Voices: Creating a Ruckus

I had the pleasure of revisiting the 1996 film Citizen Ruth this weekend. The biting satire depicts passionate activists on both sides of the choice/abortion issue as unstable zealots. It’s a darkly comic depiction, but by no means a rare one. Surely, it’s one the Bush/Cheney 2004 campaign would prefer you believe.

Republicans — except the anti-choice kind — don’t protest. They’ll “boo” immaturely before the world while simplifying reality into a mantra of distorted truth at their national convention, but they’d rather save the image of street rousing for the rabble.

Anyone willing to take a stand is going to stand out. They’re asking to be criticized — though not necessarily cursed at, as was the case during Bush’s recent visit to the Lackawanna County Stadium. You might think the handful of protesters that bothered to show their faces and signs couldn’t possibly pose a threat to the 10,000 to 12,000 that either support Bush or successfully disguised their ulterior motive for attending the rally. But the Republicans’ defensive actions speak louder than bombs.

Was there really a need to establish a temporary courtroom at the stadium to process arrested protestors? We know after the fact there wasn’t. While one side may say it was a safety precaution, another may cite the move as a propagandist reminder that our constitutional right to dissent is up for interpretation.

The New York Times conservatively counted only 100,000 protesters in Manhattan on the eve of the Republican convention (The Village Voice and independent media, e.g. Alternet, cited 500,000); yet more than 1700 were arrested during the convention. Nearly 500 were held for some 36 to 66 hours before a fed up State Supreme Court Justice John Cataldo ordered the release of 470 people just hours before Bush’s speech. And when the city couldn’t bring itself to comply, he charged it $1000 for each and every protestor held past deadline.

Republicans may mock protestors and feign superiority over them, but they’re clearly afraid. I believe Secretary of State Colin Powell cancelled his plan to attend the closing ceremony of the Olympics because he didn’t want anti-American protests to detract focus from the event and its athletes. I also know it just wouldn’t look good for Bush to get that kind of negative international attention at that time.


Whereas the secret to Conservative success is draining the color from life until issues become simply black and white, the biggest thing the anti-Bush camp has going for it is creativity. The Bush campaign can hand out white medical coats for supporters to wear while holding “Doctors for Bush” signs, but they can’t compete with the satirical theatrics of Billionaires for Bush. And then you’ve got the street smart appeal of Cabbies Against Bush and the Hip Hop Action Network, the sexual appeal of Babes Against Bush and Axis of Eve, the class of Librarians Against Bush and Bach Against Bush, the reality of Future Voters Against Bush and Mothers Against Bush, the sheer desperation of Bushes Against Bush and Texas Artists Against Bush, etc.

While the Bush Campaign fears this uprising, it insists the actions of these networks won’t make a difference at the polls. Just like Michael Moore hasn’t changed anyone’s mind. Hundred of thousands of Americans have already agreed to vote for Kerry only because they hate Bush enough to vote for a candidate they don’t particularly like.

So why bother campaigning? Why bother spending all that money on ads and signs and cross-country appearances — money we could use to create jobs or support the troops or rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan? Because it’s the votes of those who haven’t planned to vote that both Bush and Kerry are after. They’re fighting over the busy and complacent and disenfranchised who might not make it to the polls on November 2.

And that’s why the Republicans are scared. They know that if every single woman in this country casts a vote (the assumption here is that that every vote really does count), Bush wouldn’t stand a chance because no matter how many times they tell us otherwise, we know the “W” doesn’t stand for women. Now add the vote of 18-25-year-olds who in the past developed a reputation for not exercising the right.

November 2 is election day, but the date that’s infinitely most important right now is October 6. That’s the last day to REGISTER to vote in Pennsylvania before the November election. Even if you don’t plan to vote now, don’t sacrifice your right to change your mind a month from now.

The party’s just getting started.

--alicia grega-pikul, 9 September 2004

Send e-mail to: apikul@timesshamrock.com.