IS THE DNC EXPECTING 1968 IN 2008?

Is the DNC preparing for 1968?

No one knows if Howard Dean and the DNC are taking seriously the threat of massive demonstrations against the strong arm tactics of the DNC this year but it seems that the city of Denver is taking it seriously.

A report on Fox News indicates that the city of Denver might be preparing some controversial methods of crowd control against demonstrators at the Democratic National Convention in August. Denver has refused to release information on the kinds of security equipment it purchased with a $50 million grant to be spent on security measures for the Democratic national convention and the ACLU has filed suit to make them public, so far unsuccessfully.

But this something that the Howard Dean-Nancy Pelosi wing of the DNC brought completely on themselves.

First there was the miscalculation Dean made in creating the Florida and Michigan mess which laid the groundwork for the claims that the democratic process was subverted ( which it certainly was) that will be motivating many of the demonstrations. Secondly, there is the fact that the powers that be tied Clinton's hands when she tried to hit back at Obama's attacks which resulted in the feelings of many that there was not a level playing field. And last but not least there was the rush to judgment by Dean and Pelosi insisting that they have a nominee now and pressuring super delegates to make their choices within days of the last primary and not wait till August.

Between Dean's wrecking ball to swat a fly decision to ban the delegates of Florida and Michigan and Pelosi making the statement that super delegates had an obligation to declare according to whoever had the delegate lead in an attempt to pressure the vote in favor of Obama, (if that were the case there would be no need for super delegates in the first place, the DNC Rules would just be whoever had the most delegates wins) the majority feels the whole process was manipulated to achieve a preconceived result.

Super delegates following Pelosi's lead then made their decisions and declared for the popular vote loser. And not just the popular vote loser but the loser of every metric used to gauge the strength of a political candidate. The rationale was that Obama had the most pledged delegates, a 77 delegate lead out of more than 4000 and a lead created solely by victories in outmoded caucuses where the process heavily favored Obama's demographic, not to mention the reports of widespread cheating by Obama supporters at these caucuses ( I myself was contacted by a Clinton delegate who told me about cheating by Obama supporters that she witnessed at a caucus site).

Given all this, what did Dean and the DNC expect? That no one would notice? Or just that people would follow like sheep?

Right now the only people on their way to slaughter is the Democratic Party, first in August, then in November. They have a hornet's nest brewing of their own making and unless they take steps between now and August to fix it they are facing a convention where more than half the party is going to stand against their nominee. They can expect speeches of protest from pro Clinton speakers, demonstrations outside the convention hall against Obama, Dean, Pelosi and the way the process was manipulated, and protests against the same from inside the convention hall.

But they still have time to fix it. And it's simple. The way to fix it is to have Hillary Clinton's name on the ballot at the convention. You know, like an election. And let the convention function the way it's supposed to and for its stated purpose -- to choose a nominee.

Let both sides make their arguments and speeches in support for their respective candidates. Then let super delegates, given the Democrats bizarre nominating system, do what they are supposed to do -- cast their votes for who they believe is the candidate that is both the will of the majority of the Democratic Party and who also has the best chance of winning in November.

Neither Dean nor Pelosi will like that remedy because it will make them look foolish. But given the fact that more than half the party thinks they should both resign, they already look worse than foolish.

Putting Clinton's name on the ballot and letting the process play out will fix some of the damage done by Dean and Pelosi. It's the best they can do now. And it will give a platform to the majority of the party who feel the whole process was manipulated in favor of an agenda to push a questionable candidate with no credentials, no accomplishements and a lot of political baggage, just to fulfill a false set of expectations created by a biased news media, Obama supporters and the Obama campaign itself.

The majority of the party will get their platform. It's up to Dean and the DNC to decide where it will take place. Either inside the convention hall where it belongs as part of the democratic process or on the streets of Denver. It will be up to Dean and the DNC to decide whether they will let the convention choose the nominee by having Clinton's name on the ballot. If they do, it will keep 1968 where it belongs. In the history books.

NOTE: Life imitates art. The information circulating in the last hour is that Dean is moving DNC operations to Chicago to be closer to Obama's home base. So it may really be Chicago 1968 even before they get to the convention.