Comprehensive DNC/RNC Analysis

May 19, 2008 at 8:00 am · Filed under Read All About It, posted by ret marut

At the invitation of Team Colors, who are coordinating the publication In the Middle of a Whirlwind: 2008 Convention Protests, Movement and Movements, we present a full analysis of the strategic opportunities and challenges presented by the 2008 Democratic and Republican National Conventions. We hope this will contribute to ongoing discussions about whether and how anarchists should participate in them.

For internet casualties who don’t have the attention span to read an actual text, here are the basic points:

-We believe that mass mobilizations still have potential if we choose carefully when to focus on them. Successful DNC and/or RNC protests this summer could energize local direct action organizing throughout the US.

-In an era when most had deemed them obsolete, the so-called “anti-globalization movement” reinvented street demonstrations and used them to great effect. After 9/11, liberal and authoritarian groups hijacked that model and ran it into the ground with willfully ineffectual spectacles. Now that the antiwar movement has exhausted itself, there is once again a vacuum in the streets. If anarchists fill it with effective organizing, this could enable us to regain the initiative.

-Following the collapse of the antiwar movement, liberal hopes are pinned entirely on electoral politics, at a time when the discredited electoral system is attempting to rehabilitate its image—in part by co-opting grass-roots dissent. In this context, it is strategic for anarchists to focus on contesting the electoral spectacle itself, thus differentiating ourselves from the rest of the political spectrum and demonstrating an alternative for other disillusioned and disenfranchised demographics.

-Though it would be ideal for anarchists to emphasize both equally, we fear the RNC protests will be significantly better organized than the DNC, and offer a better bet for a successful mobilization.

-Though it is hardly original, the blockading strategy proposed for the RNC protests is currently the most promising option on the table, and we urge anarchists to plug into it. That means getting organized now, not simply showing up in St. Paul without a plan or affinity group.

-Based on recent precedents and the current national context, it seems that the authorities desire to avoid the brutal violence employed at the FTAA protests in Miami in 2003. Using such force against demonstrators at the RNC would frame the US government as repressive during an election that is intended to clean up its image. It would also embarrass the liberal local government of St. Paul, and spotlight anarchist resistance at a time when the powers that be hope to sweep all opposition into the Obama camp.

-In this context, the demonstrations in St. Paul need not shut down the RNC to succeed—they need only provoke a dramatic confrontation that foregrounds the anarchist critique. If we get tear-gassed in St. Paul, we’ve won. It remains to be seen whether US anarchists are currently equipped to accomplish this; but the answer to that question is partly up to you, dear reader.

For the reasoning behind these theses, read the full report.

Is Greater Than » Spirit of the Time 5/19/08 said,

May 19, 2008 @ 10:45 am

[...] offers a full report and Cliffs Notes version on the challenges facing protesters at the Republican and Democratic National [...]

pannekoek said,

May 20, 2008 @ 10:53 am

Given the history of mobilizations against political convenetions would it not be even more un-nerving for the STATE if no one should up. That is, instead of all the opposition engaging in this ritualist mobilization every 4 years which has been entirely recuperated, we all just relax. maybe hold our own Con. say in Kansas City (maybe we can protest our own convention..to really make them scratch their heads)….

b. traven said,

May 20, 2008 @ 2:55 pm

I don’t think Pannekoek makes a strong case for his proposal, but I’ll take a stab at it.

We want to see anarchic approaches and relationships proliferate. One might say that anarchists who are not “relaxed” are unlikely to inspire others to try out anarchist approaches, as everyone is already so stressed out that they aren’t looking for more stress. [This idea was explored in a 1997 CrimethInc. column in Maximum Rock'n'Roll, entitled "Your Politics Are Boring As Fuck."] If, on the other hand, anarchists could find some infectious way to really enjoy life, that might be more likely to contribute to social change than “ritualist mobilizations.”

I don’t personally find that compelling as a be-all-end-all approach to social change. There are situations in which it makes sense–local anarchist communities need to be welcoming, nurturing, pleasurable spaces–but it also has tremendous limits. Most of the resources that make it possible to enjoy life are currently held hostage by the state.

As pointed out in the text, a demonstration at the RNC won’t immediately secure those resources, and that’s a drawback to focusing on it. Yet at the same time, there are many people who are looking for a way to fight against the powers that be–that is to say, social conflict itself is a goal some are seeking. If we openly, effectively contest state power, we can find allies among them, and also help to build up momentum for resistance generally.

This is important, because if we really hope to pose a threat to the forces that hold our world hostage, we have to be developing our ability to fight as well as to support one another and play. There are some situations that provide strategic opportunities for this, and others that don’t–the essay makes a case for why the RNC may be a promising opportunity.

Finally, you use the word “recuperated,” but it’s not clear what you mean by it. It’s important to use words like that precisely. Do you just mean that demonstrations have happened a lot before without the world changing? I’d say some of them have been important parts of worthwhile struggles. We sometimes lost those struggles, but not simply because there were demonstrations involved.

For something to be “recuperated,” our enemies must usurp the advantage and momentum of it. I’d argue that anarchist efforts at the RNC in 2004 were largely recuperated, but that a lot of the organizing coming from the RNC Welcoming Committee this year is specifically intended to resist recuperation. You might argue that the phenomenon of anti-electoral demonstrations in general has been recuperated beyond hope, but that would be a difficult case to make. You’d have to counter all the arguments in the conventions analysis presented here, for example.

clark666 said,

May 23, 2008 @ 3:39 am

I have a hypothesis and comment about the following info given out in the above article–
“In Denver, which will host the Democratic National Convention at the end of August, anarchist organizing has taken place in the shadow of Recreate 68, a coalition of liberal and radical groups. This has manifested itself most recently with the cancellation of one of Unconventional Denver’s two primary days of action, despite two nationwide consultas and months of planning, at the request of an immigrant and Chicano rights coalition.”
I have only been attending the Recreate 68 organizing meetings in Denver for the last few months. Any meetings where planned actions were cancelled in favor of the immigration rights march might have occurred last year or in January but nothing of the sort has occurred within the last few months.
The time-line of events being planned for the week of the DNC is filling out but nothing is written in stone.
The focus of Recreate 68 (at least my roll in it) is to provide local logistics to any and all other organizations and affinity groups that want to plan actions.
It is my guess (after having read the above article- and not yet talked to any others in R68) that those organizing the Immigrants Rights march chose a time that had already been ear marked by Unconventional Action.
No immigration rights or Chicano rights groups made any requests that Unconventional Actions events be cancelled.
On first guess– the problem seems like a scheduling conflict with no malice or prejudices of any kind.
I truly hope the people of Crimethinc and those who regularly visit the sight, depening on your spirit and information will not be dettered from coming to Denver to participate in direct actions during the DNC.
There are 5 days of events being planned but still plenty of room for events.
I am part of the out-reach planning committee and would like to hear from anyone on this issue but would also like to offer my e-mail if anyone needs info on logistics, travel or housing etc…
feel free to reach me at clark665son@yahoo.com
Thanks,
Clark666

ret marut said,

May 23, 2008 @ 10:25 am

Clark666–A clarification and a source citation:

Thanks very much for the positive spirit of your comment. It is very much our hope that people will come to Denver for the DNC protests, and it is a shortcoming of the above analysis that it focuses so little on Denver.

Our source for the statement you quote is print media, and unfortunately I didn’t come across an electronic reference for it in the brief search I just conducted. The information came from a handout distributed by Denver people at the pRe-NC 5.3 in Minneapolis. I presume it also went out as an email.

The handout begins by describing the original schedule for Unconventional Action events during the DNC, which came out of two nationwide consultas. I’ll type out selections here:

“The majority of our focus was being put into two different actions, one on Monday night and the next on Tuesday morning. [...] Tuesday morning’s action “Blockade the Vote” was to be the blockading of the downtown hotels housing the delegates and preventing them from getting to the convention on the day of their vote. Wednesday was to be immigrant rights day, with little to no actions happening in the downtown area…”

As I understand it, Unconventional Denver had already made a commitment not to organize actions on the day R68 had chosen for the theme of Immigrant Rights. What happened, according to the handout, was that that day changed:

“In the beginning of April, we were contacted by the immigrant rights and Chicano rights coalition asking us to call off our Tuesday morning actions. After several meetings, they decided it would be more strategic and beneficial for them to have their event on Tuesday instead of Wednesday. [...] After much deliberation, Unconventional Denver decided in late April that the best thing would be to call off our Tuesday morning action.”

I agree with you that it appears to simply be an issue of scheduling, with no malice or conflict involved. Perhaps the language in the above report (”anarchist organizing has taken place in the shadow of Recreate 68″) is too strong; but I think it’s fair to describe anarchist organizers in Denver as being in a situation in which they are reacting to other groups’ organizing decisions.

That is not to criticize R68 or Unconventional Denver, but simply to attempt to describe the situation. I hope that R68 and Unconventional Denver will have a positive experience assisting each other in meeting their goals this August.

Jin-Rou said,

May 23, 2008 @ 9:19 pm

You need to be clear not only about what you want, but how you are going to get it.

What do you want?
Are your tactics realistically going to get you what you want?
Are you willing to do whatever it takes to win?

What do you hope to accomplish by showing up? Is your goal to overthrow or dismantle the state and replace it with topless federations and alternative economics (Gift based, mutualism, LETS, ect?).

Is your primary goal to erode support for the government and RNC?
Are you trying to recruit new members?

What is the purpose of blocking a street? What are your demands? What is your leverage?

Finally, how far are you willing to go?

clark666 said,

May 24, 2008 @ 5:49 am

Dear Crimethinc,

I have not met the spokesperson for Unconventional Acton in Denver yet but if they can grab me at an upcoming R68 meeting then I can personally make a significant effort to facilitate any actions Crimethinc and friends want to see put solidly into the schedule.
Your article says that R68 is made up of “liberal and radical groups” and a truer statement was never written. (lol)
That this variant coalition continues to move forward effectively after over a year of such diverse interests and world outlooks can only be contributed to the overarching beliefs that the protests occurring at the DNC (and direct action in general) is just that important.

JayR said,

May 24, 2008 @ 8:10 pm

My main objective is just to remind people that we are still here. Frankly, up until I started searching, it seemed like all the anarchists died after Seattle, 1999.

For those of you who don’t have faith in mass actions or have made excuses not to show up, fine. But still count these as days of action. It would be nice to seen a ton of solidarity actions around the country (world?). If you find nighttime property destruction more effective, actually get on and do it! Preform some community building activity, hold a workshop or give out food. Wheatpaste your town with anti-party fliers. Whatever. Hell, these actions might even make more people pay attention to the news of the convention protests.

It also saddens me that the RNC is likely to be more active than the DNC. I know anarchists have stressed that there are better ways to “vote” than the ballot, but the idea wasn’t to vote for the Democrats.

strongwindsahead said,

May 25, 2008 @ 9:43 pm

I’m an organizer with Unconventional Denver. We usually try and get a rep to the R 68 meetings, though things have been a bit crazy lately. Shoot us an email at unconventionaldenver@riseup.net to talk about actions and other issues.

As for the immigration situation, it really boiled down to miscommunication and scheduling conflicts. Of course we were disappointed on one hand to change plans we’d already made, but the changes happening are really fucking exciting. Collaborating with the different groups has been going really well. The analysis that us changing our schedule means we’re treating the protests as too locally focused is one I really disagree with. The issue of immigration and latino/chicano rights is a national one and the march is going to reflect that. Building alliances and bonds with our comrades, as the article pointed out, is one of the strongest reasons for mass mobilizations and that’s what we’re doing.

I’ll respond to some of the other points made about DNC organizing tomorrow at some point…

denveraction said,

May 26, 2008 @ 9:42 am

As I understand it, it is just as, or more, important to be in Denver for the DNC. As long as we continue to only focus on the RNC, liberals and even other anarchist will believe or have faith that Democrats are a lesser evil or an answer worth voting for. If we concentrate our efforts to discredit and expose the Dems as just the other side of the coin of capitialism, then we can present another alternative. As long as we allow the false reality that the Dems are on our side, we will never be able to present a more radical voice to our communities. We really have do focus on destroying the false reality that keeps people from seeing the truth about this imperialist system that allows Republicans and Democrats to keep each other in power and keep the people down.

ret marut said,

May 26, 2008 @ 10:37 am

To that end, it would be great if anyone involved in Denver organizing could post links here to the latest developments on that front. The above analysis is short on discussion of Denver primarily because information about it was simply not available when it was being composed, since the sudden change about Tuesday planning had just occurred.

By no means do we hope to discourage people from putting serious effort into the DNC protests, if they have an idea for how to make that effective. So please, where can we read about the current plans for Denver?

strongwindsahead said,

May 28, 2008 @ 7:42 pm

We’ll be writing up a “What to Expect at the Democratic National Convention” to give a much needed update from us and to partly clear up some of the misconceptions this article has made. Hopefully that can be featured on this blog when it becomes available.

For the meantime, here’s some responses:

ok, to elaborate on the Tuesday cancellation stuff, we actually aren’t cancelling the Tuesday actions. They’re happening that afternoon after the march. At the pReNC things had temporarily been cancelled and we offered an update to people there, but didn’t make it widespread because we knew it wasn’t set in stone. So it’s a bit annoying to have a highly popular article spreading around information not intended to be spread widely. Maybe that was our fault for not making that clear though.

Anyways, some other points…

“Unfortunately, in the course of the past year, major differences have emerged between the local organizing in Denver and St. Paul. It now appears that, as in 2004, the demonstrations at the RNC will be several orders of magnitude larger than those at the DNC. Like it or not, we must take this into account. ”

Of course my view is totally biased, but I don’t think we’re looking at the same disparities in numbers that took place in ‘04. Interestingly, much of the anti-war left recognizes that the Dems are currently unwilling to end the war, but that political favor is falling towards them and consequentially we need to be putting the pressure on. As opposed to the Anybody But Bush mentality that plagued 04, many people are frustrated and angered by the Dems failure to bring about change despite holding power in Congress. So we are expecting to see some pretty high numbers given the current political climate.

That the anti-war left has recognized the importance of confronting the Dems while so many anarchists remain fixated on the RNC is a bit troubling. The article probably is right in that the RNC will garner a larger anarchist presence. I think the explanation for all that is a mix of differences in capacity and effectiveness to organize between host cities, a lack of analysis and thought on the part of some people who are making decisions primarily on which will have the larger FSU potential, as well as a difference in anarchist population and connections in the different regions.

Still, though it might be a smaller turnout, this isn’t a DNC vs. RNC decision as the article made it seem. Words are strange in how they can be self-fulfilling. Having an article pronouncing the DNC to be dwarfed in size by the RNC when people are still making summer plans and given the fact that here in Denver we are working with a good number of collectives and folks who are coming out, is a strange proclamation to make. Hopefully this kind of premature talk won’t seal the DNC’s fate.

Rather than working on a scarcity model, it’s helpful to remember that we’re not necessarily trying to draw numbers from the same pools of people. In general, we seem to be drawing more excitement and commitment from the West, while the RNC is drawing from the Midwest and East. Also, for those who have the energy and means, there will be a DNC to RNC caravan so going to both isn’t exactly a luxury afforded only to the trainhoppers and travelling folks. The RNC being fucking huge and awesome (which it will be) does not mean it’s doing so at the expense of the DNC and vice-versa.

Lastly, this statement- “anarchist organizing has taken place in the shadow of Recreate 68, a coalition of liberal and radical groups.” It is fair to say that R 68 has had a much larger media presence and has been doing a lot of the logistical work around the convention. UA Denver hasn’t been doing a good of job as possible (though we are smaller in numbers) of doing publicity and outreach. Still, the work done by R 68 thus far has naturally been getting more attention than the scheming and organizing we’ve been doing since much of that stays generally on the dl right now. The RNC Welcoming Committee has been doing a lot of logistical work, while in Denver that has been left mainly to R 68. However, we’ve been an active voice in R 68 and tactics, messaging and strategy from an anti-authoritarian place have a prominent place in R 68 work. Lastly, I don’t want to speak on behalf of R 68, but the idea that they’re liberal at all is a bit off. Maybe there are liberals within the coalition (maybe?) but all the actions and work is being done from a radical stance (radical in the sense of getting to the root of the problem). We’re fortunate that one of the main organizing groups has members from the anarchist movement and is dedicated to working closely with us.

Sorry to sound (and I guess be) so defensive. There’s certainly much that we could have been doing better thus far and we’re working our asses off to make up for lost time, but I’m still confident that the DNC will be an amazing and inspiring mobilization, not a warm-up to the RNC.

ret marut said,

May 28, 2008 @ 9:24 pm

Strongwindsahead–Thank you for such a conscientious and informative response. I don’t feel you’re being defensive at all–those are all valuable points, especially the one about the antiwar left mobilizing against the democrats while some anarchists focus on the RNC for incidental rather than strategic reasons. I hope you’re correct that the actions at the DNC will be exciting and significant, and that people around the country put energy into them.

Every analysis has shortcomings, including the one in question here. The more people and groups communicate about this subject, though, the more likely it is that a fully informed and nuanced vision will eventually circulate.

clark666 said,

May 28, 2008 @ 10:32 pm

I agree– the more dialogue the better.,
I would like to add a word on R68 and the perceived “coalition of liberal and radical” groups.
I personally use the term liberal interchangeably with the lable “pacifist” and in addition the “liberal” definition of violence includes the destruction of property.
I state these definitions just to showcase the wide disparity of political thought being represented under the auspices of the R68 banner.
My own political beliefs vary and outright reject these definitions but the spirit of cooperation and pragmatism I ((and others in R68) have put aside more radical views in order to create an atmosphere where a large variety of parades, rallies, marches and protests can and should occur.

xblockedx said,

May 29, 2008 @ 5:44 am

Ok, I’m going to put on my anarchist activist strategy hat. Look out below!

1) The summits at the end of the 90’s, early 00’s marked the end of a decade of ‘local direct action organizing’, mostly in the form of Anti-Racist Action and Earth First!. There were dozens of active ARA, Animal Defense League, and EF! chapters around the US in the 90’s. Today there are maybe a handful. Maybe. In the Northwest, forest defense campaigns contributed to the momentum of the summit protests more than anything else, and the ’skills’ used to make those summits successful were honed in this fairly vibrant (or at least existent) direct action scene nationally. This scene no longer exists in any real way - or is at least a shadow of its former self.

2) Following the big summit protests there was a rapid decline in local direct action organizing. This was not a direct causal relationship - direct action had been declining for years (one could overdramatically say that that Seattle and the spectacular ELF actions in that period were the candle flickering before it went out) - but it is worth noting that there is no historical evidence to suggest that summit protests, even at their most successful, lead to momentum in ‘local direct action’. If anything, history says the exact opposite.

2a) While there was way more direct action in the 90’s than there is today, eco and animal rights direct action actually declined from the ‘open monkey wrenching’ of the 1980’s (not to mention the decline in queer direct action from ACT UP and Queer Nation in the 80’s and early 90’s), which had a much more social character and contributed far more in terms of actually stopping ecological destruction. Interestingly, the direct action culture of the 1980’s was not very connected with anarchism, while the 90’s stuff was, especially as the decade came to an end. While not necessarily suggesting a causal relationship, a birds eye view of history shows a decline in ecological and animal lib direct action as it became more and more connected to anarchism. Nowadays anarchism is fairly hegemonic in radical eco, animal lib, etc circles but all of them are at lowpoints in intensity, creativity, and number of people involved.

3) My understanding of Seattle is that the NGOs, left/liberal groups, environmentalists, etc were the people who primarily did the organizing of the protests and blockades. They were the ones who blocked the intersections and whatnot. Anarchists ‘crashed the party’ and got their black bloc on while the others locked arms in intersections. This is an oversimplification, but this is how I understood it in a broad sense.

4) For the convention protests (like the FTAA in Miami), anarchists aren’t crashing the party - they’re organizing it. Instead of the NGOs, left/liberal groups, environmentalists, etc doing the blockades while anarchists get their black bloc on, anarchists are organizing the blockades. To me this seems like a huge step backwards. Why should anarchists do today what Medea Benjamin and all those shits did a decade ago? Our ‘job’ is to crash parties and go crazy, not be the ‘responsible’ ones.

5) What ‘local direct action’ is going on right now? The I-69 stuff in Indiana, the port actions on the west coast, anti-Olympics stuff in British Columbia, and I’m sure a few other things. How will convention protests contribute to any of these? If the convention protests are being organized to give momentum to local direct action stuff, why have (most) discussions about them not mentioned those direct action campaigns? In many ways the convention protests are diverting bodies and energy away from those things… or are they not mentioned because those campaigns are diverting bodies and energy away from the convention protests?

6) And even more important than anarchist ‘direct action organizing’ - what social struggles are going on right now? The attempted truckers strikes (which in limited examples included very intense direct action), farmer resistance to I-69, port workers strikes, mass immigrant marches, etc. How will convention protests contribute to any of these? How can anarchists have any conversation about ’strategy’ without starting with what struggle is actually going on?

7) In the past successful summits had direct action momentum leading up to them, not the other way around. All of this together says to me that these convention protests will not be successful and that these protests are strategically misguided at this juncture. If one really does want to have crazy awesome summits I think what is necessary is a rejuvenation of the grassroots direct action campaigns across the country that gave rise to the last bunch of big summit protest riots. But, I think a more fruitful and interesting strategy would be for anarchists to orient themselves to the struggles that are happening where they live (and nationally/internationally) to add momentum to them and find complicity with other people struggling, rather than rub shoulders with liberal activist protestors and Obama supporters.

d said,

May 29, 2008 @ 10:26 am

i think xblockedx offers a pretty insightful critique, especially in the way it responds to some of the points of the main article.

strongwind said:
“That the anti-war left has recognized the importance of confronting the Dems while so many anarchists remain fixated on the RNC is a bit troubling. … a lack of analysis and thought on the part of some people who are making decisions primarily on which will have the larger FSU potential … ”

I don’t know if this is meant to read that the lack of thought & analysis (of strategy) leads to the conclusion that the RNC will have the larger FSU potential, or if lack of thought/analysis (of politics/society/etc) leads to making the decision based on FSU potential rather than making some sort of statement against the Democrats.

I don’t think protesting the conventions will lead to a resurgence in direct action organizing or will even really put anarchists in the (media) spotlight or make anarchism legitimate, attractive, appealing in the way that the post-seattle thing happened. I made my decision based on FSU potential, yes, but this was because of plenty of thought and analysis.

strongwindsahead said,

June 13, 2008 @ 7:29 am

Ok, the official response by Unconventional Denver is out now. If Crimethinc could post this on the blog, it would be super helpful in terms of giving folks more updated information and an alternative perspective on the DNC protests. You can find the post here-
http://dncdisruption08.org/?p=90

Thanks!

ret marut said,

June 14, 2008 @ 10:17 pm

What to Expect at the Democratic National Convention- A Response to Crimethinc.
By Unconventional Denver

There have been many speculations about what the conventions will look like this summer. Some of those predictions have come from the mainstream media, others from conservative talk radio, and of course there is the buzz that goes on between people. Recently, Crimethinc. weighed in with the piece What to Expect From the Conventions. Much of the information in that article is incomplete and incorrect and does not convey the actions Unconventional Denver has been organizing against the DNC. We would like to use this as an opportunity to let people know what is really happening this summer in Denver.

Perhaps part of the reason for the inaccuracies of the article is that we have had no interaction or conversations with its author(s);we were not consulted for information or asked for clarification on points. Fortunately,we have published a zine that outlines the schedule of Unconventional Denver’s calls to action throughout the week of the DNC. These range from reclaiming space occupied by the police state, to targeting corporate fundraisers and the city’s infrastructure of capitalism, to blockading the spectacle of delegate voting.
In addition to the zine, we are also in the middle of a western states tour (after completing a tour in the east), providing up to date information to collectives, infoshops, and other radical spaces. The zine, as well as tour information, is available at http://www.dncdisruption08.org.

Separating Fact from Fiction- What’s Really Going Down this Summer
First, let’s start by clearing up a few inaccuracies.

Myth #1:Unconventional Denver cancelled one of two primary days of action,despite two nationwide consultas and months of planning, at the request of an immigrant and Chicano rights coalition.

Truth: The “We Vote No! Blockade the Spectacle” action is still on.

Tuesday will prove to be a day of both solidarity and powerful direct action. In the morning, we will be involved with and supporting what will be a historic immigrant/Chicana rights and No Borders mobilization. In the afternoon, the “We Vote No! Blockade the Spectacle” action will begin, as we use a diversity of tactics to directly confront the pantomime of democracy enacted by delegate voting.

Myth #2: Anarchist organizing has taken place in the shadow of Recreate 68, a coalition of liberal and radical groups.Truth: Anarchist organizing takes place in both Recreate 68and Unconventional Denver. Recreate 68 is not a liberal group and has maintained a radical stance from the beginning.

Unconventional Denver and Recreate 68 have explicitly different roles in organizing the DNC protests. The task of R68 has been to lay the logistical foundations for the protests. Unconventional Denver has a much narrower mission of organizing direct action at the convention. R68 has had a lot of media exposure because press presence is part of their role. In addition, to say that R68 is overshadowing the work of anarchists is to truly misunderstand both R68 and its relationship with Unconventional Denver. From the beginning, R68 has been a solid group of radicals friendly to anarchist politics, with many core members being self-described anarchists themselves. Unconventional Denver is working closely not only with R68, but also with a number of other anti-DNC organizers, to ensure an effective and supported strategy of direct action.

To conclude that in the Twin Cities “anarchists are involved explicitly in every level of the organizing,”while not recognizing the level of cooperation and interaction in Denver is to recognize anarchists through a very narrow lens. In fact, the analysis smacks of the kind of privilege and ageism that several anarchists in R68 have had to come up against repeatedly. It’s bad enough that anarchists who don’t dress the part and organize things besides direct action get invisibilized by the media (when anarchists are working on food distribution programs they’re called “activists” when they smash windows they’re called “anarchists”); to have it come from our own movement is downright offensive. Yes, pinch yourself, it’s real- the anarchists are main organizers in both groups. We not only have a place in the anti-war march,we’re being invited to lead. When do we get an opportunity like that?

Myth #3: It now appears that, as in 2004, the demonstrations at the RNC will be several orders of magnitude larger than those at the DNC. Like it or not, we must take this into account.
Truth: We’re getting word of participation from many folks from a wide variety of causes and groups. People are pissed off at the failures of the Democrats and will be in Denver to make their voices heard.Had we gotten word that most people were writing Denver off as a “tragic” mistake, we’d be making drastic changes in the strategy put forth. Luckily, we haven’t been getting the same reading.

The political climate now is much different than in 2004 where anarchists in Boston had to deal with the deafening mantra of “Anybody But Bush.” Since then, the Democrats have had four years to turn things around both abroad and at home. They’ve failed on all accounts and people are pissed. We see an anti-war movement with less and less patience for playing nice with the Democrats and more and more actions confronting them on their complicity in war. Though Obama has entranced some, many are still not impressed with a candidate planning to expand the world’s largest military to even greater proportions. We also see an immigrant rights movement that has been sold out by the Democrats both locally (in Colorado we have a Democratic governor backed by a Democratic Congress which has passed some of the most anti-immigrant legislation to date) as well as nationally. We certainly hope that anarchists will reach the same conclusion that Iraq Veterans Against the War, Padres/Jovenes Unidos, Tent State University, the Young Lords, SDS chapters, Code Pink, the Radical Black Congress and countless others have concluded—that we need to confront the Democrats in Denver. Luckily, we know many that have and are confident that others will join as well.

Playing the Numbers Game

We don’t know for sure what the numbers will look like. Will they be larger than the RNC? We don’t know. We feel confident that they will be significantly larger than the DNC protests in Boston four years ago and that they will rival LA 2000 if not surpass it.
However, to make one’s decision based solely on which protest will be bigger is to follow a mob mentality we anarchists eschew. Regardless of what happens in the streets,the spotlight will certainly be on the Democratic National Convention as Barack Obama officially becomes the first black presidential candidate. Folks experienced in direct action know that it doesn’t simply come down to numbers (if that were true, the current anti-war movement would be effective). It’s about being in the right place, at the right time, with your shit together. The DNC is a prime opportunity to interrupt the government’s narrative of genuine democracy and real change and insert the messages that democracy and capitalism don’t mix, that change comes from below, that the Democrats are a force of co-optation, and that while it’s a step forward that a black man can become a presidential contender, the institution of white supremacy will stay intact until we dismantle it ourselves.

RNC vs. DNC- A showdown!?!?

Rather than look at these protests from a scarcity model, in which Minneapolis and Denver must compete for the attention of the same people, we should be looking at these protests as two distinct protests within one mobilization. The idea of diversity of tactics and a model of abundance is that people have different needs and interests and they will meet them in different ways. We disagree with the assertion that it is about deciding which convention is universally the better one to attend. These protests are being organized in different ways with different means to get to the same end—smashing the state and capitalism. People should, and will, choose where to go based on what is most relevant to their lives and the struggles they are engaged in.

Finally, though there is a decline in traveler culture, we have been working with our comrades up north to frame these protests in ways that will help people make it to both. The most arrestable activities in Denver are at the beginning of the week, and we’re organizing decompression sessions on Thursday as well as caravans from Denver to Minneapolis, with places to crash and rest along the way provided by our fellow anarchists in the Great Plains.

We hope this article clears up some of the confusion. The effectiveness of the anti-convention strategies as two parts of one cohesive, successful mobilization depends upon the choices people make now and into the summer. The 2008 Democratic National Convention will be historic. It’s up to us to determine why.

lereveur said,

June 18, 2008 @ 7:05 am

Whether you are for or against mass national actions, take note of the benefits that occur no matter what:

1)And opportunity to network. Whether it be for your own group, just a friend, the development of a relationship with a longstanding comrade, just showing up and actively communicating with those around you strengthens you, the anarchist community, and the social circles you interact with.

2)A display of force and an increase in morale. We often thrive on having something to oppose. There has been a general movement toward supporting rather than opposing, and the negative effects of pure opposition have been buffered against, but the thing to note here is that opposition is still something to thrive from. Part of my inspiration to delve into activism was the Seattle WTO protests: I remembered seeing them on the news as a kid, I learned more of the truth and reasoning behind them later on, and I got interested. Lots of people were demoralized and oppressed, and the WTO has been doing damage for years and years, but it has brought people into the fold. By banding together and seeing what we can do, even if it is only to gather in one place and yell a lot (though it won’t be), we realize what we are truly capable of and thrive.

3)Strengthening of our movement. With all the brilliant minds that are trying to revive anarchism to the advent it was 90-120 years ago, we gain strength by banding together and networking. Granted, there is significant danger in letting ourselves vent our frustrations every 4 years (just like voting!!!) in mass protests, but the same brilliant minds at work on writing, organizing, collaborating, and communicating have been actively staving off being routed into federal-level protest and spectacles. And with situationist texts at our hands, we have more knowledge at our fingertips than Emma Goldman did (and we have her knowledge, too!).

What we need to see is truly collaborative efforts and the reduction of factionalism in favor of cooperation. Diversity of tactics is the catch phrase of this era, it seems, and combined with “to each according to their need, from each according to their ability,” we have the framework for operating on every level, synchronously, everywhere, and at all times. I think it would be amazing to see an update of this article with updated information and a focus on banding together national and local organization into a truly diverse array of tactics. While well-meant and heartfelt, and I’m sure what seemed like necessarily abrasive, it seems that a lot of this could contribute to factionalism within our community.

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