Rightwing on WTO & Seattle

[Nathan Newman]

Folks might enjoy checking out freerepublic.com where discussion of Seattle
and the WTO has been intense.  The rightwingers don't know what to do with
it.  You have the minority that thinks the WTO is groovy-keen and think all
the opponents are communists, but the vast majority see the WTO as part of
the black helicopter New World Order.  Those folks are divided between the
Buchananites who are cheering the coalition of right and left against the
WTO versus those who deplore the violence and see some kind of nefarious
back-handed pro-Clinton plot in the whole endeavor, probably in collusion
with the Chinese.

Most striking is activism-envy.  Those who see a nefarious plot question how
so many people got there with so little media warning, but the others who
recognize the work that went into planning the Battle in Seattle lament that
the rightwingers could not organize similar numbers in Washington DC against
Clinton during the impeachment trial.

There are a lot of comments like "I've hated unions since 196- but you got
to admire them here, maybe they're returning to their roots of fighting the
system."  It is notable for how real dramatic action can force a change in
perception and subtle change in allegiance, since if unions are seen as
grassroots activists, they gain new sympathy from unlikely quarters.

So just one data point on random successes of the Battle in Seattle.

-- Nathan Newman