(UnitedVoice.com) – The 1968 Democratic Convention is infamous for its dysfunction. It was held during a year of massive riots and civil unrest. A congressman recently said his party should cancel this year’s convention.
On May 15, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) appeared on Fox News’ “Special Report” and spoke to host Bret Baier. The congressman said he thinks his party should cancel the convention and “focus on campaigning” because it’s starting to look “awfully like 1968.” The remarks came during a discussion about Israel.
Phillips explained that President Joe Biden has done a good job of standing by Israel’s side since the October 7 terrorist attack. However, he claimed the president made a mistake recently when he held back a shipment of American-made bombs. The former Democratic primary candidate went on to say that he was happy about the US’ support of Israel but “young Progressives are dismayed” by it.
The lawmaker said he thinks Biden has angered people on both sides of the issue. Although he thinks the president does actually support Israel, the political situation resembles 1968 with the “anger and angst and disenfranchisement” he believes will play on television screens across America over the summer.
The 1968 Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago, just like this year’s will be. It took place just four months after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Vietnam War protests were also raging across the country, including on college campuses. The Democratic Party was also experiencing turbulence. Incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had announced he was not running for reelection a few months before, leaving the party divided over who they wanted to be the nominee.
All of the issues caused violent protests to break out at the event. The National Guard was activated, and they arrested hundreds of protesters.
Phillips told Baier that although he thought the party was headed down the wrong path, he believed there was “time to course correct.”
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