Truckers to decend on St. Paul, MN for RNC Sept 2.

I don't know how they are gonna fit, but we'll try to make room for ya !
** and Veterans who are truckers.. make sure to check out National Vets for Peace Convention,
http://www.vfpnationalconvention.org Aug 27th-31st in Bloomington, MN..Twin Cities Metro


Truckers organizing to converge on RNC

By Paul Schmelzer Jul 21 2008 10:58AM
Considering the hour and weather -- 5 a.m. on a drizzly April morning -- the turnout was promising: More than 150 semi-trucks had gathered to begin a rolling protest over rising diesel costs. As it barreled along from Harrisburg, Penn., en route to Washington, D.C., the convoy swelled to more than 300 trucks and cars, taking up eight miles of highway, according to its organizer, third-generation driver Michael "JB" Schaffner.

When a Schaffner-organized truck rally comes to St. Paul on September 2, he hopes the convoy gets even larger, the better to send a resounding message to those assembled for the Republican National Convention: Skyrocketing fuel prices are threatening the livelihood of truckers, more than 80 percent of whom are independent owner-operators, according to Schaffner (pictured). Further, while oil companies continue to post soaring profits, it's consumers who rely on the trucking industry for shipping the food and clothing that end up paying the tab.......

The September 2 protest, like others Schaffner and his website The American Driver have planned, will bring together a crowd from diverse regions and political backgrounds. Co-sponsoring organizations include Students for a Democratic Society, the Arkansas Independent Truck Drivers Association and the Minneapolis-based Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign (the truck rally is part of the organization's March for Our Lives), and drivers are expected from across the country (including Eugene Jackson, whose wrecker got a makeover on Country Music Television's "Trick my Truck," says Schaffner). After the Washington rally, Schaffner had kind words for Jeff Sessions, the Republican senator from Alabama who sent his staff to meet with the drivers; during the same protest, Schaffner shared a cab with author Barbara Ehrenreich, who blogged about it for the Huffington Post.

But for all the support from both sides of the aisle, Schaffner seems none too fond of either party. "It seems like we're going to be seeing an elephant with a donkey's head on it soon," he said. "Everybody's jumping back and forth on their stances."

When pressed, it sounds like he favors a third option, fitting for a guy who calls independent truckers "the last of the free spirits."

"I do have to say there's one man who has impressed me and has remained the same when you look at his record, and that's Congressman Ron Paul," he says. "This is in no way an endorsement. I'm just saying it's a fact that impresses me about that man. He's remained steadfast and true about how he feels -- that America belongs to America."

http://minnesotaindependent.com/view/truckers-organizing