Side-by-side-by-mayhem

The title doesn't really fit at all:

It sounds like the political equivalent of seating two feuding family members together at a wedding reception.

The city of Denver has conditionally approved permits for 1,000 local Democrats to host an Aug. 26 Democratic National Convention “watching party” on big-screen TV at City Park and — just a Frisbee throw away — an encampment [sic] for 20,000 to 50,000 anti-war demonstrators vowing to “Confront the Democrats” for failing to use their control of Congress to cut Iraq war funding.

Sic because the Post seems to assume they'll be camping there.

“How fun will a Denver Democratic Convention watching party be with 50,000 protesters all around protesting us?” worried Julie Kronenberger, a Denver County Democratic Party member . . .

Lots!

But leaders on both sides of the political divide believe they can find common ground at the park.

“I think it’s great. I think the dialogue between the people at Tent State University and the (local) Democrats will probably be more democratic than anything that’s going on inside the convention,” said Adam Jung, chief organizer for Tent State, which describes itself as “a positive, youth-led initiative to fund education instead of war.”

Ben Whitmer's going to have seizures.

“We’re not there to chastise rank-and-file Democratic Party members. Many of them probably agree with our position on the war,” said Jung.

He said the young protesters’ beef is with national Democratic Party leaders, including presumptive presidential nominee Barack Obama.

Jung fears Obama is making a “run to the right” and wavering on vows to withdraw troops from Iraq 16 months after taking office.

Yet, he added, “I can’t foresee us doing anything that would make (local Dems’) night unpleasant. In fact, I think they would be welcome to check out what we're doing. I think they might have a lot of fun.”

Frothing, blackout seizures.

Denver County Democratic Party Chairwoman Jennifer Coken echoed hopes for peaceful coexistence that night.

“Everybody has a right to free speech,” she said. . . .

The woman is a cliche generator:

“The bottom line is we don’t want interfere with (protesters’) right to congregate and certainly hope that they don’t interfere with our right to celebrate the convention,” she said. “We think that we can coexist peacefully as long as we’re respectful of one another’s visions of why we’re there.”

Coken stressed her respect for the historic contributions of young activists.

“If you look at the Vietnam War ... if you look at the suffragette movement, it was always young people on the very forefront of every single social movement,” she said. . . .

On second thought, fellow Democrat Kronenberger wondered if the young Turks at Tent State might end up joining them for cocktails around the big-screen TV. . . .

Quick, somebody cushion his head!

“The Democratic Party has refused to stop this war,” [Tent State's] Web declares.

“For nearly a year and a half they have had the numbers \[in Congress\] to stop funding the slaughter of our boys and girls and innocent Iraqis and have offered only token gestures.

“We appreciate the work of our elders, veterans of the battles fought 40 years ago (against the Vietnam War), but we know this war will not end until the youth of this nation, our generation, stand up and say, ‘(Expletive) You! I Won’t Do What You Tell Me!’ It’s our time to lead. It’s our obligation to stop this war,” the manifesto concludes.

God.

Update: U-S-A! (Today!) U-S-A (Today!)

Update II: Slapstick Politics has all kinds of good DNC brieflets in his countdown tonight.