Preparing for our summer guests

This summer we will be having the Republican National Convention in our city. Even though having it here requires extensive subsidies [and not all private subsidies by a long ways] our powers-that-be decided to get us one of the conventions and the Republicans who have no opposition to using other people’s money jumped first. To be fair, the other side was not above making a similar jump. The GOP just beat them.

It would have been interesting if we had been able to afford both of the conventions and land them both because then we could see if all the preparations we are making would be the same for the Democrats. I am inclined to think that they probably would not be a lot different, but I guess we will never know. Much of what is posted below [or its converse] likely can be said for the Democrats had they chosen us instead of Denver. But don’t let it be said that our city cannot plan for the forthcoming assembling of Republicans here.

So we will be expecting a lot of guests in our city this summer. Some will be the Republicans whom we have explicitly invited. Others will be those who come to protest them and what they are perceived as being or doing, what might be called “counter-Republicans,” guests whose invitation is implicit. If you believed what you learned back in Civics 101 you might have thought that we would want to welcome both. But in Civics 101 they never told you two things. The explicitly invited guests are people of power and money. The counter-Republicans lack both.

We go through the motions of preparing to welcome both types of guests in different ways.

We arrange for lodging, hospitality, and security for the Republicans. We will be taking all appropriate steps [and maybe some inappropriate ones too] to make sure that they all enjoy their subsidized party here. For the counter-Republicans we have for various reasons deferred on even where we will allow them to meet.

But now the city council is considering whether we need 234 [yes, that’s a three-digit number] tasers for the event. While it is not explicitly stated, we can guess which of our groups of visitors these are being acquired for.

The taser acquisition is not a done deal yet, but anybody who doubts that it will soon be should be buying World Series ticket in Kansas City this October. There is a City Council public hearing next Wednesday. If you get past Lord Fletcher’s security to get into the chambers and the arbitrary time limit for testimony is not used up, you might get to say your piece.

It must seem baffling to some of our leaders that counter-Republicans would even want to appear. After all, Republicans have given no important, valid reason to have anybody opposed to them.

The Republicans bring some baggage to our city, but only a little, just a few little things such as waterboarding, record deficits, unwarranted aggression in some countries while keeping a blind eye to civil liberties in other countries that we don’t think we dare invade, forthcoming Guantanamo star chambers, religious imperialism, regressive tax policies, gay baiting, race baiting, using the Justice Department to disenfranchise, and pandering on border security.

They are not bringing any major baggage, certainly not enough to justify any kind of group protest. After all, for little things like these, can’t we just write our filibustering Senators and let them take care of things?

But we don’t want to embarrass our governor and our local authorities need to prove that just because there is theoretical DFL control of our city that we cannot be as strong and repressive as the authorities elsewhere.

Similar things could be said about those who are being explicitly invited to Denver this year [e.g., failure to support our nation’s security providers, record deficits, unwarranted aggression in some countries while keeping a blind eye to the lack of civil liberties in others that we don’t think we dare to invade, trading with China and sending our jobs there, and even making trade with China easier, intolerance of religious people, overtaxing, fostering a negative attitude toward white, straight Christians, attempting to crowd voter roles with people who ought not to vote, and pandering on national security.]

But can any of these reasons be sufficient for busybodies to try to ruin any Party’s party? Really?

[When you get right down to it, I don’t know if the tasers are necessary. Based on things reported recently about them, their use seems seldom wise, but there may be more than I understand. But going for the tasers before we arrange for the safety of all of our guests seems a bit out of sequence.]