If you thought the protests in New York City over the Iraq war were huge, brace yourself for the 2004 Republican Convention. Not for nothin', but New Yorkers are not going to buy a scintilla of their crap. You can bet the Freepers are planning to fly in their peapoke membership to pump up some perceived support for their heroes attending Madison Square Garden, but those pencilnecks are going to run into some really pissed-off citizens of Metropolis.
And THAT, my friends, is gonna be worth the price of an 18" Famous Ray's (yes, the one at 11th and 6th) with sausage and 'shrooms. From the N.Y. Times:
Protest Groups Planning for Republican Convention
One night last week, dozens of young people — anarchists, environmentalists, pacifists, and just about every other ist out there — crammed together in a Brooklyn storefront to brainstorm how they would take advantage of a unique opportunity a year away.
The man they view as their archnemesis, President Bush, will visit their turf next summer for the 2004 Republican National Convention at Madison Square Garden, a springboard for Mr. Bush's re-election campaign and for what dissenters say will be protests on a scale not seen in the city in dozens of years.
Some relatives of people killed on 9/11 say they are considering joining protests or organizing their own, out of a feeling that the Republicans, by holding the convention in New York so close to the anniversary of the attacks, are exploiting it.
Some protesters were galvanized by news reports, which state officials have denied, that the cornerstone for the rebuilding of ground zero would be laid during the convention.
