All Out For the RNC • All Out to Demonstrate at the RNC• The Unconvention at the RNC
• Crash the Convention — 2008 Call to Action
All Out to Demonstrate at the RNC
Voice of Revolution encourages all those angry with the Republicans and the continuing Bush agenda to Go All Out to Demonstrate at the Republican National Convention (RNC)! We urge all concerned to join in the many organizing efforts taking place across the country which will converge in Minneapolis, Minnesota for the RNC, September 1-4. Main actions are planned for Sunday, August 31 as well as Monday, September 1, with additional activities through the week. Join the organizing work and help ensure the organization and consciousness of the anti-war movement continues to grow. Together we are all standing loud and firm: End the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan Now! No War Against Iran! All U.S. Troops Home Now! No to McSame!
A wide variety of activities are being planned to protest the RNC, including marches, direct action, banner-drops, alternative media presentations, and more (see articles below). Many different organizations are taking part, all to make clear that a new president will not get any rest from the anti-war movement. We will continue to make clear that we do not want or need a war president! We will not accept this same Bush path of war and fascism, whether from McSame or anyone else.
We are urging all to go all out for the RNC as we think targeting the Republicans is the best way to target the Democrats and all the ruling circles. We do not want to see McSame implemented by the Democrats and this means stepping up our anti-war actions and organizing on the basis of our own agenda — not that of the Democrats or Republicans. Our agenda is anti-war and pro-people. Our agenda demands political empowerment and we reject any notion that power will always belong to the rich and our only job is to beg a few more crumbs. No! We want the world! And we want a changed world that favors the people! Let us organize together now to contend on this issue of political power. We the people want it and need it. The existing system dominated by the two parties of the rich is blocking us from power. This is why the a common expression among people today is "The politicians don't listen to us." Let us focus the fight for change on this problem of being blocked from power by advancing the fight for political empowerment today. The existing set up requires democratic renewal, requires changing the institutions of democracy so that power resides with the people themselves.
We call on all concerned to organize to Go All Out Against the RNC. Tell your friends, co-workers, fellow activists — Demonstrate at the RNC! And we call on all to discuss in Minneapolis, on the bus-rides and trains, in your local areas the necessity for advancing the fight for political empowerment and mechanisms to bring it about.
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September 1, 2008, Minneapolis
March on the RNC to Stop the Wars
Demonstrate at the Republican National Convention
September 1, 2008 – St. Paul, Minnesota.
On September 1, 2008, we have a unique opportunity to step onto the stage of history. The whole world will be watching as the Republicans meet to nominate their next candidate for president. We must take to the streets of St. Paul to raise our voices against the war and the occupation of Iraq. The politicians who brought us this war for oil and control of the Middle East represent an elite that will stop at nothing to build up U.S. empire. Theft, torture and murder are part and parcel of the war in Iraq. These politicians do not represent us. They have cut programs that serve our needs at home, and blame the most exploited for our hardships.
The government’s response to hurricane Katrina spoke volumes about its vision and values, its policies and plans. Racism, discrimination, and inequality placed African American families on New Orleans freeway overpasses, surrounded by floodwaters. This is one of many terrible examples of what’s wrong with this country. They attack our democratic rights, our rights to organize and our economic well being – from immigrants and the labor movement, to abortion rights and gay marriage – the Republican agenda is an anti-people agenda.
Too many times, Democratic politicians in congress have served as accomplices to this reactionary agenda of racism, poverty and war. In 2008, it’s up to us - anyone committed to peace, justice, and equality - to stand up and say no. We are building for a broad nationwide mobilization that will challenge the 2008 Republican Convention and put forward our vision for this country. We are united by a progressive, pro-people agenda, and our insistence that the U.S. leave Iraq now.
During the four-day Republican National Convention, we expect to see every progressive movement raising demands in protests on the streets of St. Paul. Whether you are building the Labor movement in Peoria, Illinois, building solidarity with Palestine, or are speaking out against the many injustices that face people at home and abroad, you should come to St. Paul for the March on the RNC to Stop the War, on Monday, September 1, 2008. Together we can have an incredible impact.
The Republicans picked Minnesota for 2008, betting that activists from around the country would just stay home. Politicians who support the continuing war in Iraq hope that we will stay quiet. Let’s prove them wrong in the streets of St. Paul, Minnesota. Together, we can change the world.
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Groups of artists and alternative media are organizing various projects under the banner of the Unconvention. We reprint below some of the projects being organized against the Republican Convention, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 1-4.
The UnConventional Gathering Place
A round-the-clock gathering place for artists, educators, alternative journalists and the general public to interact around issues related to participatory democracy. It will also be the hub for UnConvention partners to convene throughout the convention days to interact with visiting artists, journalists, activists who have come to witness the political conventions.
Liberty Parade
What does liberty look like? The fine Citizens of Minneapolis and St. Paul are hard at work creating a large-scale parade through the heart of Minneapolis on August 31, 2008. The Liberty Parade is a celebration about what liberty means to YOU. Join us after the parade at Loring Park for music, speakers and surprises that will last into the evening.
My Yard Our Message
This project will solicit political sign designs related to the theme of participatory democracy from artists throughout the world and select the top designs through an online voting process. The selected designs will then be made available via the project Web site to be ordered as a full size political yard sign or downloaded as print it yourself PDF document.
I Approve This Message
I Approve This Message invites people to create a video in response to questions surrounding the scripted nature of presidential nominations and democracy in general.
The State of Things, 2003/2008
The State of Things is a temporary sculpture of the word “Democracy” sculpted in ice as a part of Provision Library’s “Brushfire” programming leading up to the Democratic and Republican National Conventions.
Art on Wheels
Inspired by Graffiti Research Labs, the principal tool of the Minneapolis Art on Wheels project is three Mobile Broadcast Units (MBUs), bicycles combing a video projector, generator, and computer. These mobile media devices allow the Minneapolis Art on Wheels project to leverage mobility, scale and real-time interactive audio-visual software for the purpose of engaging broad audience in creative interaction with mobile media.
Events at the Weisman Art Museum
Re-inspiring Citizenship in the 2008 Election.
A Civic Dialogue with participants of the November 5th Coalition and The Citizen Solution, including Harry Boyte and Don Shelby
American Politics Sideshow: Weird and Wild. Make a speech, join a discussion, view a performance, take a tour.
Revolutionary Love 2: I am Your Best Fantasy
Conflating grassroots political activism, performance art, queer theory, and national politics, New York-based artist Sharon Hayes will conceive and stage two large-scale, public performances at the 2008 Democratic and Republican National Conventions. Hayes will recruit and collaborate with 75-100 citizens in each city who will become the medium of her work — they will recite in unison a text chosen by Hayes that exemplifies the intersection of history and the construction of the “queer figure” in the political terrain.
BrushFire – Provisions Public Arts
BrushFire is an arts initiative showcasing key contemporary artists whose public projects engage crucial social issues such as immigration, the war in Iraq, food, sustainable energy, housing, the electoral process, the economy, health, and the environment. Taking place in highly visible public settings such as state fairs, urban centers, public parks and highly trafficked recreational areas around the United States, BrushFire aims to enrich the environment for public discussion about the value of democracy in the crucial run-up to national elections in November, 2008.
As Below, So Above
Two skywriting planes, flying side-by-side, will trace the banks of the Mississippi river as it snakes gracefully through the Twin Cities.
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Crash the Convention — 2008 Call to Action
On September 1-4 of 2008, the Republican Party is coming to Minnesota to celebrate their latest conquests in global domination and exploitation. We of the RNC Welcoming Committee want to make sure that this time the fear-mongers will be met with their own biggest fear: people mobilized, organized, and taking the future back into their own hands.
For those of you who abhor the rapid growth of racist militarized borders across stolen lands, the raids and deportations, destruction and commodification of our shared and living earth, police brutality and prison industry, fear propaganda and subjugation, exploitation and robbery of peoples worldwide, and all forms of injustice and oppression - we ask you to be prepared for 2008. This will require new alliances, strong networks, the awakening of those who have given up, as well as the mobilization of those who have never before taken action. Let’s use this opportunity to make the changes we thirst for manifest and take root before us, making the Republicans/Democrats (whatever you want to call them) obsolete.
September 1st, 2008, we, the RNC Welcoming Committee, invite all anarchists and anti-authoritarians, all radicals and rabble-rousers, all those who are fed up with government lies and spectacles to show up ready for action and ensure that we leave no place for these expired politicians. What we create here will send the convention crashing off course into insignificance.
Labor Day weekend of 2007, anarchists and anti-authoritarians from across the country gathered in the Twin Cities to develop goals and plans for the RNC 2008. This is what we have come up with:
What we want (the goals):
1. Build Our Capacity – A new reality will not emerge by simply stopping the 4-day spectacle of the RNC. We need folks with an alternative vision to come to the Twin Cities and turn their dreams into reality. Start something new, be creative, and come ready to build sustainable alternatives worth fighting for and defending. The new skills that we teach, learn, and put into practice here will allow us to return to our communities stronger, smarter, and more empowered.
2. Crash the Convention – We did not get an invitation, but we are showing up anyway. This party will be what we make of it. We do not want to confine our potential by imposing a single vision of what success will look like. We recognize that there will be a lot of people coming with their own agendas and carefully laid plans and want to be open to the diverse tactics that will be necessary to accomplish our many goals. Together, we can derail the purely ceremonial show of this repressive system and remake it with our own hands and according to our own visions.
How we get there (the strategy):
1. Start Strong – Throw all of our energy into the first day. We’ll kick this off right and stretch the militarized police state out so far that it can no longer contain and suppress our voices and desires.
2. Transportation Troubles – This includes blockades downtown (at key intersections), on bridges (10 bridges over the Mississippi River in the metro area), and other sporadic and strategic targets (busses, hotel and airport shuttles etc).
3. Respect, defend, and be prepared for autonomous self-sustaining alternatives – Lasting projects and spaces will be born out of our actions and will need to be protected. We also will not knowingly bring the hammer down on existing long-term community projects. It does not matter if we win the RNC battle, if the war for our lives is lost.
4. Be inclusive of local communities and respect alliances – We are all on the same side of the barricades and are trying to build lasting bonds for future mutual aid. We may not agree with each other on all of our tactics, but that does not mean there are not venues for us to work together and build on the trust and community that already exists.
What the Welcoming Committee is doing:
1. Logistical support – We will organize legal support, housing, food, transportation, and a convergence space as well as anything else you may need to make our collective actions successful.
2. Framework coordinating – We will map out key points and layouts and gather intelligence to help you plug into the bigger picture. Let us know your needs, desires, and capacities.
3. Local outreach – We are building alliances with local groups and communities to help build our collective support. We encourage you to do the same.
4. Networking – We are hooking y’all up with each other so that you can work with people you might not already know, strategize, and share a glass of some good old mutual aid.
What we are calling for:
1. Get it together – Have regional consultas, organize in your communities, and form your affinity groups. We are expecting people to come with concrete plans for action that they have devised and the capacity to carry them through.
2. Lead up actions – Practice makes perfect. Use this entire year leading up to the RNC to develop and practice your own tactics and strategies that step things up a notch and build true alternatives. Resistance does not start and end at ‘the next big protest’; it is a way of life.
3. Fundraising – We are not saying to let your community projects flounder, but we are going to need some serious cash to help arrange legal support, a convergence space, and a thousand other logistical puzzles. Pass the hat at every regional consulta and meeting you attend, hold fundraisers, and send a chunk of it in our direction!
4. Communicate – Maintain strong security-culture values, but let us know your capacities and what you will need. If you want a single point person to communicate with, we can arrange it. What you say you can do and will need shapes the course that we take[TOP]