Tantrum throwers get attention

Politico notices Recreate68!

A coalition of anti-war groups is vowing to protest this summer’s Democratic National Convention in Denver under the rubric “Re-create ’68,” prompting criticism from some on the left who are loath to revisit what they see as a disastrous time for both the anti-war movement and the Democratic Party. . . .

Re-create ’68?

“What’s the political calculation that speaks to them of the wisdom of civil disobedience — which means a massive media spectacle — on the brink of a Democratic campaign that could plausibly put a Democrat in the White House who’s committed to withdrawal from Iraq?” asked Todd Gitlin, an anti-Vietnam War activist who was at the Democratic National Convention in 1968. “If the objective is to put a belligerent Republican in the White House, they should keep up the good work.”

Oh, they will, and with more and bigger idiots:

Cynthia McKinney, a former Democratic congresswoman now running as a Green Party candidate for president, will be expressing herself at the demonstration, said organizers. They also plan to reach out to Ralph Nader, who is running as an independent, third-party candidate. The coalition is seeking the support of ANSWER, an anti-war organization [and front for the Workers World Party, of course] with a more radical approach to street protest than [United For Peace and Justice].

Apparently UFPJ has overcome its scruples about participating in protests with a group that refuses to forswear violence. After all, the whole world will be watching. They hope. You'll never guess who else that hope has inspired to attend:

Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the anti-war group Code Pink, said her organization will participate in the demonstrations in order to focus attention on Democrats it believes haven’t done enough to stop the war in Iraq. “We’ll use it as a time to pressure leaders like Nancy Pelosi, who we feel talks a lot about opposing the war but maneuvers Congress to make sure it gets funded,” she said.

No invite for Cindy Sheehan? Oh well, she'll show up anyway.

Turns out Glenn Spagnuolo is a Hillary supporter:

“If Hillary gets the nomination, we’re going to have very large numbers — a solid 50,000 people at every event,” said organizer Glenn Spagnuolo, 37, who wasn’t yet born in 1968.

Only mention of Spags in the story.

Rep. Diane DeGette, a Democrat who represents Denver, was only 11 in 1968, but she said that she’s flummoxed by the notion that anyone would want to re-create the dark days of that year.

“I can’t figure out why, for the life of me, that somebody would want to re-create 68,” she said. “Is it the riots or tear gas — or perhaps the assassinations? Or maybe the election of a Republican president? I’m not sure the name was completely
thought out.”. . .

Gitlin, a former president of Students for a Democratic Society, fears that the protests in Denver will be too much about people speaking their minds and not enough about obtaining the results that they want.

“In the ’60s,” he said, “there were competing strains: the desire for results and the desire for self-expression. This seems to belong squarely in the self-expression camp.”. . .

The "self-expression camp," eh? Well here's a little song for them to sing around the campfire.