The Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago is shaping up to be a clash of epic proportions as potentially tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators are set to descend on the city to protest the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas War.
Before exiting the presidential race after all states had completed their nominating contests and earning the title of presumptive Democrat nominee, President Joe Biden’s reelection odds were greatly imperiled by anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian Democrats. Many of these voters feel betrayed by the administration’s handling of the war, specifically, the United States’ support of Israel.
Now that Biden has exited the race, Vice President Kamala Harris has inherited the very same problem after ascending to the top of the ticket. Now, with just days to the convention in Chicago, which was notably the site of the riot-packed 1968 Democrat Convention, anti-Harris pro-Palestinian protesters will take to the streets to protest her and Biden’s policies on the war.
Politico notably reported in April that protest organizers were expecting as many as 30,000 to demonstrate against the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the war. For reference, in 1968, which saw widespread riots and nearly 700 arrests, some 10,000 protesters were at the DNC Convention in Chicago, Time reported.
The coalition March on the DNC 2024 declares on its website that the ousting of “Genocide Joe Biden” from the top of the ticket “doesn’t change the policies of Democratic Party leadership, specifically their support of the genocide in Palestine, so our movement must continue to apply pressure.”
The coalition, which the Chicago Sun-Times notes encompasses more than 150 groups from around the country, will take to Union Park during the convention on August 19 and August 22, according to its website.
In a statement listed on its site, March on the DNC 2024 states its belief that the Democrat Party and Biden “are responsible” for what it called “the Israeli Genocide against GAZA.”
The group comes with its central demand for the party to “Stand with Palestine!” and “End U.S. Aid to Israel,” as well as a number of secondary demands, including “Immigrant Rights and Legalization for all,” a radical stance Harris advocated for in a Democrat primary debate in 2019.
Other demands include steering monetary resources to “Jobs, School, Healthcare, Housing and Environment, Not for War,” “Defend LGBTQIA+ & Reproductive Rights,” “Defend the Right to Unionize and Strike,” “Community Control of the Police,” and “Justice, Peace, and Equality.”
What is more, the group is battling with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D). WGN notes that after waiting months to respond to permit applications, the city came back with a range of restrictions for protests in Union Park and Park 578. The city declared “No stages, or platforms, portable restrooms or toilets, tents or canopies, or sound equipment may be installed by your organization.”
March on the DNC 2024 now intends to file an injunction, per the outlet. The group said in a statement:
Many of these restrictions, but especially ‘no sound equipment,’ is an unvarnished attempt to silence dissenting voices, in violation of the right to free speech,” a statement from the Coalition to March on the Democratic National Convention said. “Tens of thousands are expected to march, and amplified sound is critical not only to making sure their message is heard, but also to giving clear direction to the crowd about when and where to march.
Radical leftist Bill Ayers, formerly a leader of the Weather Underground militant leftist group, told Politico in May that even then, the city was employing similar tactics to those used in 1968 to block protest permits.
And while a substantial overcast looms large over what Democrats hope to be a jubilant occasion, Harris has already had her own clash with pro-Palestinian protesters on the campaign trail.
Just last week, while she was speaking at a rally in Michigan, protesters chanted, “Kamala, Kamala, you can’t hide. We won’t vote for genocide.”
When the chants persisted after Harris said, “Everyone’s voice matters, but I am speaking now,” she snapped at them.
“You know what, if you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I’m speaking!” she exclaimed before intensely staring the demonstrators down for some 15 seconds.
Harris drew the ire of prominent far-left Democrats in the aftermath of the exchange. Former top adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Nina Turner, said Harris’s “response is inappropriate and lacks empathy.”
“People do not want Trump to win, they want the genocide to end,” she added before writing, “The Harris-Walz campaign needs these people” in another post.
“There needs to be outreach in policy, and if the rhetoric is hostile, it tells people that the policy will be hostile,” Turner continued. “They must build their coalition to beat Trump. This does not do that.”
Nathan Robinson, the editor-in-chief of the leftist Current Affairs, wrote in a post on X that “There are no signs whatsoever that Harris will stop the ongoing crimes against Palestine” while sharing a clip of the exchange.
“Those concerned with stopping these crimes have to put pressure on Harris and Walz to make real commitments and not just occasionally lament civilian deaths,” he added.
That is a tall task considering Harris needs to win moderate and independent voters now that it is the general election. She is facing abandonment from key sectors of the Democrat base, Arab-Americans, Muslims, young voters, and far-left radicals, who are pushing her to adopt a number of liberal policies moderates may not be keen on.
These blocs of voters were heavily involved in the anti-Biden uncommitted movement in key swing states, which saw more than half a million Democrat primary voters nationally cast protest ballots against Biden and the administration’s handling of the war.
The movement began in Michigan, where the Listen to Michigan campaign had the goal of turning out 10,000 uncommitted votes. It smashed its target, drawing more than 100,000 votes, approaching the 154,188 vote margin Biden won Michigan by in 2020.
“These primaries are an early litmus test for how much Biden’s stance on Gaza could hurt his reelection bid; the threat to Biden’s reelection isn’t that anti-war Democrats will vote for Trump, it’s that they won’t vote at all,” Listen to Michigan’s website states.
The movement sprouted in other key states like Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota.
In Wisconsin, for example, 48,812 Democrat primary voters chose their ballots’ version of the uncommitted option, “unrestricted,” to protest Biden. Biden only won Wisconsin by 20,682 votes in 2020.
And in Minnesota, the home state of Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), the uncommitted share gained 45,914 protest votes. Biden comfortably won Minnesota in 2020, but in 2016, Trump only lost to twice-failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton by 44,593 votes.
Notably, the entire convention is mainly for show, as a few thousand delegates have already virtually nominated Harris and Walz as the nominees. The effort was first devised when Biden was the presumptive nominee, and Politico Politics Bureau Chief Jonathan Martin reported the goal was, in part, to deny protests inside the convention, which would yield negative optics.
