Lecture V The Convention Dr. Christopher Malone I.

The Convention: Spectacle and Substance In a time gone by, conventions were considered to be real deliberative events. The delegates were there to choose the candidate and set policy for the party for the next four years. Much has changed over the last three decades with the rise in importance of the primary process. Conventions have become cheerleading shows on television, meant to display a party in unity rather than a deliberation over the direction of the party. Nonetheless, there are still substantive pieces to the convention puzzle. And in reality, conventions are required to do four things: II. Credentials Challenges As we have seen, the voters in each state choose delegates to the national convention. Since the 1960s, the national parties have imposed restrictions on the delegate selection process conducted by each state (see earlier lecture). Many times challenges will be brought before the Credentials Committee at the convention asking for a change in the delegates who are seated. The most famous case was the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party in 1964, when a coalition of whites and blacks challenged the legitimacy of the all white Mississippi delegation. III. Party Rules The Rules Committee sets policy for the party for the next four years. Thus, the Rules Committee meets at the convention and drafts the bylaws for the party that will govern the convention for the next presidential election. IV. Platform Drafting The Platform Committee is responsible for drafting the platform for the party for the next four years. As we have seen, it is a general policy statement, outlining in mostly general terms the stance of the party on a range of issues. It is a record of promises and performance. Sometimes it is sufficiently vague enough to encompass divergent interests within the party. Other times, the platform is very specific and is drafted with the narrow interests of particularly active and well-organized groups in mind. However, contrary to popular belief, the platform usually gets implemented if the party gets in to power. Studies have shown that 75% of all platform promises are put into policy. But who sits on the platform committee? Most of the time, those who are responsible for the drafting is core members of the party constituency. V. Presidential and Vice Presidential Selection While the presidential candidate is chosen through the primary process and the vice presidential candidate is chosen by the presidential candidate, the roll call is nonetheless one of the spectacles of the convention. Here each state delegation is allowed to voice its choice for president and vice president. Once the presidential candidate is over the top, i.e., has amassed a majority of the delegates to the convention,

he/she will then accept the nomination and address the delegates. Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of this process is the choice of the vice presidential candidate. a. Whom to choose? Ideological concerns, geographical concerns, and demographic concerns are all important. Examples: 1. Mondale in 1984 (Geraldine Ferraro, the first female VP Candidate); 2. Reagan in 1980 (George H.W. Bush, his main opponent in the Republican primaries); 3. Dukakis in 1988 (Lloyd Bentson, a Texas Senator who balanced the ticket regionally); 4. Bush in 1988 ( Dan Quayle, a much younger Midwesterner to give the ticket a fresh face); 5. Clinton in 1992 (Al Gore, a Southern Democrat like himself who was also seen as young and energetic); 6. Dole in 1996 (Jack Kemp, a fiscal conservative who could appeal to a particular wing of the party); 7. Gore in 2000 (chose a Northeastern Democrat, Joe Lieberman, also the first Jewish candidate for VP); 8. Bush in 2000 (Cheney, an experienced foreign policy official to balance his lack thereof); 9. Kerry in 2004 (chose John Edwards, young Southern Democrat, also his main rival for the nomination); 10. Obama in 2008 (Joe Biden, experienced Senator who could be a liaison to Congress) 11. McCain in 2008 (Sarah Palin, what most have described as a Hail Mary Pass). What about 2012? Is it too soon to tell what the Republican nominee might be looking for?