Democratic National Convention’s Host City Emblematic Of Party’s Identity Crisis

Democrats selected Chicago to be the site of the 2024 Democratic convention. Chicago has always been a popular destination for political conventions since 1860 when Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln. Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower and most recently Bill Clinton in 1996 were nominated in Chicago on their path to the White House. Although its most memorable convention was 1968 that saw riots and bloodshed, which played a key role in Richard Nixon's election.

But that isn't why they selected the Windy City. In selecting Chicago over Atlanta, they made clear their 2024 election strategy – they are writing off Georgia and counting on Wisconsin to eke out a victory. Every path for a Democratic victory runs through Wisconsin.

Joe Biden was the first Democrat since Bill Clinton in 1992 to carry the Peach State. Along with the two U.S. Senate runoff victories, Democrats were convinced they had made Georgia competitive. Twenty-twenty two ended that dream. The much-heralded rematch between Stacey Abrams and Brian Kemp turned out to be a Kemp wipeout and Republicans carried all the statewide races save for the U.S. Senate where Herschel Walker's baggage was the deciding factor. Georgia is and will be for the foreseeable future a red state.  Democrats seem resigned to this. They have no real bench of candidates and now see 2020 as a fluke. That is why they resisted the temptation to select Atlanta for the 2024 convention. If they thought Georgia was in play, Atlanta would be the logical choice.

Democrats know they need Wisconsin to win the White House in 2024. Without the Badger State, they have no real way to 270 electoral votes. All roads to the White House for Democrats run through Wisconsin.

The 2022 election results in the Badger State were a mixed bag for both parties.  Democratic Governor Tony Evers was reelected but so was Republican United States Senator Ron Johnson. Republicans control the legislature and most congressional seats. While Democrats recently flipped the state Supreme Court, Republicans gained a super majority in the State Senate in the same election. The state will hold one of the most competitive U.S. Senate races in the nation where many see Democrat Tammy Baldwin as being vulnerable as Wisconsin is as purple as it comes. Some of the state also is in the Chicago, Illinois media market.

That is what Democrats were thinking when they selected Chicago. It will play on local news in Wisconsin. They are thinking they will have a replay of 1996, the last time they were in Chicago renominating Bill Clinton.

And that is where their gamble for Wisconsin may fail. Chicago of today is not the Chicago of 1996. Violent crime is surging. The incoming mayor, Brandon Johnson, views criminals as crime victims. He is anti-police and favors defunding and abolishing police. Businesses are leaving Chicago in droves. This is played over and over again in Wisconsin.

Democrats may find it a ghost town with only criminals remaining. If that is the case, if crime is running unabated as it has been for the last four years, the video images of the Democratic convention will make 1968 look like a walk in the park. Voters, especially those in Wisconsin who rejected an anti-police U.S. Senate candidate in 2022, will be horrified. It will be 1968 all over again, including Wisconsin voting Republican.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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