Denver and Minneapolis, hosts of the Democratic and Republican national political conventions, are both fighting it out with the demonstrators and protestors in court--and we're still a month away from show time.
Recreate '68 and Tent State University are in court in Denver right now, suing the City and FBI over the site of demonstrator parades and protest marches that are out of the sight line of convention delegates. The ACLU is saying this violates the demonstrator's free speech rights, while the city and cops are just trying to keep a lid on things, so violence and bloodshed is kept to a minimum.
The City and Country of Denver has refused to allow the 50,000 Tent State demonstrators to camp over night in City Park, saying they will turn on the sprinklers at 10 p.m. each night to drive the protestors out. There would be a horrible lack of sanitary facilities and emergency vehicle access in City Park if camping was allowed. The public safety would be severely compromised.
Thr real question is why the Democratic Party or the Host Committee has to provide housing for outside protestors at all. The convention delegates will all have hotel rooms, and the lobbyists and others seeking influence will have rented hotels, people's homes, etc. Why should demonstrators be any different?
Minneapolis is going through similar contortions with the GOP coming to town two weeks later.
The conventions are a media circus and charade to start with--any serious races or contests have long since been decided. The confabs are strictly for show and free television coverage. The political parties have got to get a handle on this, or they will run out of cities willing to host their conventions.
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