Joshuah Bearman: Bush Lied; People Died

Sep 03, 2004

Bush Lied; People Died

Super Duper Exclusive Via Special Synergy With Air America's "The Majority Report."

Click on the still above to play footage.

Now this takes some balls. These scenes are from the floor of the Republican National Convention Thursday night. When the President mentioned Iraq, June Brashares unfurled a banner that with what became the tidiest protest slogan of the week: "Bush Lied; People Died." As Brashares was escorted out she continued to yell those words. Brashares was one of three protesters who made it into Madison Square Garden on the final night to disrupt President Bush's existentially bogus speech. Incredibly, she got in the convention with no credential by boarding one of the shuttle busses departing from a delegate hotel. When she got to the Garden, she claimed to have lost her credential, and security issued her a new one. So as to maximize visual effect, she chose as her protest spot a seat down in the delegation rows on the floor, and the chair she eventually stood on to protest was apparently offered to her by an unwitting Pete Wilson.

The actions were planned by Code Pink, a group organized by Medea Benjamin and Jodie Evans. Evans was also in the hall Thursday night, in the press section. She pulled off her dress to reveal a pink slip scrawled with the slogan "Fire Bush! Women Say Bring The Troops Home Now!" It was only a few seconds before security personnel apprehended her and quickly escorted her out Gate 75. The third protestor was Jorge Medina, whose son Irving was killed in Iraq in November 2003.

Code Pink activists were able to infiltrate security the last nights of the convention to disturb the major speeches given by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dick Cheney, and President Bush. As Cheney spoke, Tiffany Burns of Los Angeles stood up and unfurled a banner that said: "Cheney and Halliburton: Making a Killing in Iraq." Burns, Evans and Brashares were all released from Jail and charged with disorderly conduct. Brashares was also charged with assault.

Medina was not charged because the authorities sympathized with his grief over the loss of his son in Iraq. On Tuesday, Fernando Suarez del Solar, another acitivist whose son Jesus was killed in Iraq, stood up during Laura Bush's speech and held up a poster with a picture of his son. As Suarez was being escorted out of the hall, many of the Republican delegates expressed their sympathy and said they agreed with him. Suarez was even able to conduct interviews with media and talk to a couple dozen Republicans before security brought him out of the hall.

Medina also said that as he left he could see the compassion from the delegates in their eyes. "They watchied the picture of my son," he said, "and they didn't say anything to me, except a few said they were sorry." As did the police, who, Medina says treated him very well. Which means his and Suarez's couragous moments were unusually effective. Their statements were able to penetrate Republican indifference and mean something to the other side, making their actions the most moving and important protests of the entire week, and perhaps even the administration.

And check out my latest post: It's an RNC wrap-up about how Bush's speech proved that there are indeed multiple universes -- the real one in which we live, and the one in the minds of the GOP. Find out what it's like to almost get sucked in!

And: Read my exploration of the strange frontier of Republican moderates in the LA Weekly. Like the Discovery channel, it's fascinating and edifying.

Protest footage by Jason Blalock. See more stills from the video on the Majority Report's site.

Sep 03, 2004 | Permalink

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» Bush lied, People died! from renas e veados
Esta imagem não vimos na TV. June Brashares a ser retirada da sala onde decorreu a convenção bushista, enquanto grita a plenos pulmões: Bush lied, People died! - Bush mentiu, Pessoas morreram! Esta acção foi o... [Read More]

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Joshuah Bearman

Sep 03, 2004

Bush Lied; People Died

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