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Why Pelting Karl Rove in the Face is a Bad Idea

Update: For clarity, based on a hurricane of comments over at Kos, I'm not suggesting that we don't ever protest anything (though the value of protest is a huge conversation worth having). I'm just saying that if that is your tactic, do it in a way that doesn't allow the college Rethugs to flip the situation on you and play the victim.

Update II: A commenter on Kos who claims to be a student at American University says that there was nothing thrown at Rove. I'm glad to hear that, and it goes to show that Republicans will try to distort what the Left does for their own gain no matter what. That said, I still think the point I'm making generally holds if we are talking about tactics that actually accomplish a positive goal on campus.
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So I can understand why this is really gratifying:

WASHINGTON -- White House Advisor Karl Rove was the target of a protest on the American University campus Tuesday night, News4 reported.

Rove was on the campus to talk to the College Republicans, but when he got outside more than a dozen students began throwing things at him and at his car, an American University spokesperson said.

But I've got to say it strikes me as an all around terrible tactic if you're goal is to actually change anything - nationally, or even just on your campus, which I would argue is equally important.

It may have felt really good to throw things at Rove. And he certainly deserves to be Frog-Marched out of the White House and hit in the face with tomatoes and other traditional rotten things. But here's what happens the next day. And the next couple weeks:

Republicans on campus will say that lefty campus activists overreacted. That the campus left played the role of Thought Police and tried to intimidate a speaker and stifle free speech. They will wrap themselves in the First Amendment - and they will have a legitimate claim. Maybe the Right Wing Noise Machine picks it up and this incident gets elevated (I did find this item on Drudge). Campus Republicans are now looked on as effective campus activists: they got their story in the news. Republicans on campus and on other campuses get energized by this activity. Independents who were leaning Republican start to tilt even more so. Maybe they decided to join the College Republicans or volunteer for a Republican candidate, etc.

They just got stronger. All you did was throw some pie so you could feel good.

This is basically the story David Brock lays out in the early chapters of Blinded by the Right. Its SOP for campus conservatives, and it's all laid out in the campus activism materials distributed by the Young America's Foundation.

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April 4th, 2007 5:16am
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i agree

Submitted by dan (not verified) on Wed, 2007-04-04 08:50.

you know, when I read that Mike, I agreed with you.

I laughed when I read it, and dismissed them as annoying hippies. And if I do that, I can imagine others think of it in a far worse way. And i haven’t been over at Kos, but i”ll check it out now, because I’d love to see what people think protest is accomplishing.

Does it energize us? No. It makes people do something, feel good about doing somethingn, and nothing gets accomplished.

well...

Submitted by Jake Thorn on Wed, 2007-04-04 15:45.

reading through some of the comments on DK, I don’t know what to think of the incident itself… the details seem pretty murky. But if it did happen that way, I’m not gonna fault folks for doing it. Sounds kind of spontaneous, or like a joking reaction to hearing that the Prince of Darkness himself is going to be around, so might as well form a welcoming committee.

The man’s inspired so much hatred, and he’s EARNED all of it. So when some college students fly off the handle and throw some shit at his car, is there any surprise?

And these students aren’t like, freakin Democratic Party strategists or anything, either. It’s not their job to get Dems elected or pass liberal policy. They’re just people expressing their emotions, albeit in a somewhat illegal way that gave the RWNM an excuse to go “rabble-rabble-rabble!!!” for awhile. But overall, I’m kinda impressed to see that people care that much. It takes nerves and passion to confront a butcher like Karl. I’m GLAD they’re pissed.

[[http://www.losethelabel.org/user/3|-6.00, -4.15]]

Pissed off vs. effective

Submitted by Michael Connery on Wed, 2007-04-04 16:32.

I’m glad they’re pissed too. And I don’t mean to hone in on this particular incident, which it seems happened quite differently from how it was reported. I’m using it as the most recent example (called to my attention) of a larger problem.

Why are these students pissed? Why are they taking the time and effort to do this? Presumably because they want to get shit done, be effective, and make some real change.

I don’t think this sort of tactic accomplishes much of anything. That’s my real point.

And no, they’re not democratic strategists. I don’t demand a strategically perfect response pulled off without a hitch. But Republican’s have their shit together enough to be bringing folks like Karl Rove onto campus and having effective strategies to capitalize on and direct the firestorm these events cause. I don’t think its’ too much to ask that progressive equally get their shit together.

And to be sure, I don’t lay blame or burden solely on students. There is progressive infrastructure on campus. Groups who’s purpose is to organize and can/do tap into national groups. There’s no reason these kids need to be starting from scratch with no idea how to wage effective activism. We need to do a better job of passing down knowledge and skills. And this is also “the grown ups” fault as well for not adequately investing in youth training and organizing.

It’s one facet of the larger problem.

yes and no

Submitted by Jake Thorn on Thu, 2007-04-05 15:09.

First, I agree that it’s all part of a larger problem.

Why are they taking the time and effort to do this? Presumably because they want to get shit done, be effective, and make some real change.

I don’t know if this question can be answered without talking to the individuals themselves. My hunch (and just a hunch) would be they don’t feel they have much outlet or belief in accomplishing real change through conventional, easily available, widely-accepted activist methods. So they’ve resorted to throwing stuff at Dr. Evil’s car.

There is progressive infrastructure on campus. Groups who’s purpose is to organize and can/do tap into national groups. There’s no reason these kids need to be starting from scratch with no idea how to wage effective activism. We need to do a better job of passing down knowledge and skills.

Agreed on passing down knowledge and skills, but I’d also say that tapping into national groups is pretty frustrating because they’re already entrenched with top-down structures and the local structures mirror this… so if you join, you’re left feeling incorporated/trounced rather than actively engaged. I think the future of national organizing is in loose, Internet-based, ground-up coalitions united around short-term goals and events. (and yeah, obviously I’m biased there since I’m facilitating a website driven by that prediction..hah) But my point is that when you’re at a college campus, you feel very far away from the kinds of structures that hold actual sway and reaching out to them to “tap into them” can feel very futile because those groups have already sailed with whatever agenda the originators wanted. So when a national figure like Rove struts onto your campus, it’s a knee jerk reaction to do something on your own, because that’s how you feel all the time: you’re on your own.

In this case, the tactics they used gave the wingnuts some ammunition. Win some, lose some, imho.

win: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YDOH…

win: http://www.dailynexus.com/article.ph…

[[http://www.losethelabel.org/user/3|-6.00, -4.15]]

maybe the answer here

Submitted by jpb on Thu, 2007-04-05 16:23.

isn’t so much “stop throwing shit at Rove”, because

1) he deserves it, and 2) coordinating the “stop” action is pretty difficult

but rather, the answer is better media training for college dems. How do we encourage campus dems to frame the incident as “the GOP is so douchy that they can’t go out in public” and deny the “victim” or “shrill lefty” frame to the college repubs on campus.

There’s certainly room for a resource (maybe here at FM?) dedicated to training college dems in rapid-response and framing. Maybe Rove (or another prominent GOP) will speak at more than one school and it’ll be an opportunity for a “pelt rove” tour.

Pelting Rove isn’t bad in and of itself. Paying for pelting Rove via negative press is the problem, and the remedy should involve strengthening our media skills, not our self-control.

Wiki Article - Rapid Response

Submitted by Michael Connery on Fri, 2007-04-06 07:52.
There’s certainly room for a resource (maybe here at FM?) dedicated to training college dems in rapid-response and framing. Maybe Rove (or another prominent GOP) will speak at more than one school and it’ll be an opportunity for a “pelt rove” tour.

I think that would make a great article in the wiki. Or training video hosted on YouTube.

available infrastructure

Submitted by Michael Connery on Fri, 2007-04-06 07:50.
I’d also say that tapping into national groups is pretty frustrating because they’re already entrenched with top-down structures and the local structures mirror this… so if you join, you’re left feeling incorporated/trounced rather than actively engaged. I think the future of national organizing is in loose, Internet-based, ground-up coalitions united around short-term goals and events. (and yeah, obviously I’m biased there since I’m facilitating a website driven by that prediction..hah) But my point is that when you’re at a college campus, you feel very far away from the kinds of structures that hold actual sway and reaching out to them to “tap into them” can feel very futile because those groups have already sailed with whatever agenda the originators wanted.

I agree. Sort of.

There are a lot of different types of campus groups - greens, socialists, college dems, antiwar, etc. One of the advantages these groups have over your small pieces loosely joined model is that they have money. They can subsidize student trainings, they can get free office space and use university facilities, etc. They can do this because they are more or less longterm fixtures. One of the goals of your loose pieces should be to take over these pieces of campus infrastructure in order to take advantage of these boons. Or they should start their own formal, lasting institutions. Otherwise you will never build anything significant because it will be even more ephemeral and tied to individuals than things currently are on campus.

But there are also other types of orgs out there as well. Like the Center for Progressive Leadership, Young People For, etc. - these groups are national, but they don’t have an “agenda.” Their agenda is to make you and your friends more effective on yoru campus. To get you free or heavily subsidized training, seed money to launch projects, etc.

So while I agree that a lot of folks probably feel alienated from and disempowered by campus groups, there are other avenues to pursue that can make them and their activism more effective, and I’d argue that they need to entrench themselves in the campus government/activities boards. Either by taking over existing orgs or by starting their own.

It sounds geeky and very brass tacks, but that is how we will be effective, and this is all as fun as you make it. If your purpose is to throw socially conscious parties and concerts on campus as your form of activism, then great. It doesn’t have to be suits and resume padding.

Then, where I think something like Lose the Label comes in, is in networking those groups across campuses. Coordinating actions and messages, press, etc. And always remember that those other groups - who exist purely for leadership development - are out there as a resource as well.