Tom Webb: Knight Ridder Election 2004

Protests in NYC, spin in NYC

Protests have begun in New York, as have the efforts to spin them for partisan purposes. Republicans claim that the protesters are organized by Democrats, who are dissing the president. Democrats claim that the protesters are acting on their own, and they'd prefer to leave the GOP festivities alone.

In Minnesota, the state Republican Party has unveiled its own website featuring Minnesota protesters at Bush events _ to show "the hatred that has come to define the Democratic Party." Here's the link: http://www.whenangrydemocratsattack.com/

Several dozen Minnesota protesters are heading to New York, but from what I can tell, they don't seem to be DFL-inspired. One of those heading to New York, Meredith Aby of Minneapolis, said that the sponsoring Antiwar Committee was founded in 1998 in response to military action by President Bill Clinton. She and her group also protested at the 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, as well as at other events.

As for hating the president, well, that's been around a while, too. One of my favorite examples came after I wrote an article in 2000 saying President Clinton would soon be visiting the Twin Cities. I received a handwritten response from a reader that I've always considered a classic of the genre. (Plus, it had excellent penmanship).

Dear Tom,
This is a classic case of news manipulation and liberal propagandizing. While liberal media types may get off on a visit by the slimeball socialistic figurehead, others of us find him disgusting and embarrassing. Please keep your bias and your opinions for the op-ed page and present news which is, in fact, news!

posted at # 12:09 PM