The dream is that the Democratic National Convention will be a lovefest, a show of unity behind the candidate who will both satisfy those obsessed by identity as well as those young people dreaming of a government that will provide solutions to their fiscal woes without their having any responsibility to suffer any sacrifice to improve their lot. So what if Kamala Harris never won a primary or had her policies tested by the gauntlet of political challenge. She is the annointed candidate. She is female and black. She laughs and smiles while speaking in vapid and inoffensive platitudes. She is not Trump.
The Democrats have revamped their former Biden convention to be a Kamala affair of joy.
But outside the walls of the convention hall, the schism between the liberal wing of the party and the progressive wing will show its face. The hope is that it will be a peaceful face, one that will further show how the Democrats can disagree while still respecting the concerns of the progressive wing that aren’t pacified by the potential of a black woman candidate. Will it happen that way?
“It has to be safe and peaceful and vibrant and energetic,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson, a former labor organizer who was elected last year on a liberal platform, and who talks frequently about his own history of demonstrating. “We’re ready for this moment.”
In interviews, protest leaders described plans for days of peaceful gatherings that would draw thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands, of demonstrators to Chicago. Many of the protests will be focused on Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and on what activists see as complicity by President Biden and Ms. Harris in the killing of civilians there. The recent elevation of Ms. Harris to the top of the Democratic ticket has done nothing to quiet that outrage, many of them said.
Mayor Johnson has already intervened on behalf of the anti-Israel protesters
Hatem Abudayyeh, a leader of the protest coalition, applauds Johnson for his help in securing their right to be within “sight and sound” of the convention. His help continued on Friday when Johnson personally intervened to rescind strict conditions the city applied to the coalition’s march, including limitations on sound systems and portable restrooms. Johnson’s negotiations made the group’s emergency motion about their First Amendment rights moot.
“He is a friend and an ally to all of the social justice movements in Chicago and beyond,” Abudayyeh says.
There remains hope that the Dems will have a Palestinian speak at the convention to demonstrate Harris’ empathy with Gazans. But whether vibes will be good enough while the war continues, weapons continue to be sent to Israel and Hamas continues to sacrifice the lives of Palestinians to its cause remains the question.
Mr. Johnson said the city was happy to let demonstrators voice their concerns and insisted that the Chicago Police Department had been trained to facilitate peaceful marches.
Who doesn’t like peaceful marches? The problem is that peaceful marches sometimes turn mostly peaceful. Peaceful marches sometimes stray from their officially designated routes to the streets where they’re not supposed to be. What then?
Chicago police officers have been preparing for the convention for months, even inviting reporters recently to watch them train in riot gear, and the city has outlined a “coordinated multiple arrest policy” on its convention website. Officials listed “throwing things, breaking windows and destroying property” as actions that could lead to arrest, and noted that “obstructing traffic is not protected First Amendment activity.”
As Mike Tyson said, “everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.”
A leader of one group, Behind Enemy Lines, said its members disagreed with the goal of merely being “within sight and sound” of the arena in Chicago, arguing that protesters need to be “actively confronting the convention.”
“We think that their whole convention is illegitimate and criminal, and people should treat it that way,” said Michael Boyte, a co-founder of the group, which is critical of the U.S. government and describes itself as anti-imperialist.
From the sound of it, Behind Enemy Lines does not sound as if it’s going to be cooperative.
The point of all this, of course, is to get Kamala Harris to flip on our sole ally in the middle east, end weapons shipments and stop the war in Gaza by whatever means necessary. They are not looking for soothing words or feeling “seen,” but a fundamental change in United States policy from supporting Israel against the terrorists and Iran to supporting Palestinians against Israel. When the peaceful protests on Day 1 fail to accomplish their goal, will the marches be less peaceful on Day 2? Will Kamala Harris try to utter even more soothing words in the hope that she can calm the outrage without acquiescing to their demands?
Will Harris give them something, a partial win such as cutting military aid in half or cutting Israel in half to create a sovereign nation to be called Palestine? Will she capitulate to the pressure outside the walls of the convention?
And if the peaceful protests turn ugly, will Harris call for the protesters to be arrested or for the Chicago police to stand down? Chicago will be a test for Harris. Will she pass?
