cannabisnews.com: McCain Heckled Promoting Bush Shadow Convention





McCain Heckled Promoting Bush Shadow Convention
Posted by FoM on July 31, 2000 at 06:58:27 PT
By Cathy Newman, Washington Post Staff Writer
Source: Washington Post
 Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) did as he promised today, urging the election of Texas Gov. George W. Bush as president. But McCain was not speaking to his usual audience of loyal Republicans, and his endorsement was greeted by laughter, boos and a scattering of only light applause. The heckling broke out as McCain delivered the main speech at the opening of what has been dubbed the "Shadow Convention," a five-day gathering of political activists and critics of the two major parties that will run during the Republican National Convention. 
A similar event is planned during the Democratic National Convention, which begins Aug. 14 in Los Angeles.The two alternative conventions will attempt to embarrass both Republicans and Democrats by spotlighting issues that organizers say the two parties are ignoring.One of those is campaign finance reform, which McCain made the centerpiece of his primary struggle against Bush. That made the Arizona senator a hero to many of the disgruntled activists gathered here, and they greeted him with a standing ovation when he was introduced.But after that warm reception, McCain was forced to break off in the middle of his speech as members of the audience of about 950 shouted "Get him off" and "real issues." As the noise of protesters slamming placards against the floor drowned him out, McCain threatened to walk out."If you like, I do not need to continue," he said.The rowdy audience was finally calmed for a while when writer Arianna Huffington, one of the convention organizers, marched onto the stage and declared, "This is a convention where you can hear everything with respect."McCain resumed his speech, but he was still occasionally heckled by some audience members who appeared to espouse a diverse political agenda. It was McCain's pledge of allegiance to Bush that first stirred signs of discontent at the convention, being held on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania."I am obliged not by party loyalty but by sincere conviction to urge all Americans to support my party's nominee, Governor George Bush of Texas," McCain said. "I think it is quite clear that he is the candidate who offers change, and that Vice President Gore is the candidate of the status quo. As most people know, I don't care much for the status quo."In addition to campaign finance reform, organizers of the shadow convention said they hoped to focus attention on two other issues--the growing gap between rich and poor in the country and what they maintain is a failed war against drugs.Bearing placards with the slogans "Disillusioned," "Not a CEO," "Downsized," "Disaffected" and "Can't Afford a Lobbyist," many in the audience made clear their disillusionment with the role of money in politics. The strongest applause that McCain received came when he invoked the campaign finance reform theme of his failed campaign."We are the beneficiaries of a campaign finance system that is nothing more than an elaborate influence-peddling scheme in which both parties conspire to stay in office by selling the country to the highest bidder," he said.McCain will address his party's convention Tuesday night, when he will make a prime-time appeal for Bush's election in November. He had also promised to do the same before the shadow convention, where his appearance did not please GOP leaders.But while keeping that pledge, McCain also acknowledged his disagreements with his party's standard-bearer on an issue important to the shadow convention participants."Governor Bush and I were in a tough contest, and, as everyone knows, we don't agree on every issue, including, of course, the issue of a complete ban on soft money," McCain said, referring to the unlimited campaign contributions that businesses, labor unions and individuals can make to political parties. "But we do agree on many more issues than we disagree on."Kicking off the event that she helped to organize, Huffington said, "Our convention is being brought to you only by a collective longing to fix a political system." The intention was to "sound the alarm," she added, and "to amplify the voices" of people excluded from the political debate by those she said are able to buy access through campaign contributions.Campaign finance issues will be addressed by the shadow convention Monday, with Tuesday set aside for an attack on the federal government's drug policy.As many as 300 relatives of people jailed for drug offenses will travel to Philadelphia to protest the number of people who have been jailed for nonviolent drug offenses.Staff writer Edward Walsh contributed to this report.Contact: letterstoed washpost.com Feedback: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm By Cathy NewmanWashington Post Staff WriterMonday, July 31, 2000; Page A10© 2000 The Washington Post Company Related Articles & Web Sites:The Shadow Conventionshttp://www.shadowconventions.com/Shadow Conventionshttp://www.lindesmith.org/shadowconventions/Common Causehttp://www.commoncause.org/Public Campaignhttp://www.publiccampaign.org/ Shadow Convention 2000 News Boardhttp://homepages.go.com/~marthag1/Shadcon.htmMcCain In The Shadows http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6426.shtmlMapInc. Articles On The Shadow Conventions:http://mapinc.org/shadow.htm CannabisNews Articles On The Shadow Conventions:http://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=shadow 
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #1 posted by FoM on July 31, 2000 at 07:32:35 PT
SLIDE SHOW: Dissenters Hit the Streets
http://www.nytimes.com/library/politics/camp/073100gop-convene-prot.1.html
[ Post Comment ]

Post Comment


Name: Optional Password: 
E-Mail: 
Subject: 
Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message]
Link URL: 
Link Title: