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The Shitstorm of ’04: Day 3

Today seemed a bit more calm than yesterday, as there was no coordinated anarchist demonstration this time- although the fact that protesters were able to get into the convention doesn't bode well for those of us worried about terrorism. And I was at work much of the day so I missed out on whatever else happened.

- So after work I headed down to Union Square to see what was going on- and whaddya know, the Protest Warriors were there! Holding up this sign:

They were, of course, outnumbered about five-to-one by nearby protesters, but held their own regardless- mostly because they're pretty experienced with it, and also because most of the protesters were used to hearing no challenges to their views whatsoever (see Scott Ganz post below). Almost every argument I saw ended with the protester screaming "you're a fucking idiot," or with an O'Reilly-style "shut up!"

A few people objected to the guy holding a “100 million people murdered by communism” sign, with one calling the debate over communism irrelevant because “there aren’t any communists anymore” (this in a city where I’ve seen about 500 Che Guevara shirts in the last three days), while others gave some variation on “what’s so bad about communism?”

Then, like the guy on the subway in that one “Seinfeld” episode, an old Ukrainian guy emerged from the shadows and argued that if anyone knows the horrors of communism, HE does. Then, he made a “Hanoi Jane” joke, which for some reason led his antagonist to run away, screaming “you’re a racist!”

- Another highlight in Union Square was running into a guy in a “Fuck Bush” button- worn over his Jason Sehorn Giants jersey. I didn’t have the heart to tell him the truth, which is that Sehorn 1) is a Republican who spoke at the convention Monday, 2) isn’t with the Giants anymore, and 3) sucks.

- Michael Reagan is a such a different guy when he’s not vitriolicly spewing right-wing talking points on “Hannity and Colmes.” Aside from the crude reference to his parents being “pro-life,” the tribute to Reagan was nice. But then it was ruined at the end by that awful Lee Greenwood song. Leading to the following exchange between Jeremy and I:

Me: This song is an insult to Reagan’s memory, as far as I'm concerned.

Jeremy: But the song came out while he was president

Me: True. But it aged a lot worse than he did. Which, considering he was nearly catatonic for the last ten years of his life, is saying a lot.

- Zell Miller’s speech was certainly the most effective of the convention so far, and he clearly was relishing the opportunity to take his longtime colleague, Kerry, down a peg or two. It was a stirring, vitriolic speech, one a Republican probably couldn’t have given, but I didn’t like its straw-man argumentation, in that it stooped to the Coulter-esque you-can’t-criticize-the-president-during-war canard. It was also hard to take anything Miller said seriously after reading this TNR piece today, which looked at Miller’s entire career and depicted him as a ruthless opportunist who has taken whatever position- from segregationism to Clintonism to Bushism- has been popular at the time.

Another thing about Miller- the first political convention I ever watched was the DNC in 1992- when I rooted for the Democrats the way I had for the Twins in the previous year’s World Series- and that same Zell Miller gave the keynote. In the same building, as many have pointed out, Miller bashed the incumbent President Bush and even made fun of Dan Quayle for not knowing how to spell “potato.” What a difference 12 years makes, as the same man comes to praise another President Bush who, as far as I know, has not yet proven that he knows how to spell the word.

Anyway, I guess Miller and Chris Matthews went at it on the air tonight (though I didn’t see it); Miller even invoked the Michelle Malkin incident as proof of Matthews’ unfairness to his guests. It really sucks that this false meme –Matthews as left-wing attack dog- will soon make its way around the right-wing echo chamber, when Sean Hannity gets a pass for viciously attacking liberal guests every single night a few channels over.

- Not much to say about Dick Cheney; it was just boring. And shouldn’t the delegates learn some rhythm before they start chanting again? It’s not that hard to make “flip-flop/flip-flop” rhyme.

- Ted Koppel and Jon Stewart supposedly hate each other, but I guess they made nice, because Stewart was on “Nightline” tonight. A great interview- Stewart, in a rare display of overt partisanship, called the Swift Boat Veterans “liars,” while Koppel asked a hilarious question, something like “if in the middle of his speech President Bush broke from his prepared text and decided to call me, Ted Koppel, a pedophile, would the media be obligated to report it?” Sounded like more of an Ali G question than a Koppel one, but nevermind.

- And if you’ve got 4-5 hours to kill at work Friday, check out New York Press’ 1001 Things to Hate About the Convention. It baits both left and right, reminiscent of the NYP I used to love.

Tomorrow we conclude. And I just realized exactly how conservative I feel whenever I watch the protesters, and how liberal I feel whenever I watch the speeches. Anyone else feel the same way?

Posted by Stephen Silver at September 2, 2004 01:19 AM