There were times when I never thought we’d reach this point. There were times when I figured the very end of the world would come before this.



The Democratic National Convention is upon us, and for four days and nights, Denver, the Mile High City, will be at the center of the world’s spotlight. Barack Obama will fill Invesco Field at Mile High — typically home to thousands of screaming Bronco maniacs — with blue-bleeding Dems to deliver one of the most important nomination acceptance speeches in the history of the Free World, closing out the convention like the political rock star he’s become. Hillary and Bill Clinton will take the stage inside Denver’s Pepsi Center before that to effectively pass the Democratic torch to a new generation — a generation not wooed by Fleetwood Mac songs or impressed by political war room tactics. Unifying a party fractured by the fiercest and most taxing — not to mention historic — nomination fight in recent history won’t be easy, but if it’s to be done it’s to be done in Denver.



It’s hard to believe we’ve finally reached this point. There were plenty of times back in the good ol’ days of February or March or April or May — when Hillary was pounding beers with locals, or Obama was choking down greasy diner food somewhere along the Bible Belt — when it seemed like the Democrats would never settle on a candidate and turn their attention toward the Republicans and Old Man McCain. With less than three months to go until the election, those Democratic attentions will need to come together in Denver and unite for the common goal if Obama’s to find his way into the White House.



While unity will certainly be the image onstage during the four-night stand and the image beamed into television sets across the country, unity onstage won’t mean squat come November. It’s unity throughout the Democratic Party — starting with the delegates in Denver and stretching into every blue household in the country — that Obama will need to become the next president of the United States. For this reason, the Democratic National Convention in Denver is one of the most important in party history.



Unity will be the image onstage as Obama hugs Hillary and probably even shakes hands with Bill, but you won’t need to look far to spot the unrest. The uneasy squirming of staunch Clinton delegates and supporters forced to watch Obama take the lead will be palpable. But it may be nothing compared to the thousands of angry voices outside the air-conditioned walls of the Pepsi Center.



Like 1968 in Chicago, a swath of pissed radicals and anarchists (better known as college kids) will take to the streets of Denver to voice their disgust over a war gone wrong and a country that’s become the butt of worldwide jokes. Comparisons between this year and the Vietnam-shaped world of 1968 will be unavoidable, and if the right combination of elements comes together in Denver, the situation has the potential to explode in similar fashion.



Whether it does or not, of course, is anyone’s guess at this point. The protests outside Denver’s Pepsi Center may be nothing more than what we’ve come to expect from such political opportunities. Sure, Rage Against the Machine will be in Denver to help get the kids riled up with a free concert, but let’s be honest — Rage Against the Machine shows up anytime there’s an organized uprising. Protesting the Iraq War has become almost fashionable, in a sense, and that development, aided by the intense, worldwide spotlight the DNC provides, will either lead a messy, tear-gas-tainted, rubber-bullet-filled “f***-the-man” showdown (the kind redneck cops and disenchanted, vinegar-bandana kids secretly crave), or it could lead to a lot of hype with little action. Only time, the actions of protestors from across the country who converge in Denver, and the temperament of Denver’s nightstick-clutching police force will determine what happens.



Inside the convention, while rubber bullets and tear gas seem unlikely, the situation may deteriorate much the same. Perhaps this is where a booze-crazed James Carville finally pistol-whips Bill Richardson. Or, a lot more likely, perhaps this is where Clinton delegates — irked by the way their party dropped Hillary like a moist cigar for Obama’s fancy talk — make their last stand. Perhaps this is where Clinton delegates, like the stubborn and dry senator they stand behind, drag their feet and make one final statement, however futile it may be. What will that do for the image of unity onstage?



There are at least three very different perspectives heading into the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Obama supporters and Democratic Party brass want unity in the worst way possible. They know Obama will go down like Dewey without it, and they’ll go to any length necessary to make “unity” the message beamed across the country.



Stubborn Clinton supporters want their voices heard, and they believe the Democratic National Convention is their stage. They feel robbed, and like it or not, they represent a base Democrats need in November. The elderly, the working class, Latino voters, and women will all need to be won over. If the convention doesn’t accomplish this, McCain is one step closer to moving his fold-out couches and Funyuns into the White House living room.



Then there are the war weary kids, hippies, s*** starters, and anarchists. The DNC is their opportunity to freak out on a worldwide stage. And there’s plenty going on worth freaking out about, Bubba. The war. The war. The war. Did I mention the war? And don’t forget globalization and corruption. The bulk of the protests over the four-day DNC are being organized by a group called Recreate 68, and while prior to the convention Recreate 68 organizers are classifying their work as a Festival of Democracy, sometimes democracy gets bloody.



The Obama hope train. The Clinton disbelief and resentment caravan. And the protester paddy wagon. The Weekly Volcano checked in with all sides of the situation prior to next week’s DNC, and throughout the craziness in Denver, we’ll have updates from every angle on our blog at www.weeklyvolcanospew. com. People right here in Tacoma and the South Sound will be in the middle of the action, and all of them can help us understand the history we’re about to witness.

Tacoma City Councilwoman Marilyn Strickland, Obama delegate      

Marilyn Strickland knows a few things about winning people’s votes. It’s a skill that got her elected to the Tacoma City Council and a skill that helped her become one of the seven DNC delegates headed to Denver from Tacoma. Though being a delegate isn’t a glamorous affair — as evidenced by the grueling schedule at the convention and the fact that delegates pay their own way — it’s an opportunity Strickland seems to be aching for. Like so many, Strickland believes Obama’s message of hope and truly sees his candidacy as a chance for America to make itself better. She has no doubt Democrats made the right choice by anointing Obama “the man,” and she has faith that come November her party will band together to show its strength to put Obama in the White House.



“We need to reclaim our respect in the world, and I think Barack Obama is someone who can do that,” says Strickland, who grew up in a multiracial family in South Tacoma after being born in Seoul, Korea. “Obama’s message of personal responsibility really resonates with me. Obama inspires us. He challenges us as individuals. Obama and his campaign are beyond presidential politics. There’s a new sense of activism. His inspiration has to carry over after the elections and once he’s in the White House, which I think it will.



“He’s the things you expect the president to be. He’s intelligent. He’s inspirational. He’s a great speaker. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Those are things a leader should be,” Strickland continues. “I think some people don’t know him yet, and it makes them uncomfortable. There’s still so much misinformation out there. It’s pretty staggering. I think (during the course of the general election) he’ll need to combat rumors and tell the truth. If you’re competing against a candidate whose strategy is to attack you, it makes it that much harder.”



While delegates such as Strickland and the Obama camp have their sights firmly set on taking on Old Man McCain and the Republicans this November, how prepared they are for the tenacity of protesters and the possible PR implications during their unity-themed convention is unclear. Strickland was unaware of any protests being planned — though there are many — but did say if protests do have an impact on the DNC it wouldn’t surprise her.



“If there are cameras around, you never know,” says Strickland of what she’s expecting from protestors in Denver. “If there are a few surprises, it’ll be fine. It wouldn’t be a convention without some drama.



“Democracy is messy. You have to have a lot of patience.”



Despite what Strickland predicts will be a very close general election, she expects Obama to be the next president of the United States. She also expects the Democratic Party to be able to unite behind him to accomplish that goal. Strickland doesn’t seem worried about whether the grueling and contentious primary season has fractured Democrats beyond repair.



“I think that during the campaign process when people have met (Obama) they really like him. The reality is we’re not going to turn everybody to Obama. That’s fine. We just need enough of them,” says Strickland. “I feel like we’ve been involved in this campaign for two years. It’s been extremely competitive.



“The (Democratic) Party is going to do everything we need to do to get a Democrat in the White House,” says Strickland. “I have faith in the American voters.”

Engineer Marvin Wells, Clinton delegate

The first thing that strikes you when speaking to 44-year-old Tacoman Marvin Wells is his passion. Towards the end of the longest and most painstaking nomination process Democrats have endured in decades, most sane and unattached Democrats just sought closure. Most just wanted the Obama-Hillary slug fest to be over, and the prevailing notion was that Hillary and her supporters should give up for the good of the party.  Publicly, Hillary has done just that — stumping for the wet-behind-the-ears senator from Illinois that unseated her family’s legacy and offering Obama her firm support (if for no other reason than to prove that her tenacious fight didn’t hurt the party). Behind closed doors, she may even mean it. But what’s undeniable is that some of her strongest supporters haven’t been able to embrace Obama the way she apparently has.



Wells, a retired member of the Navy who moved to Tacoma in 1987 — and who happens to be African American — is one of those Clinton supporters who still feels slighted. Wells still isn’t quite ready to give up the fight. He’ll take a week off from his job repairing cranes in the Port of Tacoma to head to Denver as a Clinton delegate, intent on casting his vote for the woman he still feels would make the best next president of the United States.



“I watch a lot of news,” says Wells of how a personal feeling of injustice in the Clinton vs. Obama nomination fight led him to become a Clinton delegate. “Nothing seemed fair. I don’t mind a guy who speaks good, but what has he really done?  The press overlooked so much.

“The Clintons have always helped us,” Wells says, referring to the African American community. “We didn’t do this for Jessie Jackson. We didn’t do this for Al Sharpton. We’ve turned the Clintons off like a light switch.



“It made me wonder what the Democratic Party had come to.”



Despite the fact the main reason Wells supports Sen. Clinton seems to be the Clintons’ track record with African American causes, he says he’s felt a backlash from both his party and his race because of his undying support for Hillary. Wells recently was invited to a function in Seattle designed by the Democratic Party to help Clinton delegates come to terms with Obama as the candidate and hopefully win their support. The approach proved less than effective. “I got there, and people wanted to argue. They were, like, Obama’s the nominee, and you need to get over it. I got angry,” says Wells of the event. “I had to leave that thing.



“A lot of people criticize me. A lot of my friends say to me ‘this is the first time a black man has a real chance to become president,’” says Wells. “It should not be about that. It shouldn’t be about race. This is the highest job in the world. The strongest candidate should go forward.”



Wells says that while he has no intention of causing trouble in Denver, he does expect to vote his conscience when it comes time. And he expects Hillary supporters to make a clear statement. While Obama will emerge as the party’s nominee one way or another, delegates such as Wells don’t intend to let that happen without one last statement.



“They want to make him look like the messiah,” says Wells of the DNC’s planned unity-themed, four-day Obama love spectacle. “We will vote. Hillary’s name will be on the ballot. I’m not going to cause hate or contempt, but I’m going to vote my conscience.

“It’s a little bit ugly out there. It’s probably going to get uglier before it gets better.”

Owen Taylor, freelance writer

Owen Taylor is a freelance writer from Olympia who contributes to the Weekly Volcano. He’ll be in Denver during the convention providing updates from the craziness outside the Pepsi Center on our blog — www.weeklyvolcanospew.com. According to Owen, here’s what you can expect:



Beginning on Aug. 24, the day before the Democratic National Convention officially begins, protesters from all over the world intend to make their voices heard loud and clear.



A weeklong series of protests has been organized by Recreate 68, a name that organizer Glen Spagnuolo admits was chosen for its effectiveness in drawing attention and capturing a lost spirit.



“In 1968, there were mass movements. Young people felt like they could actually change their government,” says Spagnuolo.  “We knew that Recreate 68 was a provocative name, but we were very clear that we didn’t call ourselves Recreate Chicago 68,” he says, referring to the violent clashes between protesters and Chicago police.



The group states they will be adhering to a strict code of nonviolence and peaceful protest and have posted on their Web site a list of 10 “Mutual Assurances” from all involved with the organization promising to behave themselves. “Right now nonviolence is the best weapon afforded to us,” Spagnuolo says. “Violence is a fool’s game. All it does is destroy the message.”



After a series of defeats in both the legal and public arena, Spagnuolo remains obstinate in the face of the swelling circumstances, maintaining Recreate 68 is only observing its constitutional rights when discussing the potential for a clash between protestors and law enforcement officers.



“We have tried everything we can to make our protests as legal and as nonviolent as possible, but the city has taken every step they can to make this a confrontational situation,” insists Spagnuolo.



Beginning on Sunday, Aug. 24, at 9 a.m., the steps of the Capitol Building in Denver will host the “End All Occupations at Home and Abroad” rally. Speakers will include Fred Hampton Jr., son of the slain Black Panther leader; Ward Churchill, a prominent author and longtime activist; and Ron Kovic, whose life and book Born on the Fourth of July was the subject of the Oliver Stone film. The rally kicks off with revolutionary hip-hop group and thorn in the side of authority Dead Prez and will be closed out by Seattle-based conscious hip-hop duo Blue Scholars. This is the first of five major rallies planned for the convention. For more info visit www.recreate68.com or stay tuned to the day-to-day coverage on our blog, www.weeklyvolcanospew.com.