Zorn: Chicago convention made the grade

& correspondence with readers on the great issues of the day

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Eric Zorn is a former opinion columnist for the Chicago Tribune. Find a longer bio and contact information here. This issue exceeds in size the maximum length for a standard email. To read the entire issue in your browser, click on the headline link above. Paid subscribers receive each Picayune Plus in their email inbox each Tuesday, are part of our civil and productive commenting community and enjoy the sublime satisfaction of supporting this enterprise.

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Final grade on the DNC: A-

I gave the Democratic National Convention a mid-term grade of B+ last week, writing from the vantage point of Wednesday afternoon. That was prior to “Coach” Tim Walz acceptance speech for the vice presidential nomination, Vice President Kamala Harris’ acceptance speech for the presidential nomination, and prior to the last two days of protests, among other developments.

The speeches were very good — better than I’d expected — and the protests were peaceful for the most part. Chicago Police reported just 74 related arrests Monday through Thursday, with only mild skirmishes that led to no major injuries to either protesters or police. The weather was postcard perfect. Delegate enthusiasm was high.

I lower the final grade down to A- from a straight A because mark the DNC fell behind schedule such that the major speeches at the end of each evening ended well after prime time, as well as for some glitchy credentialing and arena entry issues.

Further, it was a mistake for convention organizers not to give a representative from the pro-Palestinian Uncommitted Movement a speaking slot on Thursday night. In February, more than 100,000 Democratic primary voters in Michigan — 13.2% — voted “uncommitted,” largely to register objection to the Biden administration’s handling of the war in Gaza.

Those voters as well as some 600,000 other uncommitted primary voters across the country could prove pivotal in November, and keeping them off the podium not only went against the theme of inclusion and tolerance for other points of view that ran through the convention, but it also could cost Harris the election.

There were 51 speaking slots on the program Thursday night, the night after a group of Uncommitted Movement delegates began an unsuccessful sit-in outside the United Center angling for one of them. Squeezing in a 52nd before prime time would have been politically smart.

See below for a letter that disagrees with me.

Overall, though, the ghosts of 1968 have been exorcised. Mayor Brandon Johnson, police Superintendent Snelling and all the other department heads and front-line workers who made it come off with so few hitches deserve the victory lap they have been taking.

Now, it’s back to work for the mayor:

The “base outlook” in last year’s (city financial forecast) projected a $986 million shortfall in 2025. The “negative” outlook included a $1.53 billion deficit. Even the rosiest economic outlook projected a $636 million shortfall.

Notes and comments from readers — lightly edited — along with my responses

Francie Turk — I am perplexed/disappointed by your professed confusion about what the “pro-Palestinian protesters flying the flag of Hezbollah and hearing praise for Hamas as well as such chants as ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’” want.

Really? The flags and slogan lay it out quite clearly: They want the dissolution and destruction of Israel as we know it. While perhaps not all protesters seek this, the inclusion of these flags and chants — along with the absence of “peace” or “return the hostages” — doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for interpretation. This position is extreme, hateful, and unproductive. If a group protested for the destruction of Ukraine, no matter how loud and passionate they were, would you think that they merited a speaking role at the convention?

I have watched the protests very closely for months, and a two-state solution, peace for all and returning the hostages are rarely (if ever) part of their demands. I am genuinely curious what value you see in awarding them time at the convention.

Zorn — I suspect the confusion over the agenda of the pro-Palestinian protesters is widespread, even within their ranks. In “What does 'Free Palestine' mean?,” Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg interviewed protesters last week to explore that very question, and found, as “The Gist” podcast host Mike Pesca found when conducting similar interviews, a lack of consistency.

My sense is that a significant number of the marchers were simply disturbed — as am I — by the massive and disproportionate loss of innocent life in Gaza, and are looking for the best way for that to end and to promote a lasting peace.

Mother Jones published the text of the speech that Democratic Georgia State Rep. Ruwa Romman, a Palestinian American, had prepared for the delegates. It contained this passage:

For 320 days, we’ve stood together, demanding to enforce our laws on friend and foe alike to reach a ceasefire, end the killing of Palestinians, free all the Israeli and Palestinian hostages, and to begin the difficult work of building a path to collective peace and safety

Romman planned to call for unifying behind the Harris/Walz ticket to “fight for the policies long overdue—from restoring access to abortions to ensuring a living wage, to demanding an end to reckless war and a ceasefire in Gaza.”

I don’t see the harm in that.

Steven K. — Your curiosity about the goal of the protesters is naive seems naive. They clearly want an end to all military aid to Israel and the end of Israel as a Jewish state. You seldom see the word “peace” on any of their signs because peace is the opposite of that which they seek. The driving force behind these protests is simple, virulent hatred of Jews, and the less sugarcoating that the media engage in over this sordid fact, the better.

Joanie Wimmer --A lot of people protesting Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza are not anti-Semitic and do not hate Jews. They are appalled by the fact that this “war” has killed tens of thousands more women and children than it has killed Hamas fighters. In many ways, Israel’s response to the events of October 7th has been like our country’s response to the 9/11 incidents. In the 9/11 terrorist attacks approximately 3,000 people died, and maybe that number will double over time as a result of long term health effects. We responded by waging wars that resulted in over 400,000 violent deaths of civilians, which number increases to over 4,000,000 deaths if one includes indirect deaths resulting from those wars. See “Costs of War” from Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs.

There is something to be said for considering the 9/11 attacks and the October 7th attack as criminal behavior and punishing it accordingly, rather than starting wars that kill and punish civilians more effectively than anyone else. In addition, the war response, by killing civilians in numbers much greater than “terrorists” or combatants, radicalizes the population where innocent civilians are killed, creating more terrorists in the process.

Israel will learn at some point that it cannot kill its way out of the Palestinian problem.

David Leitschuh — I am constantly put off by Trump’s ego-driven, offensive manner, his smugness, and particularly, his intemperate tweets and statements which are totally self-defeating. However, I will indeed vote for him because I prefer the policies and people in a Trump administration to those in a Harris administration.

 While I acknowledge that presidents do not have entire control over the economy and inflation, their fiscal policies do indeed have a material effect. And I much prefer Trump's border policies which maintained immigration at a much lower level than the many millions welcomed in under the Biden open border policies, to say nothing of the over 400 people on the terrorism watch list who the DHS confirms enter the country during Biden's term. I believe that Trump will be a stronger supporter of Israel and tougher on Iran when it and its proxies foment attacks, particularly against American troops.

I know that the great majority of PS readers will disagree with me on my policy views, and I fully respect that. But I just want to make the point that there is a stark difference in the policies between these two candidates, and a lot of people like me are going to vote for Trump on that basis.

Skeptic — in 2016, New York Times columnist David Brooks pointed out that, for Trump’s base, he gets the story right in a way that no other politician does. When you get the story right, then you can get a lot of facts wrong and maintain credibility. And that story is that the culture and the economy have been moving away from a large swath of people, and it is the fault of liberal elites who are too globally focused and not focused on our country.

 The fact is that narratives are much more powerful with humans than cold facts. Countering someone's narrative with facts will not be helpful. Denigrating Trump's base only provides support to their narrative.

Jake H. — I just watched the Obamas and Harris, and, boy, I have gone from full-on skeptic with really negative impressions of Harris to full-on Kool-Aid. I never thought I would see it: Harris gave a knock-out speech, the best of the bunch. She has talents and capabilities I didn't know were there. Masterful. I've heard people say, she's not about the poetry, just workmanlike. Okay, but it was a rousing speech.

She came across as tough without seeming shrill. She came across as joyful without seeming frivolous. Good mix of vision and substance. Good mix on Trump. I loved that she began with, "In many ways, he's an unserious man." On each point, she came across as strongly for the common-sense, no-nonsense, and -- no small thing -- patriotic view. She even negotiated Israel and Gaza successfully, which seems impossible. She looks terrific, she looks like tomorrow, she looks like the president you'd cast in a movie set in the near future. Not a trace of off-putting woke pandering, just back to basics for the Democratic Party -- freedom, opportunity, strength at home and abroad, the next chapter of the greatest story ever told. Sold!

Fred — To those who claim to be politically conservative: Does your political conservatism include supporting Trump? This election is not simply liberal vs. conservative. It’s democracy vs. dictatorship. Which side are you on?

Bob E. — In criticizing Mayor Brandon Johnson’s attempt to coerce the Chicago Public Schools board to adopt budget busting actions to support the contract demands of the teachers’ union, you provide a list of sources to support your position that more funding tends to improve educational outcomes.

How much more funding do you believe is necessary? And what would you spend these funds on? Should CPS teachers make a higher salary? Have better benefits? If so, why?

How would you spend more money in ways that would significantly increase academic achievement in CPS, especially among minority students from low income families?

Zorn — I am not about simply throwing money at this or any other problem and I’m agnostic on the question of whether teacher pay in Chicago is sufficient to attract and keep talented educators. Certainly they, like all employees, ought to get cost-of-living raises and increases based on experience and training.

Schools should be decently equipped and staffed, with libraries, tutors, aides and specialists as the student population would dictate. They also should operate at fairly maximum efficiency and not be kept open simply for community cohesion. Chicago has a more challenging student population than some of the wealthier suburban districts and its need for higher per-pupil spending is therefore apparent to me.

The week’s best visual jokes

Here are some funny visual images I've come across recently on social media. Enjoy, then evaluate:

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