Though our current calendar reads 2024, it’s 1968 that’s on the minds of many at this year’s Democratic National Convention.
That’s even true for people who weren’t alive in 1968, like Connecticut State Rep. Corey Paris, a 33-year old who represents District 145 in Stamford. He's one of the Connecticut delegates attending the convention in Chicago.
“I just want to dispel the 1968 comparisons,” Paris said.
Parallels between 2024 and 1968
Some of the parallels between then and now are more circumstantial, like the Chicago location and the fact that both sitting Presidents (Lyndon Johnson in 1968, Joe Biden in 2024) declined to run for re-election and ceded the top of the ticket to their vice presidents. But there is one potentially incendiary parallel.
In 1968, the DNC took place at the same time as the Vietnam War. A large swath of American teens and young adults took to the campuses and to the streets to voice their vehement opposition to the war. Many of those protesters showed up outside the convention in Chicago to protest. Chicago Mayor Richard Daley sent in a large police presence to aggressively confront the protesters. Many historians believe the nationally televised violence between police and protesters contributed to the GOP winning the White House that year.
Now, in 2024, the American government’s support for Israel in the Israel-Hamas war — as the Palestinian death toll in Gaza continues to climb — have also sparked protests from coast to coast. Anti-war protesters have pledged to show up in large numbers outside of the DNC in Chicago.
Paris says that's OK.
“Look, this is part of the democratic process for these young students to be able to exercise their constitutional right by voicing their right to protest in Chicago, and we're not going to take that away from them,” Paris said. “And I don't want anyone to think that's going to create a bad look or a dark cloud over our convention. There's still going to be a lot of joy inside and on the way to 270 [electoral votes] come November.”
Democrats excited
This will be the third Democratic convention for Paris, and his second as a delegate.
“I'm really excited to be able to be in Chicago as we get ready to nominate and remain energized to elect our 47th president,” Paris said. “The energy and the enthusiasm is going to be absolutely wild, certainly because of [presidential and vice presidential nominees] Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, who has, I think, stormed onto the scene and is now a new, beloved figure. I mean, you just can't help but love the guy!”
Harris’ impact on Connecticut races
Paris said the enthusiasm for the Harris-Walz ticket promises to be a tide that will lift the boats of many Connecticut Democrats in November’s election.
“I think what she's been able to do is one help down ballot ticket races here in the state,” Paris said. “I also know that there are a lot of state legislative seats and a few municipal seats that probably, for the most part, will be safely in the hands of Democrats, whereas before, it could have been a little shaky due to the top of the ticket.”
Connecticut speakers
Before the DNC, Paris thought it very likely that U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, who represents Connecticut’s 5th Congressional District, would be one of the speakers. She’s in a closely-contested rematch in November against Republican George Logan.
“Hayes has a very close relationship with the vice president, so I imagine that she will be a speaker,” Paris said. “I know that Sens. [Chris] Murphy and [Richard] Blumenthal have both been outspoken critics of the Republican Party, but also outspoken proponents of President Biden's and Vice President Harris’ message and also their agenda and their successes. And so I imagine that they will be speaking as well."
Paris said he expects one key difference between the speeches made at the DNC compared with those made at the Republican National Convention earlier in the summer.
“I think that most of what they [the Democratic speakers] will say will be factual, and I think there will be less fact checkers at the Democratic convention than there were at the Republican convention,” he said. “I'm excited to see what those speakers will be able to bring and how they'll be able to certainly lend a voice to our already extensive work.”
