The eyes of the nation are on Wisconsin this week. Specifically, journalists from across the globe have converged on the Republican National Convention in the City of Milwaukee. Day One is in the books, and we have coverage. Today’s Key Reads also include a look on how local communities are tracking crime-related firearms and we look ahead to the next global gathering in Wisconsin, which starts next week.
We’ve been covering the protesters that have also converged on Milwaukee. As the Convention kicked off Monday, the self-proclaimed revolutionaries marched through the first security perimeter to and took their grievances to within a block of the arena in which the convention was being held.
It was a smaller crowd than anticipated, but the Coalition of March on the RNC did indeed cross into the soft security perimeter and got within a block of the Fiserv Forum today. Ironically, they were met by Pro-Life activists, but there were no signs of any physical confrontations.
Over the last several months, thousands of individuals from across the country have been busy organizing mass demonstrations to coincide with with the RNC in Milwaukee. Many, however, posted online, but did not show up. Event organizers said approximately 3,000 protesters marched, far fewer than the 5,000 that organizers had hoped would participate.
Dozens of Palestinian flags were displayed throughout the march, and, by far, the loudest chants were in opposition to Israel.
“From Palestine to Mexico, All these Borders Have to Go.”
“From Palestine to the USA, Revolution is the Way!”
Perhaps the most disturbing chant: “We don’t want no Jewish State, We want 1948!” [Editor’s note: Some observers claim the chant was “We don’t want no two state–We want 1948!”]
The organizers included the Party of Communists USA and The American Party of Labor, which bills itself as “a revolutionary working class organization in the United States.”
Joining those revolutionaries in organizing the protests were members of the following organizations: Code Pink, Baltimore Peace Action, Colorado Palestine Coalition, Denver-Aurora Community Action Committee, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, International League of Peoples Struggle, Legalization for All Network, Minnesota Abortion Action Committee (MNAAC), Minnesota Anti-War Committee, Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), National Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression, National Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression – Atlanta, Dallas and Tampa chapters, New Orleans Artists for Palestine, New Orleans for Community Oversight of Police (NOCOP), New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Port (NOSHIP), San Jose Against War, Silicon Valley Immigration Committee, Starbucks Workers United, Tucson Anti-War Committee, Women Against Military Madness, and the Grand Valley State University chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America.
While online forums had indicated the marches would take place throughout the duration of the RNC in Milwaukee, organizers on Monday said today was their only planned march.
The organizers of this march reached a ‘handshake’ agreement with city officials and Milwaukee Police to cross over the soft security perimeter and get within a block of the Fiserv Forum, site of the Republican National Convention. They paused their march and held a brief rally, before dispersing back to the marches’ starting point.
Shortly after the protest was over, word came that Donald Tump had named Ohio US Senator J. D Vance as his Vice Presidential nominee. Vance is 39 and it is hoped will appeal to his fellow Millennials and members of Generation Z. The GOP has been working here to improve their outreach to those voters.
The uphill battle of conservative organizing in overwhelmingly Democratic Dane County does not deter Republican Party of Dane County chair Brandon Maly. His organization’s goal for the November election?
“Lose by less,” Maly, 24, tells Isthmus. “When you get into the meat and potatoes of it, [if] we lose by less in Dane, we win Wisconsin. It’s as simple as that.”
Maly’s strategy could prove prescient.
…In Dane County and Madison, conservative organizers say the goal is to make gains, not turn tides. “For those areas, it’s not about getting 50% plus one, right?,” Wisconsin College Republicans chair and College Republicans of America vice president William Blathras tells Isthmus. “That’s an impossible task. We’re looking at making the margin as close as possible.”
…Republicans, he says, should highlight what they see as policy strengths, like immigration and the economy, while allowing for disagreement on other issues: “We need a different approach. We agree on 80% of things. And those couple issues may be the 20% we disagree on.”
Both Maly and Blathras, additionally, say young conservative voters’ enthusiasm behind Trump is something Biden cannot capture.
“A lot of us in college now were in middle school when [Trump] declared his [2016] presidential run,” Blathras said. “I just remember how electric it was — even if you didn’t like him, people were fascinated by his candidacy.”
A new study has some saying small police forces in Wisconsin need to do better on tracking firearms used in crimes.
A new study finds that law enforcement agencies in Wisconsin are under-utilizing federal tools for tracking guns.
Law enforcement agencies can sign up for a free online platform called e-trace, which enables the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to track the path of guns involved in suspected crimes.
…In Wisconsin, only 48 percent of law enforcement agencies participate in that initiative, according to the study.
…Nationwide, about 55 percent of law enforcement agencies were signed up for e-trace, making Wisconsin below average, the study found.
E-trace can help authorities identify illegal sources of guns, “including straw purchasers, gun traffickers, and unscrupulous gun dealers,” the study said.
But law enforcement officials interviewed for the study noted that processing times for e-trace requests can be slow and unpredictable. They also noted that the usefulness of those results can be limited, since tracking ends with a gun’s first retail purchase. That means the database won’t provide more-recent information about guns that change hands multiple times before being used in a crime.
As one group of visitors and journalists leave Wisconsin later this week, another will be flying in….to Oshkosh for next week’s EAA AirVenture.
Billed as the world’s biggest fly-in convention, AirVenture is set for another year of record attendance after the 2023 edition attracted more than 677,000 people and more than 10,000 aircraft to Oshkosh.
And this edition will feature a number of new attractions, including a scheduled appearance by Miss America, Madison Marsh, who is an active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force.
A commemoration of the 80-year anniversary of 1944’s “Turning of the Tide” in World War II, featuring a large collection of D-day and other World War II-era aircraft; and
Daily tickets are $45 for adult members and $63 for adult non-members. Veterans and active military members pay $45 while kids 18 years and younger are admitted free.
Let’s hope the weather cooperates. So far, Mother Nature has not been much of a hostess for the various Summer events.
That’s it for today’s update. Check the main website during the day for any breaking news, and we’ll be back again tomorrow.
