The RNC: Don't Forget Who Did This To Us
It’s here. The Fascist Republican Convention is in town. While Milwaukee Beagle from the beginning advocated against holding the convention here, we always knew it was a long shot to cancel it. Now that they are here, it could be useful to remind ourselves that whatever happens, Mayor Cavalier Johnson bears the full responsibility and we need to hold him accountable for inviting these fascists to our city.
Johnson is very much trying to have his cake and eat it too. His performative attempt of a zinger in response to Trump after he called Milwaukee a ‘horrible city’ falls flat knowing that he is the one who pitched so hard for the RNC to be held here. If Johnson really wanted to defend our city, he should not have invited these fascists. His response bears all the weight of a pithy Tweet, his actions speak louder. Let us all remember that Johnson was instrumental in bringing the convention here. He pushed hard, visiting Washington D.C. in the middle of his reelection campaign to pitch for Milwaukee. The RNC selection committee specifically called out how impressed they were with Johnson. And when challenged on why he would advocate so hard for fascists to come to our city, Johnson’s response was “As a Democrat, could I have stood up and said ‘We’re not going to be welcoming to the RNC’ or ‘We don’t want them in our community’? I mean, I could have done that. But that’s the easy way out”
Saying no, in fact, would have been the hard way out. It would have meant protecting Milwaukee’s community and refusing to accommodate fascists. It would have meant potentially jeopardizing the shared revenue agreement to shore up Milwaukee’s budget. Granted, as Milwaukee Beagle has covered, the shared revenue still was a bad deal for Milwaukee. Saying no would have been the hard, but right thing to do. We do not want them in our community and Johnson sold us out. And when it comes to Milwaukee’s interests versus the RNC’s interests, Johnson has chosen to align himself with the convention over the very communities he was elected to represent.
Johnson already is going back on his promises of the convention being an economic boom for Milwaukee. As previously covered by Milwaukee Beagle, his promise of $200 million for Milwaukee is ludicrously high. Even though the RNC had a record breaking fundraising cycle recently, many venues such as the Riverside and Pabst theaters will most likely remain empty during the convection, despite having been promised events. When confronted with this, Johnson backpedaled, shifting to claim that “What I've said since the beginning of this is that this is the beginning. It's not the end. It's the beginning…It’s leading to other big political business, sports, entertainment, things that'll come to Milwaukee in the future.” Johnson is trying to pull a fast one on us. We cannot let him off the hook.
Instead of holding the RNC accountable to supporting Milwaukee businesses, law enforcement and Johnson’s administration have been prioritizing ‘cleaning up’ Milwaukee for the convection. City officials are allegedly telling unhoused folks to move away from the areas close to the convention and US Marshals are making mass arrests. They are prioritizing surface level cosmetic solutions instead of actually dedicating the time and resources needed to solve the systemic problems at the root of these issues.
If there were any further doubts about where Johnson’s alliances lay, just look at how he is treating protests during the RNC. He will stand up to the RNC to defend a street name, but not First Amendment rights. The Coalition to March on the RNC has been in a constant battle with the City of Milwaukee and Secret Service in order to march within sight and sound of the Fiserv Forum. Just days before the start of the convention, the Coalition was finally able to announce that they had reached an agreement with the city. If only Mayor Johnson was as welcoming and accepting of free speech rights as he was of fascists. Alas, while fascists got the red carpet rolled out for them, protesters had to fight tooth and nail for their right to free speech. The City of Milwaukee has been a willing ally as the RNC sought to expand their security perimeter in a blatant attempt to keep protesters as far away as possible from the convention.
While the Coalition will be able to march, they will be watched over by a well-armed and unaccountable police force. A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel review expressed concerns that under the police’s rules of engagement during the convention,for example, if one person in a demonstration is considered violent, they potentially can justify pepper spraying and using chemical weapons on the entire crowd. It gives police a lot of discretion. Furthermore, the department's transparency requirements have also been eased or suspended during the convention. Keep in mind the Milwaukee Police Department are proven liars. Can we really trust them to not escalate violence?
The recent assassination attempt against Trump has police on edge and fascists looking for vengeance, we should also consider the threat of violence by private security as well. Just last week hotel workers at Hyatt Regency Milwaukee brutally murdered D’Vontaye Mitchell for reasons that still are not entirely clear. And this was just during a normal day of the week. Imagine these hotels now being filled to the brim and staff being pushed to the limit. It isn’t how to imagine how all of this makes Milwaukee into a powder keg.
All this to say we have the receipts Cavalier Johnson. Whatever happens during this convention you are to blame. We are not going to let you hide from your broken promises and responsibility.
