The nation's three largest antiwar coalitions appear to have cast aside their differences and agreed to support a mass antiwar march on the Republican National Convention in September.
On Saturday, United for Peace and Justice, which played a key role in organizing the anti-war march that drew an estimated 500,000 people at the 2004 Republican convention in New York, and two other large groups -- International ANSWER and the Troops out Now Coalition -- formally announced their support of a mass antiwar march at a planning conference at the University of Minnesota.
In recent years, these three large coalitions - which represent thousands of smaller antiwar groups nationally -- have not endorsed each other's national demonstrations, due to differences over policy focus and personalities.
But those differences, if they still exist, have taken a back seat to political expediency, and the broader cause of removing the Republicans from the White House, activists said Saturday
The show of unity signifies a level of cooperation that has not existed in the recent past and likely will enhance turnout at the march, which organizers predict will draw at least 50,000 people and upwards of 100,000.
"Because of their signing on, this will truly be a national demonstration, not just a regional or local demonstration," said Meredith Aby, a local antiwar activist working on the conference.
Pressing police for a permit
However, logistical obstacles remain. The Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War, which was formed locally last year, has been pressing St. Paul police for months for permits to nail down a march route that will take protesters near the Xcel Energy Center, where the convention will be held.