Inside the United Center in Chicago on the first night of the Democratic National Convention, pretty much everyone tried to present a picture of unity behind Vice President Kamala Harris.
Outside, they were calling her a murderer.
Inside, the night’s biggest-name speaker — President Joe Biden, if just president in name only — said that the pro-Palestinian protesters making that allegation “have a point.”
Outside, the protesters were calling him “Genocide Joe.”
Inside, it was a love-fest for the candidate of “joy” and “vibes.”
Outside? “Killer Kamala is her name! Killing children is her game!”
It was, perhaps the best summation of one of the Democratic Party’s biggest problems as November looms: Despite having the media in her corner and despite the fact that she’s gotten away with not answering questions or even being accountable to anyone in the press, there’s still a far-left contingent among the youth vote that Kamala is hoping to attract, and they don’t like anyone who isn’t firmly behind Hamas in its ongoing war with Israel.
In a close election, that far-left contingent’s discontentment could mean the difference between getting elected and getting sent home.
Will Kamala Harris lose?
Granted, the nomination of someone further to the left than Biden has abated things somewhat. And, Monday is hardly the climax of the 2024 DNC, so the number of protesters was on the low side, with the BBC reporting that “turnout appeared to be well below the tens of thousands that organizers had hoped for and short of the 15,000 they claimed turned out.”
What they lacked in numbers, however, they made up for in stridency — as evinced by the aforementioned chants:
Protesters at the March on the DNC blast “Killer Kamala” and “Genocide Joe.” pic.twitter.com/vSBNbnrikc
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) August 19, 2024
Lovely. In addition, a group of protesters was arrested for dismantling the protective barrier around the convention and urging others to follow them in and flood the protected zone.
WARNING: The following video contains vulgar language that some viewers will find offensive.
Breaking: Masked far-left militants are dismantling other parts of the DNC protective barrier and are calling their comrades to flood in. They call the police “fascists” for arresting their comrades in the DNC security area. pic.twitter.com/kg9M0howQB
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) August 19, 2024
Inside the hall, meanwhile, the president told the audience that the protesters “out in the street, they have a point.”
“A lot of innocent people are being killed, on both sides,” he said.
Apparently, the contradictions didn’t occur to him:
The Protesters: Joe Biden committed genocide
Joe: They got a point pic.twitter.com/ZlJ6bXWH6q
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) August 20, 2024
“Those protesters out in the street — they have a point.” @JoeBiden #DNC2024CHICAGO
Here they are, with the Hamas flag, earlier today. pic.twitter.com/ryiRZAFKOW
— Joel Pollak (@joelpollak) August 20, 2024
But this is merely the chickens coming home to roost in the original home of DNC chaos, Chicago.
No, it’s not at 1968’s fever pitch — yet, anyway, and one doesn’t wish that country-rending violence upon any party, no matter how demented its aims may be. However, let this be an object lesson in the perils of trying to split the difference between good and evil. It’s like trying to divide any number by zero: You always end up with zero, no matter how you try and fudge it.
