Hip Hop Republican CEO

I had a great opportunity to talk with young head of Hip Hop Republican a blogging website that talks about race and age in the republican party at the RNC.

RNC: Ron Paul Revolution Continues

Tuesday was the day of the Ron Paul Revolution transition into the new Campaign for Liberty headed by former Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul from Texas. Over 12,000 people attended the rally some from as far away as Georgia and New York who all drove to Minneapolis, Minnesota just to take part in the finally of the campaign.

Many young people were in attendance who expressed their disenchantment with the two party system, the war in Iraq, health care, and more.

The Convention was designed as a counter convention to the Republican National Convention across the Mississippi in St. Paul, Minnesota where they say their Revolution Continues. A major component the Campaign for Liberty lists is to gain a "foothold in political life at every level of government by expanding our precinct leader program."

Below is a quick video compilation of some interviews I did and what it was like in the event on Tuesday night. It was filled with a lot of great energy and enthusiasm as you'll see.

Massive Protests First Day of RNC

The first day of the Republican Convention may have been stifled by the hurricane in the gulf, but protesters refused to let it stop their message. Whether anti-war, pro-universal health care, pro-choice, anti-choice, or anti-government in general, protesters packed the streets of St. Paul, Minnesota hoping to impact convention goers.



The events were mostly peaceful but a small group of anarchists broke out store windows, police car windows, slashed tires, and caused a general ruckus.

One RNC official at the press and media check in expressed his disappointment in police who allowed much of the destruction. But one former 70's war protester who joined the events today said the police were much calmer than those in the 60's and 70's who he said were less patient.

There were, however, live streaming videos of police shooting tear gas into crowds, shooting people with rubber bullets, and huge blanket arrests. Despite those events, reports were that only 150 had been arrested, no word on how many have been detained.

One thing is for sure, the use of policy and national guard troops was much more present on the streets of St. Paul than in Denver. While at the DNC convention, security was limited mostly to the parameter, many police and guard troops kept to the streets. There were minor injuries, many journalists were accidentally gassed including former campaign manager for Vice President Al Gore and CNN Consultant Donna Brazil, Democracy NOW reporter Amy Goodman was arrested, and many journalists were detained until they could prove they were official media.

No word on whether these protests will continue throughout the course of the Republican Convention.

Pause for the Cause

I recently had an interesting conversation with a democrat and a republican that bothered me. I feel that since we are nearing the presidential election that it is ok to pause from my normal beats to focus on this issue.

While hanging with a diverse group of friends, I had one friend state that he is voting for Barack because simply because the senator is black, while my other friend said he is voting for McCain because he is a republican. This caught my attention because I didn’t see a strong reason why either would chose to vote for their candidate. Then, it hit me. I googled (as always) both "youth" and "voting" and most of the topics that came up focused on getting youth to vote instead of encouraging youths to value issues that would encourage them to vote.

Exercising your right to vote is good, but finding the right reason(s) to vote is even better. Voting isn’t like deciding between a pair of shoes or betting on your favorite sports team. This is a very serious issue that decides the fate of our country whether you believe it or not.

I’ve heard the excuses that the “candidates aren’t including the youth,” but if we don’t give them a rational reason to really reach out the the yoth vote then they will never address our needs.

We should be so in tune with this election that democrats vote for a republican because their views are stronger and vice versa. I’m not saying vote outside of your political party. I’m saying that it is important to actively engage in both candidates. The opposite party may have a platform better for your future, or maybe even your party—I don’t know.

Here’s a simple solution I found that works for me. Find issues that matter to you—economy, environment, violence, abortions—and see which candidate’s platform fares the most towards your needs. If one candidate, despite party affiliation, has more to offer you as far as your needs are concerned then you have created a legitimate reason for backing that candidate.

Don’t let your parents, friends, or respective political party choose how you cast your vote. Don’t let the media influence your vote. While their opinions are always great in helping to make you aware of the issues at hand, use those opinions as grounds to help you decide. Do NOT let the opinions of others make your voting decisions for you.