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POLITICS IN THE SHADOW
ALTERNATIVE CONVENTIONS SUPPLY WHAT’S LACKING
AMONG REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS
On July 31, the national media’s attention will turn to
Philadelphia. On August 14, the focus will shift to Los
Angeles. These are the sites of the Republican and
Democratic national conventions, which promise to be
choreographed, polished and free of any real discussion of
policy.
But the vacuum of the conventions will not necessarily
cause Americans to forget important political issues. People
from around the country will fill both host cities with events
providing a strong counterpoise to the major party hoopla,
including the Shadow Conventions. These gatherings, held in
large venues near the Convention sites, will raise issues that
the Republicans and Democrats have chosen to ignore:
poverty, campaign finance reform and the disastrous conse
quences of the drug war. Philadelphia and Los Angeles will
also witness major protests, as both permitted demonstra
tions and non-violent direct actions occur to raise issues
ranging from universal health care to global economic jus
tice.
Unlike the Democratic and Republican
Conventions, the Shadow Conventions promise to
put debate in the foreground. Call to Renewal, the
National Campaign for Jobs and Income
Support, and United for a Fair Economy—
three groups dedicated to ending persistent
poverty during a period of unprecedented eco
nomic growth—are organizing the convention’s
proceedings on poverty and the wealth gap.
Chuck Collins, Co-Director of United for a Fair
Economy, warns of the dangers cf a growing divide
between rich and poor in this country: “We are drifting
toward economic apartheid, and our national politics
reflects this. How could repealing the estate tax become a
political priority? A policy that only effects the richest two
percent of households and a windfall for 3,000 households
with wealth over $5 million? We need a Shadow Convention
to remind us of the people who are living in the shadow of
prosperity.”
United for a Fair Economy and the other organizers of this
event hope to call attention to a harshly divided economy in
which one percent of the U.S. population owns more wealth
than the bottom 90 percent combined, a greater concentra
tion than any time since the eve of the Great Depression. As
Jim Wallis of Call to Renewal
observes, “The rising tide is
lifting the yachts, but not all
the boats."
Common Cause and
Public Campaign, two groups
working to reduce the influ
ence of big money on politics,
are leading the proceedings
on campaign finance reform.
Dismayed by the Democrats’
and Republicans’ expected,
unregulated “soft money"
take of more than $500 mil
lion, Scott Harshbarger, presi
dent of Common Cause, says,
“The political parties have
eroded their once-noble traditions and have transformed
themselves into something almost unrecognizable: giant mail
drops for special-interest money.”
Syndicated columnist Ariana Huffington has joined with
the Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation, a drug policy
institute which educates Americans on alternatives to cur
rent drug policies, to convene the Shadow Convention pro
ceedings on America’s “failed drug war." Ethan Nadelmann,
director of the foundation, says the nearly half a million
Americans currently imprisoned on drug charges is almost
10 times as many as in 1980 and is more than the entire
prison population of Europe. “Drug policy reform is rapidly
emerging as a new movement for political and social justice
in the United States—one that calls for drug policies based
upon common sense, science, public health and human
rights," he says.
The Shadow Conventions’ organizers arid speakers hold
generally progressive view's, but there are exceptions.
Senator John McCain will presumably call for campaign
finance reform. He is only one of several major political fig
ures scheduled to speak at the Shadow Conventions. Other
speakers include Democratic and Republican senators, rep
resentatives and governors, like Representative John Lewis,
civil rights veteran and Democrat from Georgia. Despite their
appearances at the Shadow' Conventions, these politicians
remain insiders. They will speak out on both parties’ failings
and then return to their reserved spots within their respec
tive parties’ conventions.
The celebrity speakers may repeat this pattern of loyal
opposition to major party politics as well. Warren Beatty, will
be a featured speaker alongside Al Franken and Bill Maher
and activists and writers like Jesse Jackson and Jonathan
Kozol. Huffington and Franken combined humor with politics
when they covered the 1996 National Conventions for
Comedy Central, and they will provide similar commentary
this year. Green Party Presidential Nominee Ralph Nader will
present an alternative to both major parties when he speaks.
While McCain may seem more at home inside the
Republican Convention, Nader seems more at ease with the
protesters who will be present en masse outside both con
ventions. Unity 2000, a loose coalition of over 100
groups, will attempt to build on the momentum gener
ated by the World Trade Organization protests in
Seattle and the International Monetary Fund-World
Bank protest in Washington, DC. It is hosting dozens
of events to call attention to a wide variety of
socio-economic ills. The city of Philadelphia
attempted to prevent these protests, but a
lawsuit brought by Unity 2000 forced the city
to grant permits.
On July 31. the Poor People’s Economic
Human Rights Campaign, a coalition of over 35
poor people’s organizations and their allies throughout
the United States, will be holding a March for Economic
Human Rights. This campaign is building a nationwide move
ment led by poor men, women and children to end poverty.
They hope to draw attention to rights guaranteed by the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, such as a living
wage, education, health care and adequate food, clothing
and shelter—rights that the United States does not recog
nize. despite its signature on this document. The c»ty of
Philadelphia has denied it a permit to march, but the group
has pledged to go ahead regardless of the outcome of a law
suit it has filed against the city. It is calling on students, pro
fessionals and other allies of its movement to come to
Philadelphia and act as human rights monitors to document
any violation of constitutional rights to assemble and speak.
The Ad Hoc Committee to
Defend Health Care, a
national organization of
health professionals working
for major health care reform,
has organized a demonstra
tion for July 29 in
Philadelphia, immediately
preceding the Republican
Convention. The members of
the Ad Hoc Committee agree
to five principles first set
forth in a 1997 article in the
Journal of the American
Medical Association. They
insist that “the healing pro
fessions must not be diverted
from their primary purpose: the relief of suffering, the pre
vention and treatment of illness and the promotion of
health,” that “pursuit of corporate profit and personal for
tune have no place in care giving," that “potent financial
incentives that reward overcare or undercare weaken profes
sional bonds, and should be prohibited," that “a patient’s
right to a health professional of choice must not be cur
tailed,” and that “access to health care must be ihe right of
all."
In addition to these demonstrations, there will be Seattle-
style, non-violent civil disobedience to disrupt both the
Democratic and Republican conventions. In Los Angeles
there will be direct action to protest for racial, gender, les-
bian/gay/bisexual/transgender, economic and environmental
justice, and to protest against police brutality, the prison-
industrial complex, the death penalty and the criminalization
of entire communities.
This year, history will not be made inside the major party
conventions. Organizers hope the thousands of citizens who
gather in alternate conventions and on the streets will rank
the Shadow' Conventions alongside the WTO, IMF and World
Bank protests as the beginning of a new' citizens’ movement
for democracy and justice.
James Hare
JULY 19
University
Round Table
invites YOU to the
40 WATT
285 W. Washington Street
for an evening of
discussion
with
velena VEGO
of THE 40 WATT
&
bob SLEPPY
of NUQI’S SPACE
about the
ATHENS
MUSIC SCENE
(past, present & future)
cookies and ice cream will be served
free to all
WEDNESDAY, JULY 19, 2000
6pm
for more info call 549-7871
DePalma’s.. .that’s Amore.
DSPALMAS
ITALIAN CAFE
Come Try Our New Menu.
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A54-6966 369-0085
2000 FLAGPOLE □
Want More Info? Check out the following:
• ■?
Shadow Conventions 2000, shadowconventions.com
Unity 2000, unity2000.com
The Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, kvvru.org
The Philadelphia Ad Hoc Committee to Defend Health Care,
phillyhealth.org
Mobilization to Protest the Democratic National Convention
2000, d2kla.com . .