Editorial: Radicals want to re-create trouble

The looming Democratic National Convention in Denver is shaping up as a mess. Race has become an overt issue in recent weeks, and now the leader of a protest group known as the Re-create 68 Alliance - which wants rioting and unrest to at least match the bloody mayhem of the Democratic Convention in Chicago in 1968 - is promising danger.

Glenn Spagnuolo, organizer of the alliance, told the Rocky Mountain News that his group's failure to acquire a permit for the Denver Civic Center creates a "dangerous situation" on the first day of the convention. Spagnuolo and other activists had entered Re-create 68 multiple times in a drawing for permits, hoping to increase their chances of using Civic Center to launch demonstrations. On Thursday, when the drawing was complete, the permit went to Jenny Anderson, event planner for the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee.

Spagnuolo's group is expecting up to 50,000 protesters from across the country, and one event involves a march from Civic Center to the Pepsi Center on opening day, Aug. 24. Spagnuolo has implied that his group will use Civic Center with or without a permit.

"When things blow up because the police have to enforce a permit that the Democrats got, don't blame us for that," Spagnuolo told the Rocky Mountain News. "Blame the Democrats for trying to silence dissent in the city of Denver."

The bloody Chicago convention was seen by much of the country as mostly a riot scene, involving tear gas, injuries and out-of-control police lines pushing through crowds of demonstrators.

This year, the Democratic nominee might not have been decided when the convention begins. If that's the case, candidates and their supporters likely would engage in harsh and divisive rhetoric, even centering on race. Throw in a few groups like Re-create 68, and mayhem would be hard to keep at bay.

The Re-create 68 folks have no right to a permit, and nobody has suggested that Anderson's group didn't win fair and square. Re-create 68 should simply make new plans. Denver's a big place, and one doesn't need the Civic Center to demonstrate.

Radical as they seem, however, the Re-create 68 folks have a right to be seen and heard - even if Democrats want them hidden away.

As the convention nears, officials with the city, state and the DNC need to understand that not all will be pretty. Not all that goes on TV will be choreographed and planned.

If freedom reigns - even for radical activists hoping for trouble - peace will likely ensue. If it all has to look good, however, count on a bloody mess.