DNC DNC Revolution

I have not been watching the Democratic National Convention this week, as all my friends keep asking me. However, it occurred to me I ought to peek since I have a security blog to write this week.

As a journalist I have something of the opposite reaction to election years as my peers. Where most of them are content to leave politics alone until elections make the rounds, I will have spent the past few years, and especially the previous few months absolutely inundated with political news, interviewing candidates, reading policy manifestos, and attending a litany of rubber chicken dinners with guest politicians. So, the last thing I want to see when I get off work for the day is more work.

I made an exception this time since just prior to the last political convention someone started shooting up the joint and it seemed pertinent to examine security procedures during this one. Well, I watched the secret service install “un-scalable security fences” which protesters in the very next video proceeded to scale. I’m sure my brethren in the security field would give that one a sad chuckle, but it is important to note that there was a secondary fence in place and security shut down that brief incursion quickly. While there’s still a day to go, I’d say that, so far at least, I’ve seen some good threat mitigation practiced by organizers, not to give the United States Secret Service TOO much credit.

There’s also the fact that the majority of said protesters had peacefully dispersed to another location prior to the perimeter breach by a handful of bad actors, and I think that is a fortunate development altogether, as a large crowd can be dangerous and unpredictable at the best of times. Don’t agree? They’re still handing down sentences for January 6^th, and they will be for some time.

So, I’ll peek again tomorrow to see if things went off without a hitch, then it’s six more weeks of political winter for this groundhog.