Should neither Clinton or Obama arrive in Denver with enough delegates to clinch the nomination, the dealing will begin. First there are the large number of so-called "Super Delegates," made up largely of old party hacks and those who follow orders. Super Delegates are not bound by how their states voted during the primaries. Instead many, if not most, will vote as the party leaders instruct them to vote.
If that fails to swing the nomination to Clinton party insiders hold a trump card -- a trump card that would put the party's designated hitter, Hillary Clinton, in and outsider Obama out: they will re-certify all or some of Florida and Michigan's now-banned delegates.
Should they pull that stunt it will tear the Democratic Party apart as it did in 1968. It will also set the stage for McCain victory next November, and with it more war, more dead US GI's and more dead Iraqis.
How do I know? Because history teaches me so.
If Hillary wins fair and square, fine. I won't like it, but I'll learn to live with it.
But, if the party pulls a 1968, and rams Hillary Clinton down our throats, then the gloves are off. We need to let Howard Dean, et al, know that if they play that card all hell will break loose. Like my generation 40 years ago, a new generation has been energized ... energized by endless war, by growing economic inequities and by heavy-handed government intrusions into their private lives. They are smart. They are connected. And they will not go quietly.
My generation lost its fight, largely because we had virtually no access to mass communications or the mass media. When you told someone 40 years ago that your were "networking," it meant was that you owned phone and a phone book. All we could do to get our message on the evening news was to demonstrate, raise hell and shout insults at the police.
But this generation is all about networking and mass communication.
Sticks and stones didn't get it done for us in 68, but I suspect the tech-savvy, hyper-connected YouTube generation will make Democratic Party hacks long for those "good old days," if they cross them.
It's too soon to put out the call: "Denver. August 25-28. Be there, or be square." But be assured, we're watching.
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