The LuLac Edition #3863, August 27, 2018

THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION @ 50

It was the last week of August 1968. I was ready to enter high school and was gearing up for a new adventure at St. John the Evangelist in Pittston. With one week before school, I wanted to be firmly planted in front of the TV to see the Democratic convention. With Bobby Kennedy gone and Gene McCarthy vacillating throughout the summer, my guy now was Hubert Humphrey. I steeped myself in his bio and thought that as a Liberal candidate, the Dems would easily nominate him.
I was half right. They did nominate him but was it a struggle. The reason was Vietnam. The anti war forces wanted to "Dump the Hump" and he wasn't even getting strong support from the people who backed him since his entrance into the race on April 30th.
At the start of the convention there was a movement to draft Senator Ted Kennedy for the nomination. That came from Ohio Congressman  Mike DiSalle. Then there was talk, instigated by Chicago Mayor Richard Daley that Teddy should  be drafted for the second spot. Then in a strange release, the White House said that LBJ might not turn down a draft if offered. The Secret Service didn't even want him at the Convention because of safety reasons.
Then there were the demonstrators.
It was great TV but what a mess crippling HHH's campaign.
Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley intended to showcase his and the city's achievements to national Democrats and the news media. Instead, the proceedings became notorious for the large number of demonstrators and the use of force by the Chicago police during what was supposed to be, in the words of the Yippie activist organizers, "A Festival of Life."Rioting took place by the Chicago Police Department and the Illinois National Guard against the demonstrators. The disturbances were well publicized by the mass media, with some journalists and reporters being caught up in the violence. Network newsmen Mike Wallace, Dan Rather, and Edwin Newman were assaulted by the Chicago police while inside the halls of the Democratic Convention.
The Democratic Presidential Nominating Convention had been held in Chicago 12 years earlier. Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley had played an integral role in the election of John F. Kennedy in 1960.  In 1968, however, it did not seem that Daley had maintained the clout which would allow him to bring out the voters again to produce a Democratic victory as he had in 1960.
On October 7, 1967, Daley and Johnson had a private meeting at a fund raiser for President Johnson's re-election campaign, with an entry fee of one thousand dollars per plate (approximately $7,200 in 2016 dollars). During the meeting, Daley explained to the president that there had been a disappointing showing of Democrats in the 1966 congressional races, and the president might lose the swing state with its 27 electoral votes if the convention were not held in Illinois. Johnson's pro-war policies had already created a great division within the party; he hoped that the selection of Chicago for the convention would eliminate further conflict with opposition.
The Committee head for selecting the location was New Jersey Democrat David Wilentz, who gave the official reason for choosing Chicago as, "It is centrally located geographically which will reduce transportation costs and because it has been the site of national conventions for both Parties in the past and is therefore attuned to holding them." The conversation between Johnson and Daley was leaked to the press and published in the Chicago Tribune and several other papers. 

The National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam and the Youth International Party (Yippies) had already begun planning a youth festival in Chicago to coincide with the Democratic National Convention. They were not alone, as other groups such as Students for a Democratic Society would also make their presence known. When asked about anti-war demonstrators, Daley repeated to reporters that "no thousands will come to our city and take over our streets, our city, our convention." 10,000 demonstrators gathered in Chicago for the convention, where they were met by 23,000 police and National Guardsmen. Daley also thought that one way to prevent demonstrators from coming to Chicago was to refuse to grant permits which would allow for people to protest legally.
After the violence at the Chicago convention, Daley said his primary reason for calling in so many Guardsmen and police was reports he received indicating the existence of plots to assassinate many of the leaders, including himself.
On August 28, 1968, around 10,000 protesters gathered in Grant Park for the demonstration. At approximately 3:30 p.m., a young man lowered the American flag that was there. The police broke through the crowd and began beating the young man, while the crowd pelted the police with food, rocks, and chunks of concrete.The chants of some of the protesters shifted from "hell no, we won't go" to "pigs are whores".

Tom Hayden, one of the leaders of Students for a Democratic Society, encouraged protesters to move out of the park to ensure that if the police used tear gas on them, it would have to be done throughout the city. The amount of tear gas used to suppress the protesters was so great that it made its way to the Hilton Chicago hotel, where it disturbed Hubert Humphrey while in his shower. The police sprayed demonstrators and bystanders with mace and were taunted by some protesters with chants of "kill, kill, kill". The police assault in front of the Chicago Hilton the evening of August 28 became the most famous image of the Chicago demonstrations of 1968. The entire event took place live under television lights for seventeen minutes with the crowd chanting, "The whole world is watching".
CBS News correspondent Dan Rather was grabbed by security guards and roughed up while trying to interview a Georgia delegate being escorted out of the building. CBS News anchorman Walter Cronkite turned his attention towards the area where Rather was reporting from the convention floor.  Rather was grabbed by security guards after he walked towards a delegate who was being hauled out, and asked him "what is your name, sir?" Rather was wearing a microphone headset and was then heard on national television repeatedly saying to the guards "don't push me" and "take your hands off me unless you plan to arrest me".

On the last night Humphrey gave his acceptance speech on a split screen with demonstrators getting the stuffing knocked out of them.

Fifty years later, the echoes of that turbulent time still resides in the memories of those alive to see it. (wikipedia, NBC, CBS, LuLac archives)