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Secret Service confiscates books & button from Ron Paul delegates | Daily Newscaster
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Ron Paul delegates report that they have been shadowed by Secret Service since the beginning of the Republican National Convention at the Xcel Center, following the confiscation of their political materials they are now being surveilled openly with an agent assigned to each delegate. When one of the delegates asked if they could retrieve their property after the convention they were told, “No.” not satisfied with that answer the delegate tried to follow the agent to make additional inquiries, he was told this action was causing a disturbance and a security agent was told to stay with him for the rest of the evening. For their safety the Ron Paul delegation have decided to stick together as a group while approaching the media with their story.
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Secret Service confiscates books & buttons from Ron Paul delegates - Updated
September 4th, 2008
By: D. H. Williams @ 7:29 PM - EST
Today at the Republican National Convention, as the Ron Paul Delegates were taking a picture in front of the model White House inside the Convention Center, they were surrounded by Secret Service which proceeded to search the bags of all the delegates. They took any and everything related to Ron Paul including signs, buttons, videos, slim jims, cards, even books.
Alternate Delegate Dennis Rothacker from Florida said “We were done taking the picture when Secret Service started walking into the room and surrounded us. There were about 30 of them. When they searched my bags they took my Ron Paul sign and turned a deaf ear to my complains, they just walked away.”
Delegate Ron Warner from Fairbanks Alaska added that as he was walking into the convention center today with about 15 Revolution Manifesto books, 20 DVD’s for Delegates, 20 Ron Paul buttons and a handful of other things, we was stopped by security which called on an obviously important higher up, who directed all the materials to be confiscated. She told him, and I quote “You can’t bring that in here, this is Mc Cain territory”
Dennis, Ron and the other delegates report being openly followed by secret service. He says that they had been monitored from the beginning of the convention, but that now they are being shadowed constantly.
There are also reports of delegates being approached by security and told that they will be summarily thrown out if they leave their assigned chair.
19:07 PM - EST St. Paul, MN
The alarm was sounded at 6:07 PM - EST when a text message was hurriedly sent by Republican delegate Dennis Rothacker to ‘Boris in Miami’ from the convention floor.
“We just had a group shot of all the RP delegates and alternates, the secret service came and started searching everyone and took anything RP related. We got it on video though…”
Updated @ 8:18 PM - EST
Ron Paul delegates report that they have been shadowed by Secret Service since the beginning of the Republican National Convention at the Xcel Center, following the confiscation of their political materials they are now being surveilled openly with an agent assigned to each delegate. When one of the delegates asked if they could retrieve their property after the convention they were told, “No.” not satisfied with that answer the delegate tried to follow the agent to make additional inquiries, he was told this action was causing a disturbance and a security agent was told to stay with him for the rest of the evening. For their safety the Ron Paul delegation have decided to stick together as a group while approaching the media with their story.
Updated @ 9:32 PM - EST
McCain delegates at large have approached Ron Paul delegates throughout the day in attempts to seperate them from their all important delegate credentials. Adam Weigold, delegate from Minnesota, reported he has been approached at least five times by other Republican delegates supporting McCain-Palin who asked him to borrow his pass to go the bathroom. Nathan Hanson (MN) delegate and attorney suspects this is an organized effort by the GOP establishment.
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The Ron Paul delegation will be staying at the Xcel Center until the end of the nights events around 11:00 PM - EST.
Related Article(s):
The Washington Times reports the GOP using “Black Hats” to suppress the 260 delegates identified as supporting Ron Paul.
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My convention is bigger than your convention
Ron Paul draws more people and more excitement than John McCain's show across town -- but he also attracts some scary "old friends."
By Alex Koppelman
Sept. 3, 2008 | MINNEAPOLIS -- If you were in the Twin Cities on Tuesday, you could be forgiven for thinking that Republicans had to come to Minnesota to nominate Ron Paul instead of John McCain. At St. Paul's Xcel Center, where the real Republican convention is being held, a substantial number of seats remained empty. Next door in Minneapolis, however, a wildly enthusiastic crowd came close to filling the Target Center, capacity 10,000, where the Paul-ist faithful had gathered for their own quasi-convention to pay tribute to the Texas congressman, failed GOP presidential candidate and Libertarian hero.
The event, dubbed the "Rally for the Republic," was a daylong affair that marked the formal end of Paul's quixotic presidential run as well as, attendees hoped, the beginning of a Paul-sparked revolution in American government. The crowd defied the easy stereotypes that attached themselves to Paul's supporters during the Paul-mania of winter and spring -- the conspiracy-addled Web dweller, the Libertarian eccentric, the kid who only knows that Paul opposed the war. Sure, there was the occasional coonskin cap (and Daniel Boone-style frontier outfit), one man who appeared to be in Colonial dress and at least a couple of dreadlocked youths. The most striking thing about the people at the Target Center, however, was that they seemed so damn normal. But underneath the normality, and unbeknown to many in attendance, there lurked some of the dark undercurrents that have been present in the Paul movement all along.
Much of the energy that propelled Paul to the spotlight earlier this election cycle came from passionate neophytes. Many of those at the Target Center said they hadn't cared about politics before they first heard the Texas Republican speak. Some had come hundreds of miles just to be there -- like 23-year-old Tim Regnier and 21-year-old Nicole Wagner, who had driven seven hours from the Chicago suburbs. "We just wanted to show that the movement's not going to die," Regnier said. Justin Spyres, 27, said he "flew out from California just to be a part" of the rally. "I'm unemployed, I don't have any income," Spyres said, "but we made it work."
Others at the Target Center, however, have deeper roots in American politics, specifically its far-right fringe, and longer ties with the star of the show. For years, Paul has attracted support from right-wing radicals and even white supremacists, and he hasn't exactly run from that part of his fan base. Newbies like Regnier were on the floor, but some of the radicals were onstage, hidden in plain sight.
There was a furor earlier this year when the New Republic's Jamie Kirchick dug up some old newsletters put out under Paul's name that smacked of racism. (In some, African-Americans were called "animals." One issue, Kirchick noted, "ridiculed black activists who wanted to rename New York City after [Martin Luther] King, suggesting that 'Welfaria,' 'Zooville,' 'Rapetown,' 'Dirtburg,' and 'Lazyopolis' were better alternatives.") Onstage at the Paul rally on Tuesday was Lew Rockwell; credible evidence suggests Rockwell may have ghostwritten much of the controversial material in those newsletters. (Rockwell denies this.)
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There, also, was Howard Phillips, a self-described "old friend" of Paul's, and one of the founders of, and a former presidential candidate for, the far-right Constitution Party. Phillips has long maintained ties to the Christian reconstructionist movement, and has advocated a "return to Godly, Biblically based constitutional government." His party's platform includes dark mentions of the "New World Order."
And there was a special guest, whose name was kept secret until he hit the stage: John McManus, president of the John Birch Society. The JBS is perhaps best known for having opposed fluoridation of drinking water as a communist plot; it was kicked out of the American political conversation decades ago after -- among other things -- its founder called Dwight Eisenhower "a dedicated conscious agent of the communist conspiracy." But at the Target Center, McManus was one of the stars of the day, and he was clearly enjoying himself, basking in the applause. He got a grateful response when he announced that Paul will headline JBS's 50th anniversary dinner this fall.
A good many of those in attendance had not yet been born when the JBS had its heyday, and a fair number of the people Salon spoke with afterward had never heard of it. A few, however, had become familiar with the group, even joined it, because of their association with the Paul campaign.
The mainstream, however, at least the conservative division, was well represented. Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform and a prominent GOP activist, spoke. MSNBC's Tucker Carlson served as emcee. "I'm not endorsing anybody," Carlson told Salon, adding that there "are things I disagree with" about Paul's philosophy. He was there, he said, because they'd asked him to be and because he admires Paul for sticking up for personal liberties. He also praised the people who'd come to the Target Center. "I admire the fact that they don't get anything out of it -- nobody's going to be ambassador to Belgium for supporting Ron Paul."
"I don't like the thing we do in the media," said Carlson, "this dismissive thing -- 'Oh, they're just crazy.' And I do it too. That's a low impulse. I think if you're going to say that, you should be required to offer some proof."
Another semi-mainstream figure almost stole Paul's show. Former pro wrestler and Minnesota Gov. Jesse "The Body" Ventura was a clear crowd favorite -- a diversion into some 9/11 Truther rhetoric didn't hurt him -- and he got some attention for hinting at a presidential run, promising that if the U.S. "shows me that it's worth it, in 2012, we'll give them a race they'll never forget."
There were plenty of delegates from that other convention in attendance as well, most pledged to Paul but some to McCain. The GOP delegates with whom Salon spoke were universally more excited about Tuesday's event than they were about the rest of the week, and said their fellow GOP delegates had been supportive. "We agree on so much ... we're trying to build bridges," said David Fischer, an alternate Paul delegate from Iowa who described himself as a "lifelong Republican" who hadn't been inspired to become a delegate to the GOP convention until Paul's candidacy. Some of the GOP Paul delegates, like Fischer, said they'd vote for McCain in November, but others weren't sure.
Marc Lucca, a Paul supporter and delegate from Oregon who'd been a field director with Victory 2004, the Republican effort to reelect President Bush, said, "I would likely support McCain if he is the nominee," but added, "I would like to see John McCain not take my vote and the votes of millions of other conservatives for granted."
Thomas Kiene of Oklahoma, a reluctant McCain delegate -- he preferred Paul, he said, but his district went for McCain -- was less generous. He called the GOP convention itself a "railroaded show."
"I was over there yesterday and it made me sick," Kiene said. His vote is pledged to McCain, but he's not happy about it, and says he's considering not voting at all. "I'll be there. Maybe as an observer more than a participant. Whether I let my alternate cast my vote or not, I don't know."
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At least one longtime Libertarian was excited to see the turnout, and to see the wide array of people and opinions the movement is now attracting, even if he doesn't agree with the philosophies of some of the groups represented. "It's a wide, weird tent," said Kerry Welsh of Redondo Beach, Calif., who says he's donated more than $100,000 to Paul and other Libertarians over the years. "All I can say is that freedom brings in a wide assortment of people ... Imagine what would happen if someone like Mike Huckabee or Mitt Romney held a rally like this now? Nobody would attend, because they don't stand for anything."
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/09/03/ron_paul/index.html
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'Black hats' keep lookout for troublemakers
Stephen Dinan (Contact) and Ralph Z. Hallow (Contact)
Thursday, September 4, 2008
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Fearing demonstrations from Ron Paul delegates here at the Republican National Convention, the party has created a "black-hat" squad to track the Paulites and other potential troublemakers to make sure they don't cause a scene on the convention floor.
Identified by their black baseball caps emblazoned with a white star, squad members keep an eye on delegates they fear might cause a scene. The squad is empowered by the convention managers to take delegates' credentials and kick them off the convention floor -- a step one convention official said would be unprecedented.
Squad members have made "their presence known, to let all people know big brother's watching them," said a Republican official familiar with the squad who has been involved in the last 10 GOP conventions.
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Convention spokesmen did not respond to requests for comment.
The black-hat squad is on the lookout for T-shirts, unauthorized signs and anything else that could cause a disruption, according to people familiar with the operation who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to talk to the press.
Convention leaders always have been vigilant about outsiders gaining unauthorized access to their events, but this time the danger comes from within: Mr. Paul, who sought the Republican presidential nomination, won dozens of delegates to the convention and has hundreds of other supporters who are credentialed to attend.
What's more, Mr. Paul's supporters have been creative about getting attention for themselves.
"Here they have a vocal group who are actually in the building who want to make a statement," the official said.
So far, Paul delegates and backers have remained subdued. On Wednesday night the only disturbance in the hall came from two demonstrators from Code Pink, the anti-war organization. They apparently gained access to the arena with press credentials but were scooped off the floor quickly by the black-hat squad, among others.
In addition to the black hats on the floor, there are also convention aides with yellow hats, who are the rapid-response team to handle disturbances; those with red hats, who are the floor managers; and those with white hats, who serve as ushers, helping with seating and passing out papers.
The floor and security managers include both lobbyists and longtime Washington political operatives.
The black hats' power comes from their authority to revoke credentials. The fine print on the back of each credential says: "This ticket is a revokable license. Tickets may be revoked from persons engaging in inappropriate or disorderly behavior, or for any other reason deemed necessary by security personnel and/or the Republican National Committee.
Mr. Paul's spokesman, Jesse Benton, said Republican Party officials warned Paul supporters not to cause a commotion.
"There have been some overtures to our political guys and our delegates that if they acted up, they would be removed," Mr. Benton said.
He said the Paul campaign has identified 260 delegates and hundreds of alternates to the convention who support Mr. Paul even though, by the rules of the convention, they are bound to other candidates.
Republican officials asked the campaign for a list of those supporters, but the Paul campaign declined, Mr. Benton said.
Mr. Paul conducted his own counter-convention in Minneapolis on Tuesday and made his way through the press areas of the Republicans' event Wednesday. But he will not visit the convention floor this week. Mr. Benton said Mr. Paul and his supporters were unable to reach an agreement on rules for his visit.
Mr. Paul, who as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas, is entitled to a pass and wanted credentials for a few staffers. But Mr. Benton said convention officials wanted to control Mr. Paul's access and did not allow his staff on the floor, insisting that they have a party escort.
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008/sep/04/st-paul-minn-8212-fearing-demonstrations-from-ron-/
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This is also posted in my journal. Please go there, comment and vote popular. This is a tragedy for the American people and the more people who at least see it and know about it, the better. This McSame is a disaster in the making... a real fascist pig.
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I believe it is a shame that respect for each other's parties isn't able to be brought to the fore.
When I was young, going to huge "assembies" of Jehovah's Witnesses always produced the religious radicals with their fake "Watchtower" and "Awakes"-but one thing they NEVER did-was go onto Dodger Stadium or wherever else our assemblies were held. They were directed to stay outside the park, and did so-no problem during our talks-Why is it so different with politics? I don't understand why this is an issue-it is like creating a small "war zone" or "uneasiness" at least-when thousands of people have paid alot of their families monies to be able to listen Without distraction-Why can't respect be given? The "Protect the Unborn" signs on the hills during the Democratic National Convention were Outside the convention center-on the hills. It just doesn't make any sense.////
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How Retarded this is !!
Bump for ya.
Thanks for posting this . -
thanks for posting this. is this the sign that we are causing waves? that we might be gaining numbers and becoming a "threat"? are more people becoming aware of the revolution and now the government has to pay attention? it is a shame that the delegates had to put up with this, but i am glad they stood their ground and acted responsibly and respectfully.
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Looks like Mccain is doing what ever he wants already. Wonder how he is going to steal the Election?
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