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Jo Freeman: There’s Plenty To Do at the RNC – If You Have the Right Credentials
by Jo Freeman
Every national nominating convention has plenty of auxiliary events, some authorized, some not. Getting space can be a challenge; getting the word out even more so. But they do it nonetheless. Press were given a RNC 2024 Master Event Calendar, which was updated a few days later. Events began on Sunday and ended on Thursday. The actual convention sessions were just one item on the list. The calendar said if an event was Open or Closed to press, and also whom to contact to register. I’m going to describe some of the events, including a couple I went to, and a couple I was turned away from.
Since my focus is on women, I obviously wanted to go to those events – if I could.
The National Federation of Republican Women is the largest grassroots Republican women's organization in the country with hundreds of clubs. Founded in 1938, its members made the phone calls and knocked on the doors that elected Republican candidates for decades. It’s Tuesday luncheon featured Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders. The Master Calendar said it was SOLD OUT and they wouldn’t let me in. I was able to get into their lounge at the Fiserv Forum Wednesday evening, where I was repeatedly asked if I was a member, and if not, would I join. “I’m press,” I said. “I can’t join anything partisan.” I then said: “What brings you here?” On hearing that, finding anyone willing to chat with me was like pulling teeth.
Moms for Liberty met in a concert hall that afternoon. I had pre-registered, and I got in. From high in a balcony seat I listened to several people talk about the evils of transgenderism. It’s webpage says WE BELIEVE Power Belongs to the People. Sound Familiar? With a focus is on parental rights, it wants to “STOP WOKE indoctrination.”
Tuesday I went to “The New Mavericks” reception co-hosted by the Black Republican Mayors Association and the Georgia Republican Party. They honored Sen. Tim Scott, four Congressmen and two Georgia delegates – all male. There was only one mayor on stage, from Aurora, IL. The chair of the Georgia Republican Party was the one white man on the stage. At that event, women served; they didn’t speak. The RNC reported that 55 delegates to the 2024 convention are Black, up from 18 in 2016.
I missed the Independent Women’s Forum toast to “Women Who Make Our Country Great” because I went to Convention Fest: The Official Delegate Experience, which was held in the streets outside the Fiserve Forum and Baird Hall as well as some space inside Baird. To get to that one you not only needed a credential of some sort, but a USSS pass (which I have).
Concerned Women for America parked its pink bus across from the Baird Center the week before the RNC. No one was home. When Convention Fest opened on Tuesday afternoon, they set up a pink tent, from which its leaders preached to whomever passed by. It calls itself “the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization” but its focus is evangelical Christian. The slogan on the side of its pink bus captures this emphasis: “She Prays, She Votes.” A prayer precedes each sermon.
Rose Madeline Mula Writes: Van Gogh and Me
Rose Madeline Mula Writes, Van Gogh and Me: I knew about Van Gogh's demons. That should have given me a clue that trying to paint will drive you crazy. As we all know, despite Vinny's amazing talent, he became so deranged that he lopped off an ear. I once took a course titled, Watercolor Without Fear. It was wonderful. Following the instructor's excellent guidance I actually produced a fairly respectable painting of a rose that first evening. It was intoxicating! more »
Jo Freeman's Review of Yippie Girl: Exploits in Protest and Defeating the FBI
Jo Freeman Reviews: "This is a sexy book – multiple meanings intended. It should appeal to women who want to know more about feminism and to anyone curious about the Sixties counter-culture. In 1968 the Yippies nominated a pig for President at the Republican National Convention and planned a Festival of Life at the Democratic Convention. Chicago refused to grant permits. Instead, the cops attacked a couple of thousand revelers. That in turn led to the Trial of the Chicago Seven, which attracted more media attention than the Festival-that-didn’t-happen. Judy has much to say about all of these happenings, and more." more »
Roberta McReynolds Writes: My Rainbow Has 64 Colors
Roberta McReynolds Writes: "Not a Christmas went by without the hope of discovering a brand-new box of 64 crayons to unwrap. Opening the lid released that unforgettable whiff of waxy pigments, and revealed the first glimpse of rows of those perfect tips on display that had never yet touched paper. The body of each stick was double wrapped in paper to lessen the chance of breakage. Those little paper shrouds bore the official name of each color. It was necessary to peel back the paper as the crayons wore down with usage. As I picked at the edge of the stiff paper it would inevitably slip under my short fingernails and stab the tender quick. Tearing back the paper in uneven strips ruined the perfect appearance in my eyes. One time I removed the entire paper from every single crayon to make them all uniform, and soon discovered how difficult it was to discern the differences in the darker colors. I regretted the disaster I’d created and immediately began longing for my next new box of crayons." more »
Jill Norgren Reviews On Account of Sex: Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the Making of Gender Equality Law; Lady Justice, Women the Law and the Battle to Save America; Justice on the Brink and
Jill Norgren reviews three must read books about law and justice: In Philippa Strum’s On Account of Sex: Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the Making of Gender Equality Law we learn how Ginsburg did notorious work before she became “the notorious RBG.” Ginsburg was one of the many activist women lawyers in the U.S. who have worked on behalf of issues of justice. In Lady Justice: Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save America Dahlia Lithwick introduces readers to several more, women attorneys who, during and after the Trump years, have sought justice for immigrants, would-be voters, and anti-fascist protestors among others. Rounding out these must-reads is Justice on the Brink, journalist Linda Greenhouse’s account of the U.S. Supreme Court during its 2020-2021 term when three new conservative Trump nominees along with Justices Roberts, Thomas, and Alito took full control of SCOTUS. more »
