Live Coverage of the Republican National Convention: Day Three

WORT Local News

Take a listen to our coverage of Day 3 of the Republican National Convention from Riverwest Radio in Milwaukee. The Pacifica Radio Network’s national coverage is supported by sustaining sponsorships from unions representing close to two million rank and file members.

Yesterday on the second night of the RNC the theme of the night was "Make America Safe Once Again," where Republican speakers took to the stage to paint a picture of the country plagued by violent crime. They linked crime with immigration, driving home some of the GOP's top priorities in their party platform, to seal the border and to deport undocumented immigrants in record numbers.

Meanwhile, more details have emerged about the fatal police shooting of Samuel Sharpe, Jr, an unhoused Black veteran who was killed yesterday, at the hands of five out-of-state police officers. They are five of roughly 4,000 who are in Milwaukee to provide security for the RNC.

Samuel Sharpe, Jr was shot and killed by officers from Columbus, Ohio, at the intersection of 14th and Vliet streets in western downtown Milwaukee, about a mile from the RNC perimeter.

Community members held a vigil for Sharpe yesterday evening, where they condemned the city of Milwaukee for hosting the RNC and providing the circumstances that led to Sharpe's death.

A mile away, in central downtown Milwaukee's Deer District, Republican Party officials and elected leaders continued their third day of sessions and networking surrounded by thousands of law enforcement officials.

The RNC was promised to bring approximately $200 million in direct and indirect economic benefit to the city of Milwaukee. Russ Klisch, owner of Lakefront Brewery here in Milwaukee, hosted the Washington State delegation for the RNC earlier today and joins us on the phone.

Then we speak with Peter Rickman, president of the Milwaukee Area Service Workers Organization, which represents 1,100 service workers. MASH, an independent union, successfully secured a landmark union contract in 2019 for service workers at the Fiserv Forum, the site of the RNC gathering.

Then we dive more into the history of Milwaukee and its "Sewer Socialist" history. We're joined by journalist John Nichols, national affairs correspondent for The Nation where he's just published a new article titled “Welcome Republicans, to America’s Great Socialist City.”

To talk about the potential for alternative, non-corporate parties in America we bring into the conversation Howie Hawkins, 2020 Green Party candidate for President and retired Teamster.

Yesterday on the second night of the RNC the theme of the night was "Make America Safe Once Again," where Republican speakers took to the stage to paint a picture of the country plagued by violent crime.

They linked crime with immigration, driving home some of the GOP's top themes in their platform, to seal the border and to deport undocumented immigrants in record numbers.

The party offered a lineup of Senate candidates and Americans who said President Joe Biden’s immigration policy fueled has fueled the infusion of fentanyl, offering narratives of drug cartels, human trafficking and criminal gangs threatening the safety of people in the US.

Anne Fundner of Southern California, whose 15-year-old son Weston died from fentanyl poisoning in 2022, blamed the Biden administration for her son's overdose death from fentanyl.

For more, we're joined by Armando Ibarra, Distinguished Achievement Professor in the School for Workers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he holds a joint appointment in Chican@ and Latin@ Studies.

His research has focused on, among other things, life narratives of low-wage workers in Milwaukee. He's the co-author of The Latino Question: Politics, Labouring Classes and the Next Left.

Then we turn to WXRW reporter Keith Gaustad, who yesterday attended an event held by the Black Republican Mayors Association, hearing from a veritable who's who of Black Republicans. We catch up with Minnesota State Representative Walter Hudson, who joins us in the studio.

Turning back to economic justice, one of the more surreal moments of the first night of the RNC was Teamster President Sean O’Brien’s blasting Amazon, which is valued at over $2 trillion, for being the 14th largest economy in the world, adding that it was sickening that Amazon had abandoned any national allegiance.

With us to talk about the status of global multinationals and the impact on workers and the environment is James Henry, lawyer, economist, investigative journalist, and a Yale Global Justice Fellow.

Lastly, as JD Vance prepares to deliver his keynote remarks, we're joined by Jeff Sharlet, an award-winning journalist and professor of English and creative writing at Dartmouth College. His recent book is The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War.