The Democratic National Convention this summer is facing a massive obstacle: how to neutralize the hordes of pro-Hamas protesters who will no doubt try to create mayhem in and around the venue. Nothing would be more successful for this crowd than to heckle the party from the convention floor, a media image that would be disastrous for Democrats entering the waning days of the 2024 cycle. Politico had a piece about what Democrats are trying to do to mitigate these situations while acknowledging that one peep of trouble inside could be the ballgame. They’re also facing another issue: a mayor that’s very much on the side of the pro-Hamas activists.
It's a repeat of history of sorts. The convention will be in Chicago, where in 1968, the mayhem from anti-Vietnam War protesters provided an image of chaos and disorder that helped Richard Nixon secure the presidency. It’s not 1968, though Politico adds the joke Democrats are saying that the mayor is on the protesters' side this time. Still, the axiom remains true now: the mayor controls the streets, but what happens inside reflects the party. Reportedly, Democrats will also set up a war room to provide rapid response to any shenanigans. They’re also considering making the convention a semi-virtual event (via Politico):
President Joe Biden’s top advisers are all too aware the ghosts of 1968 may haunt their convention here, but they’re grappling with a pair of more urgent and thoroughly modern-day challenges as summer nears: How far can they go in reprising their virtual 2020 convention to mitigate the threat of disruption inside the arena, and how will they navigate a rookie mayor who unabashedly sympathizes with protesters?
Trumpeting the success of their Covid-era convention four years ago, some in Biden’s orbit are aggressively pushing to make the 2024 conclave a hybrid production. That would mean in-person speeches from the president, party luminaries and rising stars to draw television attention alongside a mix of pre-recorded testimonials and videos from other parts of the country.
The goal: drive maximum viewership on television and the internet while minimizing live programming and openings for protest in Chicago’s United Center. This would mean moving party business, such as rules and platform votes, off the floor and denying would-be demonstrators a chance to seize on contentious debates.
While the Biden campaign, White House and convention planners have only just started hatching plans, senior Democrats tell me they’re discussing whether to conduct such business before the convention even begins or move it out of the arena and across town to McCormick Place, their other Chicago venue. Serendipitously, Biden’s advisers may have a very good reason to move up such housekeeping: If the Ohio Legislature does not relax its ballot certification deadline, which is before the Democrats’ August convention, the DNC may have no choice but to technically nominate the president before the conclave begins.
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“If there is one peep in that hall, the networks will be all over it,” a convention planner lamented.
The challenge, of course, is that the delegates attending and, more to the point, the donors financing the convention expect the rites of an in-person convention. The political convention industrial complex remains strong after centuries of tradition, no matter how much the operative class relished having total control over what was effectively a multi-day commercial four years ago.
[…]What alarms some Democratic strategists is the evolution of this era’s protests. Protesters are savvier — they’ve managed to get inside dozens of events featuring the president and vice president — and their demonstrations also include some bad actors who are determined to provoke a reaction.
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The article added that Gov. J.B. Pritzker could be a figure that Democrats will lean heavily on to ensure things don’t turn into a circus. The governor had already won a “proxy war” over who would run the host committee, being able to sneak in one of his top operatives in that slot.
Regardless, this is the 21st century, and the era of the professional activist has shown that nowhere is safe from these people. Mayhem is expected.
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