The New York Riots of 2004

Adam Yoshida Weblog ^ | 26 March 2004 | Adam Teiichi Yoshida

[Lando Lincoln]

I expect there to be as much (or more) violence at the Republican National Convention in New York City this September as occurred at the Democratic convention in Chicago in 1968. At the very least, the convention will almost certainly bring the worst civil disturbances that the United States has seen since the World Trade Organization met in Seattle. This, of course, is potentially perilous: but it might well also be a magnificent opportunity.

Frankly, I wouldn’t be shocked to see real street battles. The extreme left is angry. Angrier than I’ve ever seen them. And they will be made angrier still by the harsh security measures which will be required to protect the dignitaries in New York. But the right is angry too, and there will be a lot of conservatives converging in New York City for the event. If the left wants to fight, expect the right to fight back.

Tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of “protestors” will flood into New York for the convention. They will be joined by various thrill-seekers, malcontents, and trouble-makers. It would be insane not to expect things to get ugly.

This, however, can all be turned to the benefit of President Bush. After all, while there might be occasional clashes between pro and anti-American demonstrators, the majority of the clashes that occur will be between the treason legion and the NYPD (or the National Guard). A few days of seeing that on television (backed by anti-Bush rhetoric) will sour many people who might have otherwise voted for John Kerry. This will be especially true given that, since the people rioting in the streets are a core component of John Kerry’s “base”, he’ll have a hard time denouncing them convincingly. He might not even denounce them at all, and instead curse out the President for being a “divider and not a uniter” while explaining that, as a result of his post-Vietnam activism, he “knows something about riots for real.”

President Bush can use the demonstrations (especially if they’ve turned violent) as a rallying point for both his base and swing voters. While, naturally, the President would have to tactfully dance around the point in his speech, there’d be plenty of Republican commentators around to transmit the meme: Democrats are violent, anti-American anarchists. Perhaps Rudy Giuliani could be brought before the convention to hammer this particular point home.

All of this could easily work to transform the Republican convention from a staid event, barely covered by the media (as opposed to the coverage which is sure to be lavished upon the Democratic Convention) into mesmerizing television with a message. After all, in any riot, the average American identifies far more strongly with those seeking to put down the riot than they do the rioters. Those who romanticism political “activism” of this sort aren’t going to be voting for George Bush in any case.

The enemy at home is as dangerous as the enemy abroad. The course which they advocate means more than the loss of this war: it means the staining of American honor and the dismemberment of American power. The people who will be on the streets hate America and will be given ample time to demonstrate the point.

A battle in the streets of New York City might well be an excellent prelude to the battle in the voting booths. It will crystallize the difference between the parties. The Republicans are the party busy fighting a global war against savages bent on murder and destruction. The Democrats are the party busy appeasing savages bent on murder and destruction both at home and abroad. A multi-day political riot by leftists would give the American people an extended demonstration of every single pathology which afflicts the diseased brains of liberals.

Some will respond to this by pointing out the detrimental effect that the Chicago riots had on Democratic fortunes in 1968. I don’t believe that the situations are comparable. The 1968 riots hurt the Democrats for two reasons: they were partially set off by events on the convention floor and they involved the sort of people who were, broadly, seen as the base of that party. If the riots had been staged by Southern segregationists wearing “Wallace” buttons, I think they would have been seen as something else altogether. That will be the case here.

The average American simply does not feel the hate towards President Bush that the far left feels. Not only do they not feel it, they don’t even understand it. Some of them (the duller, less moral, and less useful ones) might not support him, but they don’t hate him. A lengthy riot by his opponents will hammer home one major point to the average American: these people are crazy, and they support John Kerry.

[Lando Lincoln]

Lando

[speedy]

My guess is if there are riots, some part of the press will raise "questions" as to whether they might have been ignited by Republican activists trying to blame them on innocent liberals. Isn't that what the playbook calls for in these cases?

[Lando Lincoln]

Anyone wishing to be on or off the Adam Yoshida ping list should FReepmail me.

Lando

[ServesURight]

I don't think nothing will happen, especially on the scale of the 1968 Rat convention. They predicted disturbances back in 2000 for the RNC Philly convention.

[samtheman]

It's all Bush's fault. (Everything is.)

[CTOCS]

That's all well and good until one of the knumbknuts gets killed.

Then the NYPD is going to be the Gestapo and the Pubs are all going to be Nazi's.....

[A Jovial Cad]

I think there is a real potential for this. I've seen some of the discussions over at Demo-Armpit/Underground and the sheer hatred being spewed over there verges on the psychotic. And they are the kind of people who will most likely be motivated to hit the streets of NYC during the convention.
I believe that if there are major disturbances it will redound to the benefit of the GOP. For one thing, the sight of thousands of screaming, jeering leftists swarming in and around the sacred site of the WTC tragedy will likely disgust a majority of Americans.

[Mears]

As the mother of an NYPD police officer,I dread this stuff. The cops are damned if they do and damned if they don't.

[Brandon]

First, I hope that there are no serious riots, but given what we've seen at the WTO meetings, I don't think we can discount it.

Second, unfortunately, if there are riots, it will be blamed on the GOP, because the mayor of New York is a Republican (I think the ink is dry on his registration card by now). So we will be blamed for whatever happens.

[davisfh]

"I expect there to be as much (or more) violence at the Republican National Convention in New York City this September as occurred at the Democratic convention in Chicago in 1968."

I well remember the 1968 Demo convention in Chicago. I remember it as the time the skum of the earth showed up to protest and got their heads bashed in.

[Sorcerer3]

Hehehehe. If we think the Left is angry now just wait until Bush wins reelection. They will go ballistic and it will be funny. Part of me hopes that this election will be just as close as the last one but Bush coming out on top again just to watch the left go absolutely berserk.

Oh yeah, I read that crap from demohatred.underground. I've registered and posted anti-dem rhetoric and have had my posting privileges revoked at least 30+ times so far.

They are such angry and hateful wackos but are fun to mess with.

[TIGHTEN]

I was just saying to a friend, "Ain't it funny how the media keeps predicting violence and they get it?" It goes back to Rodney King...the media was reporting non-stop about what was to come if the verdict didn't go the "right way."

Actually, I think it goes back to Oedipus, but that's another story for a different thread...

[I still care]

From an interview by David Horowitz:

In Radical Son I tell the story how Tom Hayden planned the riot that took place at the Democratic convention in '68. Just to give people a little history, in 1948 which was my first political demonstration I marched in the demonstration, it was a Communist controlled mayday parade.

And we were chanting, 1,2,3,4 we don't want another war, that was the cold war against Communism; 5,6,7,8 win with Wallace in '48, that was Henry Wallace. And what happened in 1948 is that the Communists who had been tremendously influential in the Roosevelt years marched out of the Democratic party because they didn't like Harry Truman had sent military aid to Greece and Turkey to resist the Communist takeover.

And so the Communist party organized a new party, it was called the Progressive party. They got FDR's former Vice President, Henry Wallace to be their presidential candidate. And they got a million and a half votes. That was when the "left" marched out of the Democratic party and they stayed out until 1972.

And it's interesting that a young politician who cut his eye teeth in the Wallace campaign of '48, that was his first big campaign was George McGovern. But what happened to make the McGovern candidacy possible was that Tom Hayden in 1968 organized the riot at the Democratic party convention. Of course, the history books will call it a police riot and image that Richard Daly started the riot, but it was Tom Hayden who picked Chicago and plotted enough provocations so that a riot ensued which I describe in my book. (My note = I read the book - Tom Hayden gave specific instructions to kill "pigs".)

And the result was that Hubert Humphrey, who was an anti-Communist liberal his presidential chances were destroyed. Humphrey would have been president in '68 if it weren't for this demonstration. And in the year that followed, Tom Hayden, Jane Fonda and other radicals marched into the Democratic party, changed the rules and shifted the party far to the left from what it once was. And that's why you have all those former Democrats like Ronald Reagan and Charlton Heston who are now Republicans.

Here's the rest, it's pretty interesting.
http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/horowitz.html

[Lion Den Dan]

As the article speaks of hatred from the left, I will verify that. I have had a furious flaming from leftists and homosexuals today for suggesting that one person read an article in the Limbaugh Letter. Holy Smokes. I knew things were bad but the venom amazed me.

[BroncosFan]

I don't see it. Although Rudy's gone, the NYPD brass is a very professional bunch. They've been war-gaming scenarios of this sort for a couple of years, and the protestors are in for a frustrating time if they want to try something. NYC is quite easy to canalize/channel the protestors into places where the cops want them to be. Frankly, my only concern is for the poor folks who commute via car. It'll be nasty for them.

[ladyinred]

Democrats are violent, anti-American anarchists.

Yes.

[ladyinred]

Depends on how the media covers this, and what they show doesn't it?

[A CA Guy]

The FBI/CIA/Government should check out and monitor the Communist USA website.
I learned two things checking it out.

#1 A lot of those in Seattle WTO were the communist according to an article there.
#2 Last election they backed Gore and this time they are again against the Republicans and are looking at Democrats.

So the Communists will be out there instigating things toward a riot or major problems between Communists, socialists, anarchists, democrats, minorities and some libertarians I am sure.

Oh, I was checking that site to see if they yet named Kerry by name as their guy. They eventually will do that.

[dpa5923]

Please, watch the language guy. This isn't DU. We expect a little more decorum here.