There were Occupy protestors in Tampa at the RNC convention. They were few in number, though, and owing to the possibility that the event could have been scrubbed owing to then-Hurricane Isaac, those who did show up spent more time battling the humidity than The Man.
It’s different in Charlotte, where the fair weather protestors have turned out in somewhat larger numbers and caused a spot of trouble for the assembled Democratic grandees:
On Tuesday, a group of more than 100 protesters shouting “Obama is a traitor” temporarily shut down official bus service that ferries around delegates at the Democratic National Convention. The protesters, some of whom were lying down in the street, were surrounded by Charlotte police, who used their bicycles to build a barrier around the group.
It must be a conspiracy…
The protests also seem to have generated surprise, in addition to inconvenience:
“I didn’t see them at the Republican convention,” said Wandra Ashley-Williams, vice president of the Maryland State Conference NAACP. “That’s not good.”
But it is entertaining. I was told by a Tampa resident that the Occupiers had established their “Romneyville” camp on a vacant lot owned by a local entrepreneur…who also happened to own a string of area gentlemen’s clubs. He charged them $1500 for the privilege.
