So You Lost A Summit, Chicago. Now What?

By Chuck Sudo in News on Mar 6, 2012 4:15PM

Judging from the reaction to President Obama's decision yesterday to move the G-8 summit from Chicago to Camp David, we either were stripped of a golden opportunity to showcase Chicago as a true international city, or we dodged a bullet.

We'll probably never know the reasons for Obama's motivations, and yet, if we look close enough, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. The Chicago Reader's Ben Joravsky wrote as much this morning in his reaction to the news.

"But no matter what face-saving spin they come up with, I'm pretty sure it came down to this. The president decided that the risks of staging the G8 summit in Chicago clearly outweighed the rewards."

Indeed. The last thing Obama needs as he readies for a general election campaign against Mitt Romney—we're calling it right now—is to have images of anarchists evoking the spirit of the 1968 Democratic Convention protests meeting the billy clubs of police (some of whom view their predecessors actions from that year with rose-colored glasses), smashed storefronts and fires in the street to serve as visceral backdrops for campaign commercials.

Occupy Chicago's press team released a statement declaring "victory" in the decision to move G-8 to Camp David, that read.

"The leaders of the 1% are moving because of the overwhelming resistance to the NATO/G8 war and poverty agenda in Chicago. Our city is filled with tens of thousands of people who are struggling to keep their heads above water, fighting against the effects of the economic crisis caused by the leaders who would have been gathering here. The communities of Chicago are fighting to save their schools, keep healthcare available, and to defend their jobs from cutbacks that are a hallmark of the governments of the G8.

"The city has carried out a campaign to intimidate and vilify protesters, claiming that protests lead to violence. In fact, the main source of violence in the world today is the wars being waged by NATO and the US.

'We will march on May 19th to deliver our message: Jobs, Housing, Healthcare, Education, Our Pensions, the Environment: Not War! We and tens of thousands will be in the streets that day for a family friendly rally and march, with cries so loud they wll be heard in Camp David and across the globe. We will be in the streets that day to fight for our future, and speak out against the wars and their cutbacks are designed to benefit the 1% at the expense of the 99% of the world.'"

While G-8 is no longer coming to the Windy City, let's remember the NATO summit is still happening, which means the security concerns and global spotlight are still there, and throngs of protesters are still planning on coming to Chicago. So the new riot and surveillance gear—for both police and police horses—will get a nice breaking in.

We aren't out of the woods completely, Chicago. We've only moved to a clearing in the forest.