can you support Bush when he hasn’t done anything for Native Americans?’”

Lopez, who is state director of the farm Service Agency for the federal Department of Agriculture, said he told the woman about specific programs aimed at American Indians, specifically the Navajo tribe.

Though the conversation started out on a hostile note, it ended up friendly, Lopez said.

Lopez said he and other New Mexico delegates did volunteer work Tuesday -- reading to children and distributing bags of food to neighborhood residents at the Latino Pastoral Action Center in the Bronx. The center is a Pentecostal group that has several social programs.

Lopez, who was wearing a Bush T-shirt said several people in the neighborhood and on the subway back to his hotel asked him why he was supporting Bush. But the conversation, he said, was civil.

“A lot of people asked how things are going at the convention,” he said.

However, DeSantis said she had an unpleasant conversation with a New York taxi driver earlier this week.

“He was telling me his views on President Bush,” she said. “And he raised his voice

DeSantis said at first she tried to ignore the driver. “I knew he wasn’t going to change my mind and I wasn’t going to change his,” she said.

But she felt compelled to stand up for Bush when the driver referred to the President as a “criminal.”

At the end of the ride, she said, she gave the driver a tip despite the political argument.

“He was extremely surprised,” DeSantis said. “He said, `You left me a good tip.’ I said, `It’s a free country. You’re entitled to your opinion.’ "

THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION: CONVENTION NOTEBOOK DAY 2

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
Sept. 1, 2004

NEW YORK _ There are states in red and states in blue. And now there's a battle over which can lay claim to the memory of the Man in Black.

Hundreds of demonstrators, a big percentage of whom wore the color favored by the late country singer Johnny Cash, gathered in front of Sotheby's auction house in uptown Manhattan Tuesday.

They were there to protest a reception for the U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander and the Tennessee delegation to the Republican National Convention, sponsored by the American Gas Association.

The event was billed as a tribute to Johnny Cash.

And this riled Cash fans on the left, who argued that Cash was known for singing songs for America's underdogs.

"I'm a Johnny Cash fan and I think he's a symbol for the working people and the downtrodden," said Heidi Diehl, 23, of Brooklyn. "I don't think the Republicans are helping people who are down and out. For them to have a tribute to Johnny Cash is ironic."

"Johnny Cash was neither a Republican nor a Democrat," said Rine Siegal, Brooklyn photographer who organized the demonstration.

Siegal said she became a Johnny Cash devotee only three or four years ago. "I first became a fan listening to him in my grandpa's station wagon. When he sings, it's from the bottom of his heart.

"It's offensive that they would try to exploit his memory," she said. "He was a great uniter, not someone that one party can exploit. "

I Walk the Sign.

While the demonstration was nonviolent, protesters booed delegates and other guests who entered Southeby's. Some followed and shouted at delegates, who had to walk a path behind police barriers to enter the building. "You're the same people who put Johnny Cash in jail," one youth screamed at a party guest.

(Cash spent a night in the El Paso jail on a drug charge in the 1960s.)

Instead of singing classic protest chestnuts like "Give Peace a Chance," several demonstrators who brought guitars serenaded the rally with Cash tunes like "Ring of Fire," "I Walk the Line" and "Folsom Prison Blues."

Ever so often they sang a refrain in the Cash style, "Those Republicans they got me rollin' in my grave."

Many of the signs at the rally were based on lyrics from Cash songs.

I Walk the Line for Kerry


Send Bush to Folsom

Take Back America One Piece at a Time.

And one, referencing a relatively obscure Cash tune, apparently was aimed at Republicans. "Egg Sucking Dogs," it said.

One sign referred to a country music act hired to play at the convention: "You Can Keep Your Brooks & Dunn, But Johnny Cash Belongs to Everyone."

Another sign had no words -- just the infamous photo of a young Cash giving an obscene finger gesture to a photographer.

What Would Johnny Do?

While protesters insisted that Cash never would have condoned the Republicans paying tribute to him, one Nashville Democrat said Tuesday that this might not be the case.

A spokesman for a Nashville organization called Music Row Democrats said his group isn't concerned about the Southeby's reception.

"From our conversation with Johnny's son, John Carter Cash, the event is for Sen. Lamar Alexander, who was very close to Johnny," said Ed Pettersen, a singer/songwriter and music producer, in a phone interview Tuesday.

"If this is in conjunction with a reception for Lamar Alexander, I have no problem with it," Pettersen said. "But if it goes beyond that and the Republicans start proselytizing using Johnny Cash, I have a big problem with it."

Republicans Love Johnny Too

Attempts to get comments from the guests at the GOP Cash tribute was difficult. I was told at the door that only invited guests could enter.

Because of the large crowd of jeering demonstrators, delegates virtually ran in and out of Sotheby's.

One who stopped and talked was William Hilleary, a delegate from Tennessee.

"These are a bunch of nuts," he said of the protesters. "They never accomplish anything. "

Asked if he was a Cash fan, Hilleary said, "I sure am. I'm from Tennessee."

THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION: A TRIP TO GROUND ZERO

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
Sept. 1, 2004

NEW YORK _ A white-bearded man with a flute played a slow, sad version of "Amazing Grace," while just up the sidewalk by a subway entrance, an Asian man bowing a one-stringed instrument played a whimsical "Oh! Susanna." An angry woman marched up and down the sidewalk chanting, "Bush and the CIA attacked America," provoking a man in a Bush-Cheney hat to walk up to her and tell her to "shut up."

A short man in a NYPD T-shirt was selling photo albums titled Remember the Heroes with pictures of the World Trade Center before, after and during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "It's still deeply embedded in New Yorkers," said vendor David Sterton, pointing to his heart. "It's like it happened yesterday."

Just like the photo albums Sterton was selling for $6, the program the night before at the Republican National Convention at Madison Square Garden was designed to evoke memories of Sept. 11.

As the Democrats did at their convention in Boston in July, there was an emotional musical tribute featuring the song "Amazing Grace." There was testimony by family members of those who died in the attack. And the night was capped off by a speech by former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who became known as "America's mayor" for the way he handled the aftermath of Sept. 11.

The message was reflected in the local headlines Tuesday "It's9/11,"creamed the headline of The New York Post above a large photo of Giuliani.

It's obvious that both major parties will be trying to use Sept. 11 for their own political advantage.

Speaking with those who gathered towers had been Tuesday morning -- tourists, convention delegates and even a few locals -- it became apparent that people are split on the implications of Sept. 11.

"I think the politicians are using 9/11 as a political stepping stone," said Sterten, the photo album man. "Especially (John) Kerry. I'm not sure about him with all his off and on. I would rather have Bush running the country."

Jamie Walker, 44, of Seattle agreed.

"I think Sept. 11 is a legitimate political issue,' said Walker, who said he was making a "pilgrimage" to Ground Zero.

Considering that it's the biggest attack ever on American soil it is right for us as a nation to make this a political issue," Walker said.

But Kim and Mary Lou Ratz of Minneapolis, who were in the city on a business trip said they don't like how Bush has used Sept. 11.

"I kind of wish politicians would focus on domestic issues," Mary Lou Ratz said.

Specifically, they said, they don't believe Bush is correct in using the attack on the World Trade Center to justify the war in Iraq.

"I don't think war is the right way to fight terrorism," Mary Lou Ratz said.

The Ratzes said they are backing John Kerry for president.

So is Connie Demidio, a New York interior decorator who was at Ground Zero with her sister, Petra Gleich of Germany.

"I think George Bush is wrapping himself in a blanket of Sept. 11, which I think is wrong," Demidio said.

Eliine Bagshau, 74, of Sydney, Australia, said she believes both Bush and Australian Prime Minister John Howard use the image of Sept. 11 to "keep people more afraid." And both leaders used the threat of terrorism as a reason to invade Iraq, she said.

"I think it's starting to backfire against our prime minister," she said. "It certainly had nothing to do with terrorism. It was all about oil."

A convention delegate from Florida, Bob Waechter of Sarasota visited Ground Zero with his wife and another couple.

Not surprisingly, he said Bush is right to stress Sept. 11 in the campaign. "It's an irrefutable issue since it's the most significant thing to happen in the last 10 years.

But Waechter had a personal reason for being there. He's a retired New York City firefighters.

"I was here three weeks after it happened," he said. "I volunteered to help out a little."

Waechter said this is the first time he’s been back to the scene since the fall of 2001.

"The main thing I notice is that it looks so much smaller," he said. "Before, when it was a big pile of rubble it was just overwhelming. It seems so much smaller now."

THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION: CONVENTION NOTEBOOK DAY 1

A published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
August 31, 2004

NEW YORK _ Former New Mexico Gov. "Lonesome" Dave Cargo has always had a tenuous relationship with the more conservative elements of the Republican Party when he was in office in the late 1960s. And Cargo's move Monday won't do much to endear himself to GOP regulars.

Cargo has helped to launch a group of moderate Republicans called Back to the Mainstream, which urges the GOP to go back towards the center. The group purchased a full-page ad in the New York Times to greet Republican delegates on the first day of their convention.

"The Republicans have gone far enough to the right, they're going to fall off the cliff," Cargo said in a telephone interview.

"We've let the extreme right push us," he said. "It's time to push back."

Cargo isn't exactly lonesome in this endeavor. He's joined by about 20 other political figures. Trouble is, there are few, if any, contemporary GOP leaders. The biggest names were in power about the time that Cargo was governor.

Among those signing on are former Gov. William Milliken, a three-time Michigan governor; Daniel Evans, a former Washington governor and U.S. Senator; former New Hampshire Gov. Walter Peterson; former Virginia Gov. Linwood Holton; and two former Environmental Protection Agency chiefs Russell Train and William Ruckelshaus.

Cargo said he started the group with Larry Rockefeller, grandson of John D. Rockefeller.

Republicans should be better on civil rights and environmental issues, Cargo said. "Some of these important environmental laws we have were passed when Richard Nixon was president," he said.

But even though he is critical of the Bush administration Cargo said Back to the Mainstream as an organization isn't endorsing or threatening to endorse Democrat John Kerry.

"I'm not terribly enthusiastic about Kerry," he said.

Broadway Joe

New Mexico delegates who went to a Sunday night performance of The Phantom of the Opera at the Majestic Theatre were greeted by a few dozen protesters who heckled and held signs with anti-Bush and anti-war slogans.

"They wanted to yell at rich Republicans," said state Sen. Joe Carraro, R-Albuquerque, a delegates. "But most the Republicans there aren't the type who would be spending money on Broadway plays."

The New York convention host committee and The New York Times sprung for Broadway tickets for delegates Sunday night.

"Some of the delegates complained about the protesters being so loud," Carraro said. However, Carraro, a former resident of Manhattan, was undaunted. "I told them that's just New York. It's just loud here. They had to be loud to be heard at all."

Full disclosure on graft:

There were no Broadway tickets for reporters, but there was a gift bag for reporters registering at the Hotel Pennsylvania Monday morning.

The black canvas shoulder bag (with the logos of the Republican National Convention and "NYC 2004") was packed with goodies.

Among the swag: a copy of the Guide to New York City Landmarks, a children's book about a bunny on a bicycle called Miffy Loves New York City, a History Channel DVD about Ellis Island, a Con Edison pocket flashlight, a disposable camera, a tiny packet of Dunkin Donut coffee, a pack of red, white and blue M&Ms, a pack of Listerine strips, a Statue of Liberty tie pin with the AT&T logo and a "Limited Convention Edition" box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, featuring an elephant holding a sign reading "Republicans in 2004."

But no apple:

On the last day of the Democratic convention in Boston, a law enforcement officer working the press entrance to the Fleet Center confiscated my jar of Bill Richardson salsa, which the New Mexico delegation was giving away to promote the state. The Secret Service wasn't impressed by the promotional tool, saying it violated a rule against glass jars in the convention center.

On the first day of the Republican convention I had another contraband food item confiscated.

An apple.

This convention has a rule against round fruit, which apparently some fear could be easily hurled at politicians.

"No round fruit is allowed," the officer told me. "You should have brought a banana."

THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION: SECURITY BLANKETS NYC

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
August 31, 2004

NEW YORK _ Anyone who thought security was intense during the Democratic National Convention last month ought to come to New York for the Republican convention.

Compared to New York, the security in Boston was Woodstock.

"It's a sign of the times," said U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici. "I've been to some conventions where there was almost no security."

Besides GOP conventioneers, New York this week has been a magnet for anti-war and anti-Bush protesters. Hundreds of thousands of people marched Sunday to demonstrate against the Republicans. Today has been designated as a day of civil disobedience by some protest organizers.

Domenici, who has been going to Republican conventions for more than 30 years, said that besides the post-Sept. 11 fear of terrorism, extra security is needed because of the intensify of bad feelings by many toward President Bush.

"Some people have been sold on the idea that the president is mean and hateful," Domenici said. "I know him well and I know that this just isn't true."

Delegate Joe Carraro, a state senator from Albuquerque, agreed. "There really is a lot of animosity over the issues of the war."

In the streets around Madison Square Garden, where the convention is taking place, there are police every few yards on the sidewalks and large clusters of police on the corners.

You literally can't even get away with jaywalking. There are barricades preventing pedestrians from crossing anywhere but at the intersections. At some intersections officers use orange plastic temporary gate material to keep pedestrians from crossing streets until the police say it's time to cross.

Entering Madison Square Garden, reporters must pass through not one but two checkpoints with metal detectors. This also is the case for delegates said Darren White, a delegate from Albuquerque.

Even the hotels where delegates are staying have far more severe security than convention goers saw in Boston.

Boston's Sheraton downtown, where New Mexico Democrats stayed, had a near carnival atmosphere with delegates, party officials and even radical protesters from the Lyndon LaRouche campaign milling about and merchants hawking humorous anti-Bush paraphernalia.

In contrast, only guests can go inside the Roosevelt Hotel, where the state's Republican delegation is staying. Five or six police officers guard the front door of the hotel.

And the police presence doesn't go away when the convention isn't in session. During the early morning hours Monday police presence was strong in the area. Many weary-looking uniformed officers took breaks in all-night coffee shops and delis, some chatting with their fellow cops, some sitting alone staring blankly into cups of coffee.

New Mexico Republicans said Monday they've never seen such a police show of force.

Carraro said he is still amazed that his party would chose New York City, and especially surprised that the location would be Madison Square Garden.

"I grew up here," Carraro said. "Madison Square Garden has to be the hardest place for security. There's subways running under it, There's an Amtrack running beneath it. I was surprised they'd chose this place."

White, who is Bernalillo County sheriff, said "This is the tightest security situation I've ever encountered."

White complimented the New York City Police -- the most visible of dozens of law enforcement agencies working around Madison Square Garden.

"They're performing spectacularly," White said. "The last thing you want to is to come here and not be able to have fun for fear of something going wrong."

A state tourism official in New York this week expressed frustration with the heightened security

"I was stunned at the level of security in Boston, but this is Boston to the nth degree," said Jon Hendry, director of marketing for the Tourism Department.

"I am totally screwed," Hendry said. "I'm driving a 34-foot motorhome and I've been hassled by city cops, state cops and cops I've never heard of."

Hendry said every time he enters Manhattan Island police search the large brightly painted motorhome. "I have to take everything out of it," he said.

He concedes that one thing that probably made it easier on him in Boston was the fact that Gov. Bill Richardson was the chairman of the Democratic Convention and had worked closely with the city of Boston. “We had some contacts there," he said.

Even native New Yorkers are amazed by the huge concentration of law enforcement.

Curtis Sliwa, who founded a citizen protection group called The Guardian Angels in the 1970s because he felt the subways and parks were unsafe now says New York City is "the safest place on Earth."

"That's because there's a cop every five inches," Sliwa -- wearing his trademark red beret and red Guardian Angels jacket quipped during an interview Monday at the Stage Door Delicatessen, across the street from the convention hall

Sliwa, who currently is a radio talk show host on the conservative WABC, said he went to the 1992 Democratic Convention at Madison Square Garden.

"There was almost no security there, he said. "Of course the city swept the area of all the hookers and pimps and homeless people right before the convention started."