5 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, Aug. 2, 2004
*BoSTON 2004: THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION
Last week, Democrats from around the country convened in Boston for their national convention. Daily Opinion provides commentary from
Boston, as well as an analysis of the week's events. See the special Democratic National Convention insert (page 10) for more coverage.
It begins with a match
SAM BUTLER
The real experience
SUHAEL MOMIN
w i
t was a simple line, a drop of water in an ocean full of rhetoric. Otherwise unnoticed, the
line however denotes a tremendous shift in the dividing lines discerning Republicans and
Democrats. Thursday night, John Kerry addressed the country and emphatically
declared, "We shouldn't be building firehouses in Baghdad and shutting them in the United
States of America." The same sentence has appeared in several campaign commercials too
and obviously represents some people's resentment over the large amount of American
resources being sucked to aid Iraq's rebuilding. With the sputtering economy and outsourced
jobs as major issues in this election, Kerry hopes to associate himself with the American cit-
izens who have found themselves downtrodden by a harsh fiscal environment. Kerry hopes
to induce American sentiments of self-preservation, playing off of fears not related to home-
land security, but financial security. Americans are watching their finances disappear to
0 other parts of the globe and Kerry wants to convince Americans that they deserve it back.
But there is a problem with Kerry's point: it is a thought that completely opposes what tra-
ditionally has been democratic mantra.
With the advent of an ever-growing global community, "new liberals" have departed from
the established liberal dogma held by "old liberals"- that of financial protection for lower-
class workers through government aid. New liberals instead have brought new ideals, virtues
such as an emphasis on the environment, continued demands for equal civil protection and
sensitivity for human rights conditions across the world. This was the democratic doctrine of
Bill Clinton's Administration. Bill Clinton
sent troops abroad too, engaging American
lives in conflicts in Bosnia, Kosovo and
Somalia. The stated reasoning behind all of
the deployments was essentially to better eeswaic a
civilization itself and to show the world that
the United States, the sole surviving super-
power, the "beacon of hope" illuminating
the world, would not stand idly by and allow
great human injustices to take place. Amid
such lofty declarations of purpose, conser-
vatives across the country routinely clam-
ored: "Why are we trying to fix the prob-
lems of the world when we can't even fix
our problems at home?"
The reversal in doctrine comes with the
invention of a new type of conservative.
These "new conservatives" have evolved
into a particular camp, calling themselves
"neo-conservatives" and have developed a
very specific foreign policy. Stemming
from the Reagan-era's commitment to
cease the spread of communism, neocon-
servatives hold the mindset that America
0 should unabashedly enforce its interests
abroad. Today, they believe that the col- _
lapse of the Soviet Union has left a global
power vacuum, and if the void isn't filled by the United States, it is only a matter of time
before another super-power rises up to contest America's supremacy. The core principle of
neoconservatism is that it is America's right, as the reigning super-power, to implement for-
eign policies that will ensure our country's continued dominance, a type of political
Darwinism if you will.
The foundation of this neocon movement rests in the rattling sabers owned by the old
regime, men who have been connected inside the political web for decades. In 1997, an ini-
tiative called the "Project for the New American Century" was started. The goal of this orga-
nization, according to their website, is to "promote American global leadership." Paying an
0 almost nostalgic homage to their conservative demi-god, the Statement of Principles pines
for a "Reaganite policy of military strength" and calls for a foreign policy that "boldly and
purposefully promotes American principles abroad." What makes this document of princi-
ples significant, is the parties involved in its creation. The signatures listed included such
names as Jeb Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz.
The Bush Administration's exploits have forced conservatives to reexamine the virtues
they once held dear and have been given special poignancy after Sept. 11. The new ideals are
beginning to endear themselves inside the minds of a new, more pragmatic generation of
young conservatives. It is this battle ground for youth that the war between the new liberal
and neo-conservative doctrines will be most vicious. The differences in foreign policy views
0 show a marked schism in America's young voting population and will be a defining political
issue for years to come. This election is only the watershed: pitting some youths, angry over
America's unilateral action in Iraq against other youths who want to ensure American secu-
rity after Sept. 11. The debate as to where to build the firehouse will only continue.
It
Except for a couple hours each night, the real action at the Democratic National
Convention in Boston was outside the Fleet Center. While the Convention itself
convened at four in the afternoon each day and ran well past 11 at night, no net-
work outside C-SPAN covered more than the last two hours of that block per day.
Essentially, even though the prime-time speakers and features were worthwhile, the vast
majority of the Convention was completely irrelevant- not even the delegates were in
attendance for all of it. Thus, until evening, conventioneers and activists amused them-
selves by attending brunches, symposia and marches. These external events, not sanc-
tioned by the Democratic National Convention Committee, were often the most interest-
ing parts of the Boston 2004 experience.
Something of great interest and spectacle was the "Free Speech Zone" established direct-
ly outside the Fleet Center perimeter. This high-security enclave, colloquially known as "the
Cage," was essentially a demilitarized zone set up to control protestors and unruly demon-
strators. Located underneath an abandoned railway bridge running by the Fleet Center, it
was monitored by cameras and set off by concrete highway barriers and eight-foot fences
covered in opaque screens. Of course, because of the oppressive security, most activists relo-
cated to the open spaces of the Boston Common, leaving the Cage to a few radicals and a
handful of journalists. Except for a cameo appearance by the Lyndon LaRouche youth
movement and some quasi-organized self-proclaimed anarchists, the zone was remarkably
inactive. The spectacle became not the
protests, but the shocking, police-state
Cage itself. The experience is best summed
up by a sign placed outside: "You are now
leaving the American zone / Vous sortez le
secteur americain.
With so many important Democrats in
one city, liberal organizations outdid them-
selves and put together a series of panels
and speakers throughout the week. On
Tuesday, two preeminent liberal icons,
Howard Dean and Michael Moore, teamed
u pup in Cambridge at an event sponsored by
the Campaign for America's Future. The
feisty former Presidential candidate
whipped the crowd into a frenzy as he
railed about the Bush Administration,
while film director Michael Moore drew
- -great applause for berating the national
media machine. Speaking directly to the
large press contingent in the crowd, Moore
stressed that it was the media's responsibil-
ity to question the government and uncov-
er the truth. The event was so popular that
the overflow line stretched for half a mile.
SAM BUTLER THEir SOAP1-BO X Another curious event which attracted
journalists, tourists and conventioneers
alike was the "Billionaires for Bush" march and rally through downtown Boston. Starting
on the waterfront, a large crowd of "billionaires," including Meg A. Bucks and Max Profit,
demonstrated in support of George W. Bush. The satirical event was designed to raise aware-
ness about George W Bush's economic policies and the harm they cause to the average cit-
izen. Intentionally hyperbolic, the billionaires chanted mantras such as "Tax work, not
wealth!" and "Free the Enron Seven!" Many called Bush their best investment to date, and
the vast majority sang praises about his tax cuts.
Throughout the week, various political interest groups feted their favorite politicians and
elected officials with exclusive celebrations. Every morning, the Michigan delegation
enjoyed a full breakfast while listening to various speakers including Gov. Jennifer
Granhoim and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D - Mich.). At a luncheon held by the National
Jewish Democratic Committee, Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D - Conn.) addressed attendees
dining on salmon steaks and berry cobbler. Another party, thrown by the National Education
Association for the three major congressional colored causes, featured the governor of
Washington, a handful of U. S. Representatives and the dashing young Barack Obama. At
that event, as guests mingled and socialized, they dined on roastbeef, baked ham and shrimp
cocktail while sipping drinks mixed at one of two open bars.
Thus, while Democrats convened in Boston for the Convention, the Convention itself
was only a minor part of the Boston experience. In ages past, conventions were themselves
forums for debate and discussion; attendance was actually important. However, with the
evolution of tightly-scripted, predictable conventions, attendance has become an unneces-
sary formality. In this age, the peripheral events designed to supplement the actual
Convention have supplanted it.