2008

=RNC<h2 style="margin: 0.42em 0px 0px; padding: 0px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.2em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Mass arrests of protesters at Republican National Convention</h2><h5 style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.3em; font-style: italic; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">By Jerry White  4 September 2008</h5>Authorities have carried out a massive mobilization of federal, state and local police and military forces to cordon off the Republican National Convention from protesters opposed to the party’s program of militarism and social reaction.Over the last few days, nearly 300 people have been arrested near and around the Xcel Energy Center and downtown St. Paul, Minnesota has been transformed into a virtual armed camp to intimidate demonstrators and silence dissent.The police reported Wednesday that they had arrested 11 more people Tuesday, including three at an anti-poverty demonstration, but would not give any more details. As the march of an estimated 3,000 people ended near the convention center police fired tear gas and lobbed concussion or “flash-bang” grenades to disperse protesters, who police claimed were trying to get past security fences.A total of 295 people have been arrested, including 137 charged with felonies such as “conspiracy to commit riot.” Many continued to be detained. The bulk of those arrested were seized during an antiwar march of 10,000 people on the Monday, the opening day of the convention. Demonstrators were forced to run the gauntlet of hundreds of riot-equipped and black-uniformed police, FBI agents and 150 National Guard troops carrying shields.The police fired tear gas, beanbags and used tasers to arrest hundreds of protesters. Also targeted were independent journalists and photographers and groups that monitor police abuse against protesters. Among those seized by the police were an Associated Press photographer, a group of University of Kentucky student journalists and Amy Goodman, the host of the liberal radio show “Democracy Now!” Goodman was arrested for “interfering with peace officers” when she questioned police about the arrest and bloodying of her show’s two producers.WSWS reporter Ron Jorgenson described the scene:“A helicopter hovered over downtown St. Paul all day long. There were police and sheriff’s deputies from St. Paul, Minneapolis and other cities in Minnesota, as well as across the nation, including a large number from Arlington, Texas that I saw. The largest number were riot police with no identification who wore dark blue or black. They were armed with clubs and other weapons. There were also armored black trucks, filled with an assortment darting through the streets and police on bicycles and horseback.“I honestly believed as I watched groups of riot police line up and rows of mounted police moved into position that there was a good chance that I might get caught up if I didn’t move. It appeared there were embedded press. I got the impression that established media could move in and out of police lines. I did that once and was sharply warned by a cop. Had I chosen the wrong moment to do that while taking a picture, I could have been thrown to the ground.”Authorities later justified this disproportionate show of force and the mass arrests that followed by citing incidents of rock throwing and window-breaking by a small group—numbering no more than 150—of self-described “anarchists.” It is very likely this group included police agents and provocateurs whose job was to encourage violence in order to discredit political opposition and create conditions for a police repression...=wiki

The 2008 United States general elections were held on November 4. The result was a significant victory for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party(United_States)" title="Democratic Party (United States)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Democratic Party</a> on the national level, as they increased majorities in both houses of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Congress" title="United States Congress" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Congress</a> and won the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_States" title="President of the United States" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Presidency</a>. Democrat <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama" title="Barack Obama" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Barack Obama</a> defeated <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party(United_States)" title="Republican Party (United States)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Republican</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain" title="John McCain" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">John McCain</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_2008" title="United States presidential election, 2008" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">the presidential election</a>. Riding Obama's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coattail_effect" title="Coattail effect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">coattails</a>, the Democrats also picked up net gains of 8 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate" title="United States Senate" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Senate</a> seats and 21 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives" title="United States House of Representatives" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">House</a> seats.

The governorships of 11 states and two <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_insular_area" title="United States insular area" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">U.S. territories</a> were also up for election. Only one of them changed party hands: Democrat <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Nixon" title="Jay Nixon" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Jay Nixon</a> won the<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_gubernatorial_elections,_2008" title="United States gubernatorial elections, 2008" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Missouri gubernatorial election</a>, replacing Republican <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Blunt" title="Matt Blunt" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Matt Blunt</a>, who decided to retire instead of run for a second term.

The major theme during the campaign was the American public's general desire of change and reform from both Washington and the policies of outgoing<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party(United_States)" title="Republican Party (United States)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Republican</a> President <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W.Bush" title="George W. Bush" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">George W. Bush</a> (Bush was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Term_limit" title="Term limit" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">term limited</a> out of office per the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution" title="Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution</a>). The economy and other domestic policies were also dominant issues, especially during the last months of the campaign after the onset of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late-2000s_recession" title="Late-2000s recession" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">2008 economic crisis</a>.

Following the Democrats' victories from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_elections,2006" title="United States elections, 2006" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">2006</a>, this became the first time in 76 years that the party had two back-to-back Democratic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_election" title="Wave election" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">wave elections</a> making substantial gains in Congress. The first was in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_elections,1930" title="United States elections, 1930" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">1930</a>, followed by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_elections,1932" title="United States elections, 1932" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">1932</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_elections,2008#cite_note-1" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[1]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_elections,_2008#cite_note-2" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[2]</a>

=