Ridge: 1, Mumia: 0

by Benjamin Kepple

FrontPagemag.com | November 1, 1999

TOM RIDGE, Pennsylvania's Republican governor, came to talk about a New Pennsylvania and GOP politics when he spoke to the Wednesday Morning Club on October 26. But outside the luncheon, and even within it, there were those who demanded that he talk about something else—the planned execution of ex-Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted in 1982 of murdering Philadelphia policeman Daniel Faulkner in cold blood.

Amidst heavy security involving an estimated 200 Beverly Hills Police Department officers, 30 Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies, 10 California Highway Patrol officers, and Governor Ridge's own security detail, a group of approximately 100 protestors set up shop outside the Beverly Wilshire hotel about an hour before Governor Ridge's speech. They were a motley group, an irate, determined bunch that included aging hippies, angry inner-city youth, community activists of a decidedly left-wing stripe, students, and the occasional well-dressed man in a suit. As tourists videotaped the spectacle and the occasional car honked its horn in support of the protestors, they marched in two circular protest lines, one from the edge of the block to the end of a loading zone in front of the Beverly Wilshire; the other in front of the doors to the hotel itself, guarded by police in riot gear and other security personnel.

It was clear, though, that despite their stated intention to inform the Governor of his supposed trespass against Mumia and society, the protestors weren't having all that much effect. Any disruptive action on their part—and it should be noted that they were peaceful and generally non-disruptive during the event—would have been futile, as police outnumbered them nearly three-to-one. So they remained on the sidewalk in front of the hotel, with an occasional straggler walking across the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Drive with a placard. And the protest itself, while at times loud and generally irritating, broke down at points due to confusion within the ranks. When a protest line failed to go in front of the Beverly Wilshire as planned, one coordinator yelled at his female associate, "I want the protest line in front of this goddamn door! This damn door!" He looked over at the one functioning protest line, and upon seeing an aging white woman in her 40s suddenly join in, fervently calling for Abu-Jamal's release with the best of them, but seemingly having a jolly good time of it, he snarled at his woeful companion, "This bitch, who in the f—is she?"

Even the most intimidating-looking of the protestors failed to arouse more than the occasional befuddled stare. A few of the protestors wore ski masks, one of them wearing a jacket identifying himself as a member of the leftist pressure group Anti-Racist Action. One masked marcher, who only identified himself as Jared, explained this peculiarity to me. Was he planning anything that would require him to wear a mask and hence shield his identity? I asked him, as law enforcement watched and videotaped the scene from nearby rooftops. "No," he responded, "I just don't want to get caught on video."

"We're out here because Tom Ridge is out here," he explained, "and we're here to show our opposition to his signing (the) death warrant [for Abu-Jamal]."

Jared went on to claim that Ridge is "racist." "If you look at the numbers," he said, "blacks make up 20 percent of (Pennsylvania's population); 65 to 70 percent of the people on Death Row are African-American." Jared also called Mumia's case a "travesty," and accused Governor Ridge of playing up to the "law and order vote" to become the next vice president. Mumia, he said, was "framed." The bullets in Mumia's gun (a .38), he insisted, were of a different caliber than those found in Faulkner's body (.44). He also alleged jury tampering.

These claims have to be taken with much, much salt. Journalist Paul Mulshine, a frequent contributor to Heterodoxy and a writer for the Newark Star-Ledger, has written extensively on Abu-Jamal's case. At a news conference in February of this year, Mulshine reports, Leonard Weinglass, Mumia's attorney and the "eighth-smartest member of the Chicago Seven," repeated "the usual bunch of lies and half-truths that make up the case for Abu-Jamal. Included was the usual nonsense about the fatal bullet not having come from Abu-Jamal's gun. In fact, it was a .38 caliber bullet and Abu-Jamal was carrying a .38 caliber pistol, as even the defense's own ballistics expert conceded at a 1995 appeals hearing in Philadelphia."

But Mulshine notes that even though Mumia is plainly guilty by any reasonable estimation, he has become an international poster boy. For Mumia is not just an "innocent" man on death row—he's a "political prisoner." And for the radical left, Mumia-Abu Jamal is Political Prisoner Number One in a movement to free all such "political prisoners."

That was apparent to the leader of a line of fatigue-clad protestors, standing in sentry formation in front of the Beverly Wilshire. Only identifying himself as "Taco," he described himself as a member of the so-called "Black Riders Liberation Party." As he put it, the BRLP was there "postin' up" in support of the cause.

He certainly had his dogma down. "A political prisoner," he explained, "is anyone who has been taken captive (by) the repressive state, the fascist state we live in." But while these protestors marched outside, banged a drum, and shouted slogans, Governor Ridge's talk went undisturbed and almost without a hitch—except for three protestors who had purchased pre-paid tickets to the event.

They were pretty obvious. Most Wednesday Morning Club events are attended by regulars, one of whom had the moles figured out twenty minutes before the lunch started, as they stood talking amongst themselves in a corner of the hallway leading to the meeting room. They ate lunch with the rest of the group, but when Governor Ridge began to speak, they stood up and began to shout at him.

They had about ten seconds to rant in front of the startled audience before a cordon of police charged out of the kitchen and dragged them off, one shouting, "Free Mumia! Free Mumia!" as he was pulled away.

Then Governor Ridge spoke about the world they are building in Pennsylvania: the New Pennsylvania—about the state's cleanup of abandoned industrial sites, about his proposal for schoolchildren to receive vouchers if they are in failing schools, the establishment of tax-free Keystone Opportunity Zones for economic development, a tax cut, and welfare and workers-compensation reform. "I'm going to tell you for those of you who haven't visited my state … we've got a new Pennsylvania. We're very proud of our past, but that can't and will not be an integral part of our future."

"As we said five years ago, we want to be a leader among states and a competitor among nations. And I can stand before you and say yes, we've done some marvelous things in terms of economic development."

He also spoke about the New Republican Party. "One of the challenges I think we've had in the Republican Party is to do a better job of relating our message to people and their own experiences. We don't do a very good job of that," Ridge said.

"I think in order to win the Presidency in 2000, we must rediscover our roots and remind ourselves what it takes to become a national majority party.… You have to play offense [in politics]. I think for us to be a national majority party, we should not concede a region, a vote, an issue," he said.

"We have to understand that every city is in play, every issue is in play … and that we don't concede a voter. Because every voter is an opportunity. Every voter is an opportunity. In the past, I'm not sure we've done a very good job," he continued.

Ridge also affirmed his endorsement of Republican presidential front-runner George W. Bush, and told the audience not to worry about Pat Buchanan's defection to the Reform Party.

"I saw a poll today that three out of four Republicans polled are worried that Pat Buchanan will take votes away from the Republican nominee. And I'm here to tell you, ladies and gentlemen, that we shouldn't spend a nanosecond worrying about third-party candidates, I don't care who they are. If you have the right message … and you don't concede regions, issues, or votes, then a third party can be rendered marginal or meaningless," he said.

He spoke of the need for a new partnership between the federal government and state governments, and why it is important for Republicans to seize on issues that are normally considered Democratic.

"The environment's our issue. We ought to talk about the environment. It is an issue that cuts across party lines, and it is an issue for which Republicans have answers. Because the answers for the 21st century environmental problems will be market-based, they will be technological, and they will be adapted at the state and local level. We should not run away from the environmental issue."

Because of the outburst during the lunch, Governor Ridge also addressed the Abu-Jamal case. While he declined to go into the particulars, he said, "We have a death penalty in Pennsylvania. Constitutionally, I am obliged to enforce it, but personally, I feel it's more than just a job. I have been in courtrooms and I have sat on both sides of the table, and it is not my most favorite part of the job, signing warrants. But the fact is that when twelve Pennsylvanians sit and decide that an individual's conduct was so reprehensible, so immoral, and so bad that they forfeit their life, then it's my job to enforce that."

He also had some words for the protestors who had gathered at the Beverly Wilshire. "Unfortunately, protestors on most issues … many of them don't stop talking or yelling or protesting enough to give your explanation [about the situation.] I just regret that they don't spend enough time listening to our side of the issue as well."

But by then, the protestors had left, for the show was over. They had departed for greener pastures—they were marching towards the nearest police station.

Mr. Kepple is FrontPage's associate editor. His e-mail address is [email protected].

© 1999 FrontPagemag.com