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If you were one of the record-breaking number of television viewers who watched last week's GOP convention from St. Paul, you might have come away with the impression it was all about a grizzled old war vet joining forces with a sexy gun-toting Alaskan so they could clean up Washington together and maybe shoot some moose. But unbeknownst to the television audience, there was non-moose-related violence happening on the streets of the Twin City.

Cops and protesters clashing at political conventions is nothing new, and ever since the riots that rocked Chicago during the Democratic convention in 1968, these showdowns have been relatively benign. Yet, on the left side of the blogsphere, there has been a lot of talk about the police in St. Paul going too far, and using physical intimidation to suppress citizens' Constitutional right to have their voices heard.

What do you think? Do you agree the suppression of protesters has gotten out of hand? More video and our debate after the jump.

Pro: A municipality that allows a political party to come in and broadcast their vision to the world better also bend over backward to allow the humble chants of those who disagree with that vision.

Con: It's not like the city of St. Paul said "Rudy Giuliani, you are free to make your speech from the middle of the Interstate." The protesters were given allotted areas to make their points from, and much of the strife stemmed from them not staying within those areas.

Pro: With "big media" increasingly consolidated in the hands of a wealthy few, it is now more important than ever to give as much leeway as possible to protesters willing to speak up to power.

Con: If it isn't all just about having subversive fun in the sun with your buddies, and the protesters are really serious about getting their voices heard, why don't they embrace the new media paradigm? They should send out a spam email with "Jessica Alba naked" in the subject line, and with a point-by-point explanation of their political manifesto in the body.

Pro: Not all cops are bad, but some of them clearly spent high school being turned down by the cute hippie chicks, and are looking to rectify the situation anytime they see an unwashed, long-haired type marching down the street.

Con: While individual acts of police brutality against protesters are very real, there are also plenty of protesters who would like nothing more than the badge of honor of suffering a minor injury at the hands of the fuzz. Check out this video from St. Paul. It is almost as if the cops and the protesters got together beforehand and choreographed what they were going to do. They should spare the rest of us and just get a room.