©: Tony Webster

©: Tony Webster

In case you live outside the US or you live under a rock, you probably noticed last week the Republications held their quad-annual national convention last week in St. Paul. Being close to all the action definitely revealed some insights.

After the 35W bridge collapse last August, estimates came in for the rebuilding project and I was surprised to see they were all anticipating completion by December 2008. Considering that I’ve had to deal with construction in the 35W/62 commons area for over a year, I figured it might be a couple of years before the new bridge would be finished. The schedule was obviously influenced by the extra spotlight that was going to be on the Twin Cities the following September.

The months leading up to the RNC saw much back and forth between government officials and those intending to protest the convention. Protesters were denied routes that brought them anywhere near the Xcel where the convention would be held. Lawsuits were filed, but I never heard of them going to court before the convention. There were some compromises on both sides with the routes and lengths of protests though. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much to result from the protests These things always seem to have a louder voice than their numbers suggest.

A big news story leading up to the convention was the installation of security cameras covering all of downtown St. Paul. This was made possible by a $50,000 grant from the federal government. I’m not denying that a major event like the RNC is cause for extra security, but these cameras will remain in operation following the convention.

September finally came and the Republications flocked to the Twin Cities. So much so that you couldn’t find a vacant hotel closer than 50 miles away. Between 3,600-3,700 additional law enforcement officers were brought into the city. St. Paul went into lockdown. Over 600 people were arrested over the 4 days the convention was in town. A third of those arrests came on the first night of the convention. Interestingly, at the Democratic national convention there were less than 200 arrested.

Why were the numbers so much higher at the RNC? If I had seen the numbers without context, I might have guessed because this country is sick of what the Republication run White House, Senate, and Congress have done. That is no doubt partially the reason. However, I think the real reason is that the increased police presence provoked it. The usual atmosphere around St. Paul is much different from the one I felt during the convention.

I was lucky enough to score tickets to a taping of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Of course this meant going into downtown St. Paul during the convention. Finding parking was hard because half the parking ramps I saw were barricaded with police vehicles. Once I found a suitable place to park, I walked to the theatre where the taping was being held. You couldn’t go half block without seeing some kind of law enforcement. Forget about talking to one of them or asking for directions. The only phrases the zombies knew were “Move along” and “Get on the ground, you’re under arrest.” I heard a few stories of innocent people who got trapped in raids or were merely prevented from getting to where they parked their car. My friends and I were able to make it in and out without a confrontation though.

On the third night of the convention, Rage Against the Machine played a show in Minneapolis. Following the show, 100 people were arrested. Now if that’s all you heard, you might be inclined to think that a bunch of radical extremists were incited by RATM who is known for their political dissidence. However, you might change your mind if you knew a few facts. First of all, the show was in Minneapolis, not St. Paul. The two metro areas are separated by several miles. All of the protesting and any clashing between police up to that point had been in St. Paul. Second, Zack de la Rocha, lead vocals for RATM specifically told the crowd NOT to cause a disturbance. There are videos of him urging people to show more restraint than police. Third, concert goers were greeted with a line of police in full riot gear when exiting the arena.

UPDATE: An investigation into how police handled arrests after the Rage Against the Machine show will be done.

Now, someone going to a Rage Against the Machine show is probably the type that is going to be more inclined to protest. I highly doubt they’re going to turn into a violent, dangerous person merely by going to a politically charged show though. That’s why I see the riot squad as provocation. It’s like putting a hungry lion across the street from a bunch of zebras and expecting that it won’t kill any of the zebars. Why couldn’t you place a team or two a block away ready to be called in? Why did they need to be lined up directly across the street? The only word that comes to mind is overreaction.