In his new book, “Divided They Fell,” which argues that the Democratic Party “has collapsed beyond repair,” Ronald Radosh revisits the cradle of that collapse, the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. (Release of the book is timed for the 1996 Dem soiree.)
As is increasingly fashionable among revisionist historians, Radosh contends that the Walker Commission’s subsequent assessment that the ghastly spectacle was basically a “police riot” was too pat, that Tom Hayden, Abbie Hoffman and other protest leaders cynically pushed the cops beyond the brink to expose what they felt was the moral bankruptcy of the Democratic Party.
The Walker Commission’s finding that “the preponderance of violence came from the police has,” says Radosh, “become something of a shibboleth, especially since few looking back want to be in the position of supporting the subsequent prosecution of the Chicago Seven. . .
“While there certainly was no conspiracy-violence had not been planned intentionally in advance-it was clear that the key movement leaders . . . were intent on provoking violence and creating confrontation as their key strategy.”
The idea was to appall moderates who then acquiesced to the takeover of the party by more extreme forces of the left, which ultimately did it in.
