Note: Shadow Convention websites:
http://www.drugpolicy.org/
http://www.shadowconventions.com/

SHADOW CONVENTIONS MAY OUTSHINE REAL THINGS

Voters turned off by the relentlessly scripted and conformist
Republican and Democratic conventions may find themselves twisting a
cliche next month: It's not what's on the inside that counts, it's
what's on the outside.

Take your pick: an anarchist collective of popular outrage raising
serious questions about global trade, or a satiric collective,
including the likes of , R-Ariz., raising equally serious questions
about poverty, race and politics.

Many dropped-out voters may easily pick the second choice, at least as
more entertaining if not more substantive.

The Shadow Convention 2000, a doppelganger meeting orchestrated by
commentator and writer Huffington, is, perhaps happily, threatening to
draw attention away from the real convention floor and protests in
Philadelphia, where the GOP is meeting next week, and in Los Angeles,
where Democrats meet in three weeks.

"There is a vacuum, and we're filling it with the best minds. Real
people," Huffington said about the three-day shadow conventions in both
cities. "The critical question is: Why aren't the two conventions
saying, 'We're going to put the spotlight on those left out of the
system'?"

The shadow conventions might get their own shadow as well.

Comedian and commentator Al Franken says his role is simply to needle
Huffington and be a "turd in the punch bowl." Even though he's a
staunch Democrat, Franken says he'll still be at the shadow convention
or inside the regular convention providing commentary for CNN.

"Normally, that's what I do, is I give her crap," said Franken, who
may revive his 12-step addicted Stuart Smalley character for the
convention. "That's my job. I'm going to be the official party pooper."

Congress Members, Nonprofits

It's not just comics and movie stars in an intellectual hot tub
bemoaning the establishment, but members of Congress and nonprofit
groups decrying the growing gap between the rich and the poor, talking
about drug policy reform and criticizing the pervasiveness of money
and corporate wealth in politics.

U.S. Senate candidate Tom Campbell of San Jose, a moderate Republican,
said he wants to attend the regular GOP convention and the shadow
conventions at the University of Pennsylvania and Patriotic Hall in
Los Angeles. Three U.S. senators, seven congressmen and New Mexico
Gov. Gary Johnson, who favors legalizing drugs, also are expected at
one or both of the shadow conventions.

McCain's attendance at the Philadelphia shadow convention promises to
add legitimacy as well. The former presidential candidate is scheduled
to be a keynote speaker at both Philadelphia events.

He also is likely to carry a huge phalanx of reporters for several days
leading up to the first and only appearance of the presumed nominee,
Texas Gov. George W. Bush, on the last day of the GOP convention.

Another participant will be Jonathan Kozol, an education reformer and
author of "Amazing Grace" and "Savage Inequalities," two well-received
books about how America treats its children. Kozol said he plans to
vote for Democratic Vice President Al Gore, whom he has known since
Gore was a congressman in the late 1970s.

Kozol also said he'll attend the Democratic and Republican shadow
conventions talking about something else.

"I've been troubled for years by the degree to which virtually all poor
people are excluded from the political process nowadays - not only by
the devious way that campaigns are financed but also by the savage
inequalities that deny poor children a chance to learn basic literacy
and skills when they are still in school," Kozol said.

3 Largely Ignored Subjects

The three days of each shadow convention will roughly be divided into
the three subjects Huffington and others believe are ignored or given
short shrift by the two major parties: campaign finance reform, the
way that the drug war unfairly targets minorities and the growing gap
between rich and poor.

They plan to invite speakers from the families of drug users locked
away for decades. They plan to bring in family members of people who
have died of AIDS. Kozol said he hopes to bring students from the
Bronx to talk about education. A panel of clergy will discuss the
impact of the drug war.

Scott Harshbarger, president of Common Cause, said he hopes to discuss
the corporate influence on politics and the need for serious campaign
finance reform . Both presidential candidates have virtually ignored
the issue, he said.

"Until the system is reformed, good people in the system are going to
be tainted by it," Harshbarger said. "Just look at the conventions
themselves. Each of the host committees will have $70 million donated
by corporations and wealthy individuals to wine and dine leaders of
the parties. Those folks are going to have access."

Huffington said she finds it astonishing that Republicans have refused
to address the issue of poverty, particularly if they are Christians.
She believes Republicans are turned off because any talk of the poor
smacks of liberalism. And, of course, the poor don't have well-funded
lobbyists to advance their causes.

The Philosophy of Jesus

Bush, Huffington notes, has said Jesus is his favorite philosopher.

"Conservatives should at least be following the admonition that we
will be judged by how we treat the least among us," Huffington said.
"There is more in the Bible about poverty than about gay rights. In
fact, there is nothing in the Bible about gay rights. But why are gay
rights more important to conservatives than fighting poverty? It
doesn't make sense."

Most of the shadow convention speeches are scheduled to be over by 2
p.m., allowing the networks and even delegates to attend before heading
to prime-time events at the regular convention.

Patriotic Hall, the site of the L.A. shadow convention, is near the
Staples Center, where the Democratic National Convention will be held.

Organizers want to have skits and music to punctuate the panel
discussions. There is, predictably, a Web site devoted to the shadow
conventions - www.shadowconvention.com The shadow conventions are
being funded in part by philanthropist George Soros, who also helped
get a drug policy reform measure on the California ballot in November.
Nonprofit groups devoted to poverty and jobs issues are donating time
and money.

"Poverty was a campaign issue up until the Reagan era," said Chuck
Collins, co-director of Boston-based United for a Fair Economy, a
nonprofit group and sponsor of the shadow conventions. "Even Richard
Nixon ran on this idea of a guaranteed family income. Now he would be
considered so far to the left. The debate has dramatically shifted, and
poverty and inequality have been lost in that shuffle."

New Vietnam in Colombia

Campbell said he'll speak about U.S. military and political
involvement in the Colombian drug war, which he likened to another
failed U.S. endeavor, Vietnam. He shuddered at the terminology being
used: The U.S. is sending "advisors," for example.

"The problem is, both parties have signed off on it, so it's not going
to be an issue at the conventions," Campbell said. "Are we going to
get involved in another Vietnam? We are taking the side of a
government in a war. . . . The only thing missing is (former Secretary
of Defense) Robert McNamara's signature on the orders."

Most of the real Democratic and Republican conventions will take place
in a world where, with robotic synchronism, TV cameras automatically
pivot toward any minor sign of protest or disruption because the
activity on the floor can be so stultifying.

A Gallup Poll released Wednesday found 70 percent of those surveyed
considered the conventions boring, while about the same percentage of
those surveyed considered them informative.

Only CNN plans full-time coverage of the politics, but would the major
TV networks devote more time to Philadelphia and Los Angeles if they
had substantive agendas?

"If the other two conventions had not drained away the politics and
all real debate," Huffington said, "absolutely. . . . But it has
turned into a trade show where you can see your friends."

Kozol said that if the shadow convention were not taking place, he
would be sitting in New York "with my golden retriever refuting every
shallow slogan coming out of the official convention."

"And my dog would probably share my views and snarl at the screen,"
Kozol said. "She has good instincts."