RUTHFULLY YOURS

The riots by anti-Vietnam war protestors at the Democrat Convention in Chicago in 1968 received mostly favorable coverage from the major media at the time, as it bemoaned the police actions. Contrary to their expectations, public opinion was negative toward the protestors and Democrats seen as weak on public order, which helped elect Richard Nixon.

Democrat and Republican presidential campaign sages likely studied this and are planning for similar events in 2012.

Then, avoiding the draft motivated most college-age protestors to join in with radicals whose program was supporting North Vietnam. Now, the financial and career repercussions of loan debt and fading job prospects sends students to the barricades to demand continued societal financial support for avoiding their fate, and liberals are supporting this to defeat Republicans who want to face up to our debilitating deficits and stagnant economy.

That is the sharp difference between then and now. The anti-Vietnam war protestors, although having much support among leading Democrats, were largely independent of the Democrat Party and its organizations. Their primary target was to elect anti-Vietnam war Democrats and to confront Democrat presidential nominee Vice-President Hubert Humphrey for his public fealty to President Johnson’s war policies. Today, there is major financial and manpower support for the OWSers from a key and critical Democrat base, the liberal labor unions, and there are major Democrat leaders, right up to President Obama, publicly for the OWSers.

Now as then, protestors provoke police actions to clear their blocking of public spaces, not to mention police the violence and rapes occurring within their encampments or clean up their fetid messes. Now as then the liberal media neglect to report mush of the excesses by protestors and castigate the police, and by extension those who believe in public order.

A prediction. Although some OWSers will interrupt Democrats, (President Obama today replied to the OWSers, “You are the reason I ran for office.”) the Democrat powers behind the OWSers will try to gather them at the Republican presidential nominating convention in 2012 in Tampa, Florida, for a repeat of Chicago 1968. The question. Will the OWSers end up helping the Republican nominee’s election in 2012 as in 1968?