Ex-RNC Chair Gives Portland Protesters A Cheat Sheet On Ducking Trump's Troops

[Nevilledog]

https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/michael-steele-portland-protests-092500326.html

Michael Steele, the former chair of the Republican National Committee who is now a prominent critic of President Donald Trump, has some advice for the protesters in Portland, Oregon.

Portland is among a number of cities where protesters have been demonstrating against police violence on Black people since the May 25 killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. In recent weeks, Trump has sent armed federal law enforcement agents to quell the protests, ostensibly to protect federal property.

But on Monday, Steele said it was really to create a narrative to fit Trump’s reelection script. He told protesters to avoid playing into it.

“There are plenty of other sites and areas inside Portland and elsewhere around the country that aren’t federal,” he said, adding:

“Do not give the president the link he’s looking for to connect that dot. Go to state property. Go to a mall. Go someplace else. But you don’t have to open that Pandora’s box of crazy that Trump wants to open and have a cellphone there ready to videotape your actions and reactions and play it back in his campaign commercials to say, ‘See? I told you. This is the America they want.’”

*snip*

[CurtEastPoint]

1. I want to like Michael Steele and his helps. But still, dude.... repube?

[Roy Rolling]

26. Still, Dude...

Steele has been all over the media for five years trashing Republicans and recruiting whatever moral Republicans remain.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

We have to look beyond labels, and cheer every time he makes sense. That’s what makes us different than the other, more superficial side.

Cheers.

[Nitram]

44. Steele carried Republican water with all his might and got no respect from Republicans. His eyes

have ben opened.

[Cha]

2. I figured Michael Steele.. who else! I think it's good advice.

[CentralMass]

3. I can give some free advise.

1. Don't trash the city.
2. Don't storm the fence around the trashed Federal building and do more vandalism or provoke an altercation with the local police for 50+ nights.
3. When the Mango Mousellini brings in federal troops because of 1 & 2 under the guise of protecting said trashed fenced off federal building, repeat steps 1 & 2.

[mr_lebowski]

7. Exactly! nt

[Mme. Defarge]

15. Exactement!

[underpants]

19. Agreed. At this point t it's no longer really a protest* it's become sport and a magnet for trouble

* the Moms are a protest but again they’ve made their point.

[azureblue]

22. can you say

police instigators? Agents provocateurs? White power guys (see Richmond)? It's not the BLM protesters who are doing the destruction. But it doesn't matter to Trump / Barr. They will find a way to send in their hired goons.

[CentralMass]

24. The BLM organizers drew permits and had massive peaceful daytime rallies.

They are not part of this. However go look at the arrest records from Portland new articles on arrests made after similar rioting in Portland and look ar video of the looting that occurred this time. The people were not skinheads or right wing plants. I don't know their motivation or affiliations. However, It is deflection to blame it on these other groups.

[LeftInTX]

36. They're anarachists

Portland has a lot of them.

In 1993, they tried to host an anarchist convention and it turned into a riot.

The have no political affiliation and do not care who the president is.

[sarchasm]

39. Only 18%...

... of the Portland Police Bureau actually live within a Portland zip code, more live across the river in Vancouver WA, a hotbed of Proud Boys.

https://www.portlandmercury.com/opinion/2018/09/27/23211988/hall-monitor-commuter-cops

[LeftInTX]

42. I don't doubt alt-right is also involved

These are legit concerns. However the federal courthouse is not the answer.

Trump sends creepy storm troopers to federal courthouse purposely knowing it will attract anarchists. Of course, it will also attract peaceful protesters. Anarchists are only a small percentage, but they cause the problems and show up after protesers have gone home. I would not be surprised if alt-right infiltrates or directly agitate them

Anarchists make good commercials for Trump.

Anarchists wanna get in battles with the storm troopers. Protesters do not.

Anarchists are the "Green Party" of the protest movement. They are spoilers.

[stopdiggin]

45. totally agree

and surprised that this post isn't getting totally shut down.
Common sense regarding protests? How dare you?

"Please Don't Feed the Animals!"

[RVN VET71]

50. Unless, of course, you're a member of Hell's Angels

have a gas mask, a black umbrella, and a hammer. And if you are, don't worry, Wulf's mercenaries will know you and work with you.

[Hekate]

4. I heard him say that & thought he's absolutely right. Trump has a script: do not play along. nt

[ProfessorGAC]

6. Also Agree

It pulls out PINO's fangs.

[mr_lebowski]

5. Been saying the same thing for a few days now ...

Stop giving him what he wants. Attention, and footage.

Protest elsewhere and let the piggies stand around picking their noses with nothing to do.

[bluestarone]

8. I'm sure there are RETHUGLICONS planted among the good protesters.

They are the ones causing the trouble. BUT this is another reason to MOVE AWAY from the federal building! DO NOT give these assholes an excuse to shoot anything at you! PLEASE be smart! We need ALL of you to keep this country FREE!!!

[CentralMass]

10. Having lived out her for 5 years or so and having watched hours of nightly coverage I have to say

that the trouble makers here are not right wing plants. The evidence is in the footage of the trashing, looting, and burning taken by the Portland news stations and other sources.

[stillcool]

13. I've been reading up since I last commented..

to one of your posts about the proliferation of Right-wing extremist groups in Oregon. Here's a little of what I found to go with that list.

'Little Beirut' legacy: 21 of the most memorable protests in Portland history
Updated May 18, 2019; Posted Apr 11, 2016
By Douglas Perry | The Oregonian/OregonLive
https://www.oregonlive.com/living/2016/04/little_beirut_legacy_20_of_the.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/07/21/portland-feds-protests/
Violent protest clashes turned Portland into a ‘right-wing boogeyman.’ Here’s how it happened.
By
Katie Shepherd
July 21, 2020 at 6:41 a.m. EDT

The most recent national focus on Portland as a hub of clashes between police, left-wing protesters and right-wing agitators began in November 2016, when the city erupted into large, and at times unruly, protests after Trump’s unexpected victory. Police deployed tear gas and arrested hundreds, as a small group of anarchists shattered windows and sprayed graffiti on buildings.
About six months later, the city was mourning the killing of two men on a light-rail train in a hate crime when a far-right group known to attract neo-Nazis and white supremacists held an “anti-antifa” rally days after the slaying. When more than 2,000 Portlanders marched against the right-wing extremists, police detained almost 400 people and took photos of their IDs.

That incident set off nearly two years of costly protests that frustrated police and the public. Far-right groups not from Portland repeatedly held rallies and marches throughout the city during the summer of 2017, congregating in June, August and September. Local counterdemonstrators showed up in droves.

A familiar pattern developed: Hours of peaceful protests would eventually deteriorate. Sometimes, physical fights broke out between anti-fascist activists and far-right extremists who came to town openly advocating violence. More often, the left-leaning crowds clashed with the police.

Oregon has prominent place on Southern Poverty Law Center's new list of U.S. hate groups
Updated May 17, 2019; Posted Feb 21, 2018
https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/2018/02/oregon_plays_prominent_role_in.html
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) declared today that the white-supremacy movement continues to expand in the U.S. -- as does violence by white-nationalist groups.

The civil-rights and legal-advocacy nonprofit said in its just-published "Year in Hate" report that the U.S. had 954 active hate groups in 2017, a 4-percent increase from the year before. The sheer number of such organizations in the country, ranging from "alt-right" to black nationalist, is notable. But the SPLC says its list "understates the true level of hate in America, because a growing number of extremists, particularly those who identify with the alt-right, operate mainly online and may not be formally affiliated with a hate group."

Oregon, with its population of just over 4 million, appears to have a disproportionate number of hate-based organizations within its borders. (The U.S. overall has nearly 325 million people.) Below are the SPLC-listed hate groups that are based in or have chapters in Oregon or southwestern Washington. Some of the organizations on the list dispute the center’s definition of them.

“Generally,” writes the SPLC, antigovernment groups “define themselves as opposed to the ‘New World Order,’ engage in groundless conspiracy theorizing or advocate or adhere to extreme antigovernment doctrines.” The center makes clear that their inclusion in its hate-group report “does not imply that the groups themselves advocate or engage in violence or other criminal activities, or are racist.” Here are the ones in Oregon, according to the SPLC:

III%ers Security Force, III% United Patriots, American Patriot Party, American Patriots III%, Central Oregon Constitutional Guard, Embassy of Heaven, Freedom Bound International, Freedom from Government, Heirs of Patrick Henry, John Birch Society, McCutcheons Ink., News With Views, Oath Keepers, Southern Oregon Constitutional Guard, Spectre Training Group,
Three Percenters-III%ers, The Voice of Freedom, You Have the Right

[CentralMass]

14. That is cache of great information and I will read it. However, this issue is not

being caused by those groups. It would be disingenuous to pawn it off on them. This is a different bag of a$$holes causing the trouble.

[ret5hd]

21. Yep, could never be agitators. Nope, not ever:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/mattperez/2020/07/28/mystery-umbrella-man-vandal-from-minnesota-police-say-hes-a-white-supremacist-instigator/amp/

[Jedi Guy]

29. Some of it is agitators, some of it is protesters getting carried away.

There's no way it's 100% one or the other. It's plain that there are provocateurs out there looking to instigate trouble, but to say they're responsible for all of the violence/vandalism/etc. is just silly.

[ret5hd]

35. After 24 days of peaceful protests:

[Jedi Guy]

37. Mhm. And some of the violence and property damage was protesters who got carried away. N/T

[cayugafalls]

40. That is actually what agitator and agent provocateurs try to do. COINTELPRO

If they can get some of the protesters fired up then their job is easier.

Just read up on COINTELPRO. It is still practiced in the US, especially by this administration.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COINTELPRO

Infiltrate the protesters circle, convince some of them to help you do some things (throw water bottles, batteries) and you have an easy out for dismantling the protest and making all protesters look bad.

To think that this is not being done in Portland and other areas is to deny the reality of decades long war by our government on left wing organizations.

[Jedi Guy]

48. I'm not saying it isn't happening.

I am, however, saying that all bad behavior on the part of some protesters isn't because of agents provocateur. Laying all the bad behavior at the feet of agitators is just as silly as laying it all at the feet of the protesters. The reality is a mix of the two, and I don't claim to know the proportions of said mix.

We'd all like to think that those we agree and sympathize with are pure and virtuous, but it just ain't so. Sometimes people do bad things without a devil whispering in their ear. The devil does, however, make a convenient scapegoat.

[cayugafalls]

51. And that is why they still use COINTELPRO and bad actors.

They found that if people protesting see others acting bad, then there are a few in the crowd that will begin to act bad as well without ever having to "whisper" directly in their ear.

I understand that people harbor anger and tend to lash if given permission, all I am saying is that with bad actors in a crowd of protesters your end game is to give permission to those who may be susceptible to the message. They don't call it Psychological Warfare for no reason.

Sometimes, the devil inside is just waiting for an excuse to be released.

So, to be clear, we agree that there are some agents inciting violence and not all people committing violence are agents. The only thing I am saying different is that is the goal of the agents, to give permission to those whose anger needs release and perhaps permission (the other guys were doing it).

Stay well...

sorry i posted a duplicate...my bad.

[Jedi Guy]

53. I think we largely agree as well, except on one point.

I think there are also a fair few who are behaving badly without needing an instigator to prompt them, whether because they're so angry they get carried away, or they see an opportunity to, say, break into a store and steal a TV. Protests prior to this most recent round have also devolved into violence. Look what happened in Ferguson, MO and Baltimore, MD.

Where people lose me is when they attempt to hand-wave away all the violence as the work of instigators or provocateurs. In this instance, the truth is somewhere in the middle.

[eilen]

9. I wondered on FB if the protesters went to a non-federal site

would the LGM (little green men) follow them? I say, draw them out and ambush. I think we need the A-Team. Embarrass them. They can end up in the holding cells of the municipal jail.

[CentralMass]

12. This problem was created by a small number of violent individuals that trashed part of

downtown Portland on the first night of the protests on May 29th and on subsequent nights. The organizers of the organized protest who drew permits and had massive peaceful daytime rallies are not part of these acts.
Then nightly for weeks the protest would morph into something different as the nights approached midnight. A crowd would start to build by the fenced off'd vandalized federal building and some up front would provoke an altercation with Portland Pd who were behind the fence. This went on nightly for around 50 nights before tRump brought in the feds.

[McKim]

30. Your View is Accurate

I go downtown all the time and talked with activists and business owners alike. Your comments are spot on. I think the BLM demonstrations should move to the waterfront and away from the federal building so that the focus is once again BLM. Since the city has agreed to many demands and is going to do more, time to go home and give our hurting core a break, and give small business a boost. Demonstrators can show up on board meetings, city council, county commissioners meetings and everywhere to ensure that BLM demands are met on into the future.

[CentralMass]

32. +1

[2naSalit]

11. He said it on Nocole Wallace's show yesterday///

I'm sure there's a video of it, has Sen. McCaskell and whet she said is just as important.

[gulliver]

16. Steele is being brilliant here. Protesters should either do what he's saying or go home.

We don't need Trump playing us.

[gratuitous]

17. Thank you all for your concern

I posted this at Daily Kos on their story about Richard Hastie, the Vietnam Vet that got blasted in the face at close range by one of Trump's storm troopers:

For the folks tut-tutting the demonstrators in Portland, I appreciate that you believe you’re espousing the reasonable, responsible point of view. But listen to Mr. Hastie after he gets blasted in the face by that coward in uniform: He hopes someone got it on tape, and says, “That’s why I’m here.” The demonstrators know why they’re there. They know they’re risking their personal safety and integrity, perhaps even their lives. That’s why they’re there. They know it, and it’s a risk they’ve freely accepted. For you and for the country.

[Nevilledog]

18. [phone]

[McKim]

31. Michael Hastie is a Great Human Being

Michael Hastie is a great human being. The whole world saw what happened to him. We in Portland showed the world what the federal stormtroopers are all about, fascism. We did what we went out to do. Time to go elsewhere and carry on BLM goals.

[Blecht]

38. +1000

Thanks for this -- too much arm-chair Qb-ing going on around here.

The Moms know why they're there, too:

#BlackLivesMatter

WALL OF MOMS

CALLING ALL MOMS - We meet again at the Salmon Street Fountain on the waterfront at 8:50pm. We will walk over together at 9pm to the Justice Center. Wear yellow and protective gear if you can. Due to the escalated violence by the Feds, please know your participation may result in arrest, tear gassing, and being shot by rubber bullets or even live ammunition once assembled in front of the justice center. Please take every safety precaution available. Thank you to all you brave mamas!

We listen to Black leaders. We are here to follow their direction, behind the scenes and at the justice center. We go where they tell us.

Our goal is to push the media to turn the focus where it belongs: Black leaders.

We will use our white bodies, not our white voices.

Bev’s vision was that we moms would take some physical hits in hopes our Black and Brown kids, friends, neighbors, and loved ones will be spared some pain. To summon that mom warrior spirit to protect our kids-- ALL our kids. To let the Feds/cops hit, gas, shoot us first. Not to be the voice of the movement.

A lot of us haven’t put our bodies in harms way like this. It’s really scary and awful. But it’s what’s been happening to Black and Brown bodies for years.

Let’s help each other do this. And thank you all for your grace and courage.

https://thewallofmoms.com/

[Mr.Bill]

20. I said something like that here

almost a week ago:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=13790804

[warmfeet]

23. Is this really Michael Steele?

No tRumpistas I know, would say such a thing.

[certainot]

25. why not protest university of oregon and oregon state to attack trump where it counts - talk radio

Oregon St. 7, Oregon 5 support 12 limbaugh stations that have been calling BLM a marxist communist organization with a BIL$ terrorist financer - no kidding - they need those schools NOT to have any conversation about the incredible absurdityy of using majority black athletes sports to help them attract advertisers and community standing.

if either or both of those schools got protested for this it would start the discussion and advertisers would head for the hills. republicans and trump would be shit in oregon without those stations. and it might even spread to the other 85 universities suporting about 248 limbaugh stations.

[paleotn]

27. Excellent advice.

on edit. Though I'm not religious at all anymore, I've always like this verse....

Matthew 10:16 - "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."

As it was taught to me so long ago, Jesus doesn't mean be weak. In context he meant be strong when necessary, gentle when appropriate and wise all of the time.

[cayugafalls]

41. The bible does have some wisdom in it. You just have to weed out all the stuff put in to oppress.

The things written with the intent of propping up the king.

[ancianita]

28. I heard him say, "Don't fall for his setup." A great clip. Thanks.

[Lady_Chat]

33. Nevilledog Thank you so much for posting this. Michael Steele is right.

Saw him on Nicole's show yesterday and thought it was great advice.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

34. Sorry Michael but that cat escaped the bag long ago.

There's already thousands of hours of video out there of protests that the GOP and tRump can freely use. Plus, they're such liars they will use footage from anywhere and from any date to spread their lies and dogma.

So why the concern now? You should join Sen. Collins in the Federal Bureau of Concern.

Maybe Mr. Steele should get his ass on the street and work with BLM instead of just building his wealth from the TV and talk radio commentator circuit.


KY............

[stopdiggin]

46. that's fairly elementary

Because it will be much LESS of an issue if the protests are not still ongoing (or perhaps raging out of control?) over the next month or so. Because deescalation at this point is the only win we're going to see out of this? While also showing that we have stronger values, and public appeal, than our opponents?

Because .. ask BLM leaders in Portland ....

It hasn't escaped us that Mr Steele is a Republican. We don't have to be chummy with the Rs to recognize sound advice. And this would be that.

[Catch2.2]

43. He's right

whether you like him or not

[MRDAWG]

47. I have been saying the same. Thanks Michael**

*

[AZizzy]

52. Just Imagine

Just imagine that John Lewis had decided not to cross the Edmund Pettis Bridge because there were Alabama State police on the other side ready to pounce on him and crack his skull,

Imagine Rosa Parks not daring to take a "whites only" seat on the bus because it would have been too confrontational...,

So, Mr Steel, we should protest in private, wait for change, because it might come someday?

Just Saying

[dware]

54. That's sound advise.

Let's give the Mango Menace what he's begging for........more mayhem and destruction to use against us in the Presidential campaign, yeah, that's the ticket.

BTW, welcome to DU.

[gopiscrap]

55. welcome to DU