Violent protests at stripped-down GOP convention
The Republican party had tried to use Hurricane Gustav to prove its candidate John McCain was willing to shelve celebrations and put the country first.
However, its plans were blown off course by a series of events yesterday morning when Hurricane Gustav made land at Louisiana with wind speeds 70kmph lighter than forecasted.
At the same time, more than 9,000 anti-war protesters gathered at the State Capital building in St Paul for what was to be a tongue-in-cheek farewell to President George W Bush.
And, meanwhile, workers for surprise vice presidential pick, Sarah Palin, had to release a statement to deal with news that her 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, was pregnant.
Palin, who is a champion of conservative social values, was also forced to dispel rumours her seven-month-old son, Trig, was in fact born to Bristol.
Palin’s team released a statement to clarify the facts, but said her family should not be an issue.
“Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realise very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family.
“We ask the media to respect our daughter and Levi’s privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates,” it said.
Earlier at the State Building, protesters were the focus of a mass of media cameras which otherwise would have been directed at events inside the Xcel Energy centre. Drawn from a broad range of interest groups, the protesters were not convinced by McCain’s decision to concentrate on hurricane relief efforts.
New Orleans native Michelle Gross, of Communities against Police Brutality, said McCain’s tour of relief centres was insincere.
She said the Republicans “had their chance and they blew it” with President Bush’s botched response to the devastating Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
“McCain should get the hell out of there and leave it to people who know what they are doing. It is just a political stunt,” she said.
A separate splinter group of 300 people abandoned the official protest march route and confronted police who responded with tear gas with dozens treated by on-site medics.
Over the course of the next two hours the group subsequently smashed more than a dozen windows and vandalised a police car. There were 13 arrests.
In the midst of everything, delegates gathered at the Xcel centre were brought to order at 2.30pm yesterday in what the Fox News channel has jokingly billed as the Unconventional convention.
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