Liberals must take responsibility if the Democrats’ convention is taken over by anti-Israel individuals.
The real story of the Democratic National Convention may wind up being what goes on outside the hall, as 50,000 to 100,000 anti-Israel protesters aim to fly the Hamas flag and generally share their fury at the Biden-Harris administration’s support for the Jewish state.
Chicago’s done its best to prepare: Anti-cop Mayor Brandon Johnson has given the Chicago Police Department the longest leash it’ll see on his watch to keep a lid on, even as he’s voiced great sympathy for his fellow far-lefties.
The Windy City has also spent big to move its many illegal-immigrant “guests” (and the regular homeless) out of sight, lest they show up on national news and remind voters what Democratic leadership really means for America’s cities.
And they’ve isolated the area around the United Center from the general public to frustrate “protesters” looking to make the ugliest scene possible.
Local businesses, meanwhile, have boarded up: They know how much the left loves to window-smash, and the Hamas-lovers have won the right to do two major marches near the DNC on Monday, when President Biden speaks, and Thursday, when Vice President Kamala Harris does.
As for the protesters themselves: On the one hand, this isn’t 1968, when young men’s fears of being drafted to fight in Vietnam fueled the “Siege of Chicago.”
On the other hand, the US hard left is a lot larger these days — packed with veterans of two decades of violent-as-possible “protests” in the name of a whole series of causes, really united only by a hatred of the America that is, and taught by experience that Democrat-run cities won’t hold them to account for damage they do.
And if the protests don’t make major news, the movement may stand exposed as the pathetic minority it actually is: Protesters were a non-factor at last month’s GOP gathering in Milwaukee, and their passions have ebbed now that “Genocide Joe” Biden isn’t the candidate but Kamala Harris — who they have every reason to think will be far less pro-Israel.
(The prospect of lefty displeasure already helped move her to skip over Pennsylvania’s Jewish governor, Josh Shapiro, as her running mate, after all.)
If they do manage to dominate the conversation, though, the Democrats only have themselves to blame.
They placated marches through the streets of New York and other big cities, let campuses be taken over, and tolerated the hate for far too long.
They will reap what they sowed.
