Woodstock promoters to RNC: Mimic our logo, adopt our values

The creators of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in 1969 have a message for the Republican National Committee:

If you are going to mimic the logo, you should adopt the values.

The event's iconic logo, designed by Arnold Skolnick, featured a dove perched on the neck of a guitar.

The logo for the Republican National Convention in Cleveland depicts an elephant on a guitar's neck.

Ulster County resident Michael Lang and Joel Rosenman, of New York City, co-produced the landmark concert.

In a telephone interview Thursday, Lang said they noticed the similarity about a week ago.

"It seemed so inappropriate," Lang said, "we thought we'd say something."

In a blog post on the Woodstock Ventures website, the producers called on the GOP to adopt a platform that is more tolerant of diversity, embraces peaceful activism and promotes environmental responsibility.

They called on Republican National Convention attendees who are "part of a global Woodstock 'nation'" — as well as those who attended the 1969 concert or any of its anniversary shows — "to remind your party of what the authentic Woodstock logo stands for."

The GOP platform promotes "traditional" marriage between one man and one woman.

It states legal gun ownership is essential to the "God-given" right of self-defense and describes laws passed after the Great Recession to rein in Wall Street banks as Democrats’ "legislative Godzilla."

It states coal is a "clean" form of energy. And in a jab at current and any future bans of hydraulic fracturing, it declares private property should be protected from environmental regulations that diminish or destroy property values.

"In terms of the (GOP) platform, who could be further from what our fundamental values are about?" Lang said.

The convention began on Monday and ended Thursday in Cleveland.

Lang said he was not hopeful their appeal would change much.

"It's kind of a loss-leader, frankly," he said, referring to the strategy of pricing items below market value in order to stimulate other sales.

Phone messages and emails requesting comment from the state and national republican committees were not immediately returned.

John Ferro: 845-437-4816; jferro@poughkeepsiejournal.com; Twitter: @PoJoEnviro