Unconventional Action, Call for Endorsements

There’s been a teeny bit of talk about doing a CT consulta to plan for the DNC/RNC ‘08, and I’d say there’s a decent chance of it manifesting in the winter or early spring…

In support of the call to action issued by the RNC Welcoming Committee, Unconventional Action is seeking endorsements for the strategy consensed upon at the “pReNC,” a national planning consulta a year in advance of the Republican National Convention.

If your group endorses this strategy, contact us at unconventional_action@mountainrebel.net. Groups that respond by mid-October will be listed in the print version of the call to action, which will be circulated nationwide; all endorsements will be listed at www.UnconventionalAction.org as they come in. Specify whether you desire contact information to appear with your endorsement.

It is important for a strategy like this to be publicly endorsed by groups that hope to see it succeed. This gives the strategy visibility and shows that many people are invested in it, which in turn enables others to invest themselves in its success.

Send endorsements, questions, and requests for further information to:
Unconventional_action@mountainrebel.net

RNC Welcoming Committee Call to Action: http://www.rncwelcomingcommittee.org/2007/09/30/crash-the-convention-2008-call-to-action/

pReNC Reportback:
http://www.rncwelcomingcommittee.org/2007/09/30/prenc-report-back/#more-163

THE STRATEGY

On the penultimate day of the “pReNC,” a national planning consulta a year in advance of the Republican National Convention, over a hundred anti-authoritarians from around the country gathered to distill a formal strategy for disrupting the convention. Smaller working groups focused on nationwide communications, food/medical/legal infrastructure, media, coalition building, and action planning. Pouring over maps, timetables, and photographs of the city, the action working group hammered out this plan.

On the first day of the convention, participants will employ a three-tiered direct action strategy to disrupt the RNC. The tiers are organized in order of priority according to the number of participants; if a small number of participants show up, only the first tier will be carried out, but if the numbers are on hand, all three tiers will be in effect.

Tier One: Establish 15-20 blockades, utilizing a diversity of tactics, creating an inner and outer ring around St. Paul’s Excel Center, where the RNC is to take place.

Tier Two: Immobilize the delegates’ transportation infrastructure, including the busses that are to convey them.

Tier Three: Block the five western bridges connecting the Twin Cities.

Those plugging into this strategy will be free to shape their actions as they see fit, using the tactics they consider appropriate. As the specific blockade sites are established, there may be a system of delegating some sites as “red zones” (prepared for self-defense), “yellow zones” (peaceful but assertive), and “green zones” (aiming to avoid any risk of arrest) so as to accommodate a wide variety of creative tactics and involve individuals with differing needs and talents.

Over the coming months, locals will identify the most strategic blockade sites and will be available to answer questions about the terrain. If you want to participate, get your comrades together, discuss your capabilities, look over maps, and start thinking about which sites you might cover. It will soon be time for groups to adopt specific intersections, streets, on-ramps, and bridges as their own.

The nationwide communications working group is calling for local and regional groups to organize their own planning consultas over the next months, so as to be ready to reconvene in Minneapolis in summer 2008. They are also calling for a series of local actions against oppression and electoral politics leading up to and building momentum and experience for the RNC and DNC.

CRASH THE CONVENTIONS!