Powerful corporate lawyers preparing to defend Republican convention protesters? I love Minnesota!
I was very pleased to read this story in the Star-Tribune this morning - 'Pinstripe brigade' is hard at work planning to defend protesters in 2008. Rather than the violent, abusive mess of NYC in 2004 (and, well, every other GOP convention I can remember), some of the most powerful lawyers in Minnesota are working to arrange a safe, peaceful convention for the protesters.
A small armada of corporate attorneys, many of them partners in the area's most prestigious law firms, have begun meeting and strategizing ways to defend thousands of protesters expected to flock to the Twin Cities next September. And not for $500 an hour, but for free.
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"This is the first time you have the pinstripe brigade on the protesters' side" during a major party convention, said Craig Sautter, a DePaul University professor, a consultant to Democratic candidates in Illinois and the author of three books on presidential convention history. "This is probably the most sophisticated legal effort ever on behalf of protesters to make sure their rights are adequately protected."
This is excellent news for our side. Perhaps more important than the pro bono work for those arrested will be the pre-convention arrangements. These powerful, well-connected lawyers can make arrangements with the police and civic authorities ahead of time - not for "free speech" cages, but for real parade routes, access to the media, and all the other things required to minimize risk to the protesters, "collateral damage" of bystanders getting gassed or arrested, and disruption to the lives of citizens who aren't involved with the convention.
On top of this, the mayors of both St Paul and Minneapolis are likely to be VERY friendly to protesters. St Paul mayor Chris Coleman (no relation to Senator Norm Coleman, who used to be St Paul's mayor) was elected in 2005 in a wave of anti-Bush anger that swept former mayor Randy Kelly out of office. Kelly roused the fury of St Paul voters by breaking with his own party to endorse George Bush in 2004. Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak was the first big-city mayor to endorse Howard Dean in 2003. These two will NOT be friends for Republican organizers!
And then there's The Bridge. The 35W bridge collapse is rapidly becoming a powerful symbol of the Minnesota GOP's dereliction of duty in maintaining our infrastructure, and its Stockholm Syndrome relationship to the Taxpayer's Union and other anti-tax fanatics. There's little chance that a new bridge can be completed before the convention. This means the Interstate 94 corridor between Minneapolis and St Paul will still be carrying part of 35W's load, in addition to the regular shutdowns it will suffer while Very Important Pricks drive their convoys of armed guards and sycophants back and forth. Moreover, they'll almost certainly have to do some sort of ritual death magic at that gaping hole over the Mississippi where government used to function... an event sure to be both embarrassing and disgusting to the residents of Minneapolis.
But back to the Pinstripe Brigade. I'm thrilled to see Minnesota's corporate lawyers organizing like this to defend ordinary people, rather than glad-handing in the smoke-filled rooms of the second-rate convention parties. It makes me proud to be a Minnesotan!