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Tue 12 Oct, 2004 08:35 am
Letter To AFL-CIO President John Sweeney
Mr. John Sweeney
President
AFL-CIO
815 16th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20006
October 11, 2004
Dear Mr. Sweeney:
Over the past several weeks, acts of violence and vandalism have occurred at Republican and Bush-Cheney campaign headquarters across the country. In addition to the injuries, property damage and disruption associated with these acts, these events have created a threatening and intimidating atmosphere abhorrent to our democratic process.
On October 5th, according to news reports, witnesses, police reports and admissions of your members, the AFL-CIO, as part of a national strategy, protested at more than a dozen of our campaign and party headquarters across the country. In many locations, the protestors attempted to enter, or entered, campaign or party facilities. As one protestor said, "Actually, we're storming into an office." In Orlando, Florida, injuries and damage were sustained. Protestors forced their way into the facility, fracturing the arm of one staffer, and vandalized the office. In Michigan, protestors entered a headquarters and engaged in activities apparently intended to disrupt volunteers trying to make phone calls.
Protests by your organization come on the heels of several other incidents at Bush-Cheney '04 offices around the country, including a break-in at our Seattle office where laptop computers were stolen from the Washington State Bush-Cheney '04 executive director and the state Republican Party 72-hour director. Just last night in Canton, Ohio, a Bush-Cheney '04 staffer was forced to lock herself in an office while another break-in was in progress. The facility was seriously damaged and property was stolen. Additionally, gun shots have been fired into Bush-Cheney '04 offices in West Virginia, Florida and Tennessee, windows broken in West Virginia and campaign staffers threatened. In Wisconsin, a supporter of the President had a swastika burned into his front yard simply because he had a Bush-Cheney '04 lawn sign. We urge your support in helping us ensure the safety of all individuals working on our campaign and others as we are making every effort to secure the safety of all participants in the political process.
I hope you will put an end to protest activities that have led to injuries, property damage, vandalism and voter intimidation. We will hold you and your organization accountable for the actions of your members and urge you to immediately discontinue any coordinated protest efforts that result in damage to our facilities, or injury to people who may hold different political views than your members, but who share an equal right to be involved in the political process without suffering violence, intimidation and threats.
Respectfully,
Gov. Marc Racicot, Bush-Cheney '04 Campaign Chairman
AFL-CIO is not the Democratic Party.
The interesting aspect of the face democratic party is that there is no face of the democratic party.
So, ignoring the poor title, any comment on the letter?
Interesting. But there's no way of knowing whether the AFL-CIO is responsible for all of those incidents. Especially the break-ins and the gunshots.
In fact, you'll notice that the only thing the governor is formally attributing to them, the only thing he's asking them to stop, are the protests. So the listing of break-ins and gunshots is pretty much for our benefit.
How do they know the AFL-CIO is responsible? If they know who did it, why aren't they arresting the guilty rather than writing a letter to someone?
And, no, the AFL-CIO is NOT the Democratic Party. You might make your headline truthful.
There is something ominous about the mob contingent of the Democrat party trying to harrass campaign headquarter workers.
The Democrat party needs to make a statement. This is not supposed to happen in a free society.
ok, we have narrowed it down the 'some witnesses attest taht there were protests that included afl-cio members, the issue is?
organized harrassment, destruction of property, suppression of the rights of the Republicans...
organized harrassment, destruction of property, suppression of the rights of the Republicans...
Sounds like what the gov't does to Democratic and independent protestors all the time.
Don't like it very much when it runs the other way, do you?
Face it, there are anarchists/crooks/bad people in every group of our society. No point in denying it. But to blame the whole thing on the Democratic party? You guys are really reaching here...
Cycloptichorn
I am beginning to understand more and more clearly why these conservative friends of ours want to give the moron, George Bush, and his incompetent adminsitration more time to do even more serious damage to our nation and the world.
They have trouble thinking logically...the are knee-jerk in their reactions to anything remotely off the conservative agenda...and they are willing to lie and distort at the drop of a hat.
Hey...no problem...at least not one that cannot be dealt with by feeling a bit of pity for them.
And feeling pity for them is good practice. We will all have to feel lots of pity for them when they see their fantasy crumble next month.
Ummm.... what?
I don't think it's right when ANY group does it and I do not figure anyone here does. This "they've done it too" justification is rather naive, don't you think?
A gov. does not write a letter like this like a housewife would write the editor of the local rag. There is a purpose and a reason.
Who's the gov?
Marc?
Marc who?
Oh, yeah, the guy heading the Republican Party? That gov?
You're so right. it's not at all like a housewife writing a letter to the editor. Whole different animal.
FreeDuck wrote:AFL-CIO is not the Democratic Party.
You're right in thinking they're no longer the most major face of the democrat party; that position has been taken over by the trial lawyers association. Labor is #2 now.
Lash wrote:There is something ominous about the mob contingent of the Democrat party trying to harrass campaign headquarter workers.
The Democrat party needs to make a statement. This is not supposed to happen in a free society.
The democrat party made their statement when they went to the wall for Clinton. The statement was and is "We are now a crime syndicate, sort of like the mafia or the triads."
Frank - Stop the spin. The acts of violence are criminal in nature and supported fully by democratic operatives like the AFL-CIO.
Should a similiar thing have happened to a Democratic Party Campaign Office, YOU would be the first one to speak out against it. Stop being an apologist for thugs.
According to the letter, the AFL-CIO has a practice of protesting the Republican campaign, and those protests sometimes go too far. Then there is a whole other list of bad things that have happened to the Republican campaign offices that he is implying, but has no evidence, that the AFL-CIO is involved. Just want to make sure we are all on the same page.
Oh yeah, and it seems we need to say it again. The AFL-CIO is not the Democratic Party.
to me this is more the true face of the republican party....a bunch of candy asses who can dish out the dirt but cry like little bitches when they're on the receiving end of it......not to be excessively blunt
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