(NEW YORK) MintPress — Occupy DC protesters may have lost their home base last Saturday when police raided Washington’s McPherson Square, clearing it of dozens of tents, bedding and debris, but they have new plans for this weekend.
Occupy DC has announced that it will “Occupy CPAC ,” the annual Conservative Political Action Conference being held in the capitol today through Saturday. About 10,000 people are expected to attend. In its announcement Occupy DC said it will protest “a gathering of bigots, media mouthpieces, corrupt politicians, and their 1 percent elite puppet masters,” in an attempt to “liberate discourse.”
CPAC, a nearly 40-year-old event held by the American Conservative Union (ACU), has been likened to a “Mardi Gras for the Right.” According to Alyssa Farah, the communications director of the College Republican National Committee it’s a “giant strategy session meets party.” Among those expected to speak are presidential candidates Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum. Former candidates Rick Perry and Herman Cain are also set to address the gathering.
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Ron Paul a no show
Noticably absent: Ron Paul. While he was asked to speak, he turned down the invitation due to “the travel constraints of his presidential campaign,” according to a press release from the American Conservative Union. But according to his website, he doesn’t have another event scheduled until February 22.
His absence could have something to do with the fact that while Paul has won the presidential straw poll taken at the end of the conference for the past two years, that hs not gone over well more traditional conservatives at CPAC, who note that Paul, a libertarian, has never won a presidential primary or caucus, despite the support of his vocal followers.
They have tended to show up at CPAC in large numbers to vote for Paul. So this year, CPAC organizers have made the voting system much more user friendly, switching from paper ballots to an electronic ballot system, in the hope that supporters of other candidates will be more likely to take part in the polling.
Ironically, Paul and Occupiers have some of the same concerns. When members of Occupy Wall Street crashed a town hall meeting he was hosting in New Hampshire in November, Paul told them “The people on Wall Street got the bailout and you guys got the bills and I think that’s where the problem is.”
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Demonstrations planned
Occupy CPAC has not provided many specific details for their activities over the next few days, but it has made its mission clear: “Create as much non-violent resistance as possible, and make this a conference the attendees will never forget.”
Occupy DC will be joined by members of other organizations, including the, AFL-CIO, SEIU, the National Nurses United and the Metro Labor Council, who are also planning protests.
“Our participation alongside workers in the protests against CPAC is rooted in our gag reflex at the collapse of the economy, the lack of any real future for the 99%, and CPAC’s guest list doubling as a who’s-who of those with interests in maintaining a violent status quo,” an OccupyDC media team member tells MintPress.
CPAC spokeswoman Kristy Campbell said they are aware of Occupy DC’s plan and called their tactics “unfortunate.” She also said CPAC has a security plan in place.
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Shut out
Occupy organizers are especially upset about the scheduled CPAC debate “Taking Back Wall Street: The Tea Party vs. Occupy Wall Street,” a discussion at which no representative of the Occupy movement is scheduled to speak. In fact, they say, Occupy does share a lot of common ground with the Tea Party.
They are also not pleased about some of other scheduled discussions, including “Is the Arab Spring Good or Bad for America?,” “The Failure of Multiculturalism: How the pursuit of diversity is weakening the American Identity,” “Islamic Law in America: How the Obama Justice Department Is Selling Us Out,” and “How to Raise Money… the Easy Way.”
Source: MintPress
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