The Democratic Convention isn't over yet but so far it really looks as if the wild protests we were all promised are not going to happen. There was a big protest on Monday but instead of being "mostly peaceful" this one was actually peaceful. There were some big creepy puppets and intemperate slogans but no seemed eager to smash the fash. But the real surprise was how few people turned out. Here's how the AP reported it.

More protests were planned throughout the week. However, attendance at the main rally on Monday was far below estimates of organizers who had predicted more than 20,000 would show up.

Snelling said Monday’s crowd was around 3,500 people and that the vast majority of those protesters were peaceful.

Yesterday, we finally got a real progressive protest from the group Behind Enemy Lines. Their protest was called "Make it Great Like '68" and they were encouraging conflict with the police and vowing to put their bodies on the line. Sure enough there was some shoving and a dozens of arrests but once again the headline may have been how few people turned out for this. It was a few hundred die hards instead of a few thousand. 

Politico has a story up today noting the trend. Both inside and outside the venue, Democrats are toning down the anti-Israel activism.

Democrats are barely talking about Gaza on stage at their convention. The most prominent critics of Israel are backing Kamala Harris. And the pro-Palestinian protests that some in the party feared would disrupt their summer joyfest have fizzled out with smaller-than-expected crowds...

Harris has served as a faithful member of Biden’s administration at a time when it has approved billions of dollars in weapons sales to Israel. Her aides have stressed that, like Biden, she believes in Israel’s right to defend itself and does not support an arms embargo on the country. But in more than a dozen interviews, top progressives and other pro-Palestinian leaders in Chicago said they anticipate the vice president will forge a different path on foreign policy than Biden if elected president...

Pro-Palestinian activists even point to a small win at the convention: The Democratic National Committee provided space for an official panel on Monday about Palestinian human rights.

It appears that over the past few days, the activists have decided their bullying tactics aren't' going to work so they would rather be treated like insiders instead. Some Democrats have started demanding a speaking slot at the convention be given to a Palestinian. 

A growing number of prominent Democrats are calling for a Palestinian American to be granted speaking time at the last night of the convention, describing an urgent need to hear from an important constituency that is suffering from the war in Gaza.

The push comes after the Uncommitted Movement held a press conference on Wednesday where they said they were denied a request for a Palestinian American to take the convention stage.

That request has been denied.

The group is calling all Ceasefire Delegates to gather at the front of the United Center and not leave until a Palestinian American is accepted to speak on the main stage. 2/2

— alex sammon (@alex_sammon) August 22, 2024

The leader of the uncommitted delegates group said he wouldn't' take no for an answer and vowed to sit outside the convention until Harris changed her mind.

No is not an acceptable answer. Please reconsider. We’re being extremely reasonable.

I’m waiting for the call from the Vice President’s team. I can’t go anywhere until the Vice President agrees to having a Palestinian American speak from the stage.

I’m waiting for the call.

— Abbas Alawieh (@AZAlawieh) August 22, 2024

The Harris camp responded that the answer was still no but offered an opportunity for a private meeting. 

Update: Uncommitted leader Abbas Alawieh says they’ve received new word from the Harris camp, which is aware of the sitdown demonstration. Harris campaign’s message: “A speaker is not happening would something else work. Would you be open to a private meeting?”

— alex sammon (@alex_sammon) August 22, 2024

In other words, Harris is probably on board with the extremists but her people are smart enough to keep that under wraps until after the election.