Now Playing at Reason.tv: Matt Welch Welcomes You to the RNC and Asks, "Which McCain Will Show Up?"

reason Editor in Chief Matt Welch, author of the indispensable McCain: The Myth of a Maverick, files his first video dispatch from the Republican National Convention in Minnesota's Twin Cities.

The bellicose Sen. John McCain has secured the GOP nod for the White House by improbably appealing to anti-war independents. Can the man who called for "rogue-state rollback" years before George W. Bush invaded Iraq win the hearts and minds of social conservatives? Can he maintain the affections of independents and crossover Dems? Click below to watch Matt Welch lay out the context of this week's political spectacle.

Comments

[Jonathan Hohensee]

Fun fact; both Violent Femmes, the greatest band ever, and Rachel Leigh Cook, that chick from She's All That come from St. Paul.

[Jonathan Hohensee]

Which city is home to the largest curling team in the country?

Could it be Saint Paul, Minnesota? Yes it can.

[Orange Line Special celebrates]

Perhaps Reason might take a look at the market and decide that since it's clogged with similar commentary - from both the MSM and bloggers - doing something different might be better for the traffic and the influence. For instance, CONVENTION2008!!! doesn't seem to have set the world on fire.

If they want to to make the MSM look bad and get some attention, ask McCain something like this. Feel free to make it about something Reason is interested in, like hot dog carts.

And, oddly enough, Reason doesn't appear to have covered what's happening in Minneapolis. My advice for those going to that event is the same, albeit using child psychology.

[klob]

A.) The Violent Femmes are from Milwaukee, WI. They are greater than any rock bands from Minneapolis that haven't gone by the name of Prince at one point in their careers.

B.) WTF is up with all the warrantless FBI raids of the homes of people planning to march in the RNC protests? According to Greenwald and others, the target of the arrests have largely been the same watchdog groups of lawyers and journalists responsible for exonerating hundreds of RNC protesters in 2004 by providing direct evidence of contradiction in police testimony.

[Naga Sadow]

LoneWacko!!!

*shakes fist in air*

[Jonathan Hohensee]

A.) The Violent Femmes are from Milwaukee, WI. They are greater than any rock bands from Minneapolis that haven't gone by the name of Prince at one point in their careers.

B.) WTF is up with all the warrantless FBI raids of the homes of people planning to march in the RNC protests? According to Greenwald and others, the target of the arrests have largely been the same watchdog groups of lawyers and journalists responsible for exonerating hundreds of RNC protesters in 2004 by providing direct evidence of contradiction in police testimony.
Looking it up, looks like I got RLC mixed up too. The only detail that truly matters is that Violent Femmes truly are the greatest band ever.

[Heather the Safety Dog]

People in Minneapolis constantly put down St. Paul, but there is one thing St, Paul has that Minneapolis never will -- a beautiful view of the Minneapolis skyline.

[Red Lester]

"A.) The Violent Femmes are from Milwaukee, WI. They are greater than any rock bands from Minneapolis that haven't gone by the name of Prince at one point in their careers."

You might want to give the Suburbs or the Relacements a listen. And Bonnie Raitt is from suburban Minneapolis, Minnetonka I believe.

And of course Roger Dodger wrote "Funky Town", which was recorded by Lips Inc., a group of Minneapolis studio musicians.

[WTF is Right]

"WTF is up with all the warrantless FBI raids of the homes of people planning to march in the RNC protests?"

Perhaps they're concerned about human lives...

BUS ATTACK IN ST. PAUL!!... Anarchists Attack RNC Busses!

http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2008/09/bus-attack-in-st-paul-anarchists-attack.html

[WTF is Right]

Or maybe this.

RNC: Anti-War Leftist Declare war .... on America, VIOLENT PROTEST

http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2008/09/rnc-anti-war-le.html

[WTF is Right]

Oh, and this too.

A busload of Cub Scouts were en route to the convention, where they were to present the colors to open the convention. A group of protesters blocked the road, surrounded the bus, and attacked it, rocking the bus back and forth, denting and scratching the sides, and generally terrifying the children trapped inside. The protesters attacked a number of buses in the same way, but there is something especially despicable about attacking a group of Cub Scouts.

[Devils Lake, ND]

"Which city is home to the largest curling team in the country?

Could it be Saint Paul, Minnesota? Yes it can."

Bigger isn't always better.

[Rick Barton?s recommended site]

Which ever McCain is McCain is fronting at the convention, we know that his head is still in the hyper-interventionist war-hawk mode as evidenced by the fact that he has Robert Kagan, an obnoxious neocon, as his principle foreign policy advisor, and also he was seriously considering taking Joe Lieberman as his VP choice. Lieberman, btw, has about zero redeeming policy advocacies. If you're into liberty, prosperity, and peace, He's our worst senator.

It's too bad about McCain's war-hawk proclivities cuz he's a decent fiscal conservative:

http://www.ntu.org/main/components/ratescongress/details_all_years.php3?senate_id=11

I'm voting for Bob Barr!

[Rick Barton?s recommended site]

...Shoulda beem: "Which ever McCain McCain is fronting..."

[Rick Barton?s recommended site]

Shoulda been: "Shoulda been"

Ok I'll step away from the computer now but first I just wanna say that the Violent Femmes could be considered "Post New Wave" or "Late New Wave" just as Siouxsie and the Banshees have been typed as Post Punk.

They're a tad whiney for me but I think that some of their stuff is pretty good. I have one of their vids...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aljlKYesT4

...on my YT channel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/RickeyRamone

[klob]

You might want to give the Suburbs or the Relacements a listen. And Bonnie Raitt is from suburban Minneapolis, Minnetonka I believe.

I don't know the Suburbs well, unfortunately, but I love the Replacements and enjoy the occasional Bonnie Raitt. And even though they're *still* coasting off their first record, the Violent Femmes are the ones you're going to hear at karaoke or on the radio.

[klob]

WTF is Right: Those reports are horrendous and I hope the police prosecute the assholes shaking the bus of Cub Scouts. This still doesn't justify pre-emptive *warrantless* raids and confiscation of the property of lawyers and journalists who are there for non-violent purposes according to all the evidence publicly available so far.

Yes, I understand some bricks, fireworks and urine were confiscated in some of the raids, and that's not what I'm primarily concerned with.

[Mike Laursen]

If they want to to make the MSM look bad and get some attention, ask McCain something like this.

Dude, you do know the difference between a statement and a question, don't you?

[Red Lester]

"I don't know the Suburbs well, unfortunately"

Am Partial to "Love is the Law" Give it a listen:

http://www.twintone.com/video/suburbs/

[Hogan]

from minneapolis along with the replacements: husker du obviously. overrated i think but still an excellent band.

[Steve]

If you do listen to the Suburbs or Husker Du, the architects of the Minneapolis sound, it will quickly become apparent that Prince borrowed heavily from what they created.

[Red Lester]

I Like Cows is great. It might be about road pony girls from the Dakotas, but who can say?

http://216.17.63.111/movies/suburbs/cows-h.mov

[Rick Barton?s recommended site]

Since we're talkin music,I gota bring up H&R's own (and Denver's) Little Fyodor!

http://www.littlefyodor.com/

[BakedPenguin]

Violent Femmes, the greatest band ever...

One album wonder. That first album was great, but they couldn't write another decent song to save their lives after it.

[texas_libertarian]

How can McCain get the "anti-war independent" voters? He is the ultimate militaristic imperialist. As terrible as Obama is on everything else, at least he's been against the Iraq War from the beginning.

I love those sexy sunglasses Mike always wears. But I like Nick's leather jacket better.

[thedifferentphil]

"One album wonder. That first album was great, but they couldn't write another decent song to save their lives after it."
Actually, the Hallowed Ground album (yes, I bought it on vinyl...) was pretty good, so make it a two-album wonder. And, although their third album, The Blind Leading the Naked, was bad, it did have an awesome cover of "Children of the Revolution" that was much better than the T-Rex original.

[joe]

Why Do Birds Sing was a good album, too.

[joe]

It's a good thing they're arresting lawyers and journalists like Amy Goodman, in order to protect those boy scouts from a completely different group of people.

[R C Dean]

Not knowing a damn thing about the "warrantless" raids, but they could well be quite productive in terms of information about who is actually planning to conduct violent protests and what their plans are. I don't know what the fibbies know, of course, but political activist lawyers (trust me on this, I know) often cross the line from mere representation and advice and actively participate in their client's little projects.

[Tom Walls]

Two of the greatest sixties one-hit wonder garage bands, The Trashmen and the Castaways, were both from Minneapolis, I think. No doubt they played scores of teen halls and concerts in St. Paul.

[joe]

I'm having trouble coming up with the Husker Du/Prince connection, Steve.

What Prince song shows Husker Du influence the most, would you say?

[Pro Libertate]

Whatever you do, don't play basketball with Prince.

[SugarFree]

Yes, I understand some bricks, fireworks and urine were confiscated in some of the raids, and that's not what I'm primarily concerned with.

I have all that in my home right now! Yikes!

Although, to be fair, I took the urine to work with me today. In my bladder.

[SugarFree]

PL,

Did you see the interview with Prince about the Chappele skit? He confirmed everything as true, except he didn't dunk the ball.

[Pro Libertate]

SugarFree,

He had no need to dunk--Charlie Murphy's basketball skills weren't worthy of such flourishes.

[SugarFree]

Once Dave had his nervous breakdown or what ever, why didn't they give Charlie Murphy his own show? Carlos "Shitburrito" Mencia's had, what, like 10 seasons?

[Pro Libertate]

SugarFree,

Because Rick James blocked such a show from beyond the grave, his final revenge against the Murphy brothers.

"I'm Rick James, bitch!"

[SugarFree]

Cocaine gives you powers from beyond the grave.

"Fuck yo couch!"

[Rick James]

Cocaine is a terrible thing.