DNC Preps For Chicago Convention Unknowns. There Are Many.

May 10, 2024 Glen Turpening

The DNC, very much aware of the 60s activism on campuses is girding for potential unrest at their summer convention in the Windy City. (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.

By JONATHAN MARTIN, 'Politico'

History repeats itself time and time again. The DNC is well aware of their historic convention in 1968 and the violence that accompanied the storied event. The political unrest that gripped college campuses in the 1960s is once again descending upon the nation’s universities with inevitable spill over into the political realm in a highly polarized nation that remains on edge. More people view violence as a means to end and the super charged political environment are ominous backdrops to any large gathering, not to mention a political nominating convention in an election year.