cannabisnews.com: McCain Gets Rough Greeting at Shadow Convention McCain Gets Rough Greeting at Shadow Convention Posted by FoM on July 30, 2000 at 22:05:22 PT By Reuters Source: New York Times Arizona Sen. John McCain drew boos and catcalls from an alternative "shadow" convention on the fringes of the Republican gathering Sunday when he tried to offer praise for presidential nominee George W. Bush. "I believe it's quite clear that he's the candidate who offers change," McCain said of Bush, inciting a chorus of hissing and heckling that forced him to briefly halt his speech. The rough treatment was a switch for McCain, whose pro-reform presidential political campaign drew wildly enthusiastic responses this spring by bashing Bush and the entire political system as a captive of special interests. But since losing his bitter primary battle with Bush in March, McCain has moved closer to the Texas governor and promised to enthusiastically campaign on his behalf, angering some of his reform allies. "We do agree on many more issues than we disagree on," McCain told the restive crowd, adding he still believed "that Republicans are the party of reform." McCain, a former Vietnam POW, was the keynote speaker at the shadow convention, a four-day alternative to the Republican Convention that is the brainchild of conservative commentator Arianna Huffington, who said it was designed to highlight issues that Republicans and Democrats either ignore or dismiss. Members of the crowd, many carrying signs labeling them "Disrespected," "Disillusioned," and "2 Poor 4 Access," began booing when McCain launched his words of support for Bush. "If you like, I do not need to continue," he told the crowd of political activists before he was rescued by Huffington, who stepped to the podium and urged the audience to listen to all viewpoints with "respect." Soldiers On:McCain soldiered on, despite chanting from protesters who said they were opposed to his stance in a dispute with native Americans over an Arizona coal field. But he did not take questions from the audience as planned. McCain, a longtime champion of campaign finance reform, repeated his calls for an end to big money's dominance in politics, describing the current political system as "an elaborate influence-peddling scheme in which both parties conspire to stay in office by selling their country to the highest bidder." Huffington said the role of big money in politics was one of the key issues that will be highlighted at the shadow convention, along with the persistence of poverty despite general prosperity and the failure of the country's war on drugs. The shadow gathering corresponded to other protests that drew thousands to the streets of Philadelphia Sunday. A similar shadow convention is planned when the Democrats meet in Los Angeles in two weeks. "We want to sound the alarm," Huffington told the conventioneers. "We are part of building a movement." Among the speakers at the alternative convention will be a variety of political activists, politicians and entertainers such as comedian Al Franken. "We're here to speak out for the more than 50 percent of Americans who will not vote in November," Huffington said. "We're here to speak out for the 99 percent of Americans who do not contribute to political campaigns." McCain plans a series of appearances around the convention before his prime-time speech Tuesday night. Related Sites:These sites are not part of The New York Times on the Web, and The Times has no control over their content or availability. http://www.georgewbush.com/http://algore2000.com/http://votenader.org/ http://gopatgo2000.org/Published: July 30, 2000Copyright 2000 The New York Times Company Related Articles & Web Sites:The Shadow Conventionshttp://www.shadowconventions.com/Shadow Conventionshttp://www.lindesmith.org/shadowconventions/Common Causehttp://www.commoncause.org/Public Campaignhttp://www.publiccampaign.org/ Shadow Convention 2000 News Boardhttp://homepages.go.com/~marthag1/Shadcon.htmMapInc. Articles On The Shadow Conventions:http://mapinc.org/shadow.htm CannabisNews Articles On The Shadow Conventions:http://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=shadow Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #4 posted by Thomas on July 31, 2000 at 09:57:20 PT Council on Foreign Relations Cap is right. Investigate what the CFR, Bildebergers, and the Trilateral Commision are all about and you will be unpleasantly surprised. Better yet, read the following two books:"The Naked Capitalist" which is a commentary on the second book I recommend. It will help you understand the perspective from which the other is written.The second book is "Tragedy and Hope" by Carroll Quigley. He is a former Georgetown history professor, establishment insider, and mentor to Bill Clinton. His book is a confession to the New World Order conspiracy backed up by so much fact and historical documentation that it really is indesputable. Why confess? Because in his words, the hidden power structure that really runs things is so entrenched that it can no longer be stopped, so it might as well take credit for everything it has accomplished and will accomplish in the future. It really is scary. I know that we really have only one party which represents the corporations, trusts, and tax free foundations which are fronts for the hidden power structure (which really isn't that hidden if you dig a little). This is information that is never presented in our mass media or any where else. the media is controlled by these people, so why expose themselves. They were none to happy with Quigley's book and tried to suppress it to Quigley's astonishment. Anyway, these books are a real eye opener and you will be shocked to find that the greatest decision makers and policy makers were part of this group or heavily influenced by this group (e.g., Woodrow Wilson and the League of Nations, Federal Reserve, etc.). [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on July 31, 2000 at 05:09:01 PT: Hear the man out! I am of two minds about John McCain.I admire John McCain the veteran, who underwent horrific treatment at the hands of his captors. But I do *not* admire John McCain the pol, who with his pro-DrugWar votes, inflicts another kind of horrific treatment upon his own fellow citizens.But as much as I believe the man has sold out to a consortium of power brokers for whom political party affiliation is a meaningless noise - simply because they OWN both parties - I still believe that he should be heard. (As to *why* I believe this, I most strongly suggest you plug the words "Council on Foreign Relations" into your favorite search engine and be prepared for the nastiest surprise of your life.)Deny him his say, and you will invalidate yours. And all of ours. So, take what he says with an Everest-sized grain of salt if you must, but hear him out.After all, WE are the ones suffering from the close-mindedness of our opponents. Let's not emulate them, shall we? [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: