CNN will have live coverage of both conventions every night, but this unusual year will see some significant changes to the celebrations.
I spoke with Adam Levy, who oversees CNN’s political research team, about what’s different this year – how things turn out, and whether these things are still important.
What’s the point?
ZBW: My personal opinion is that political conventions are a relic of a time when party members elected presidents. Well, they are voters in primaries. Is there still a functional purpose to these things?
AL: TECHNICAL, yes. Voters elect delegates when they go to the polls in the elections who actually make the nominee official at the convention (after which the parties submit the names to the states to put them to the vote). Do we still need a multi-day love party for a candidate we already knew would be nominated? That is definitely up for debate. I think the scaled-down versions of the conventions we see this year because of the pandemic could have a lasting impact on the scale of future conventions, but I’m not quite ready to bet entirely against the love of a politico of a balloon drop.
How have they changed?
ZBW: How have conventions evolved from smoke-filled rooms with party bosses to the public shows we see today?
AL: People speak out against them and demand change. Smoky rooms evolved from conventions without predetermined nominees who went on to win multiple votes. That has not happened in more than 50 years, because voters do not want party bosses to decide on the nominees for the presidency.
Both parties have made changes to the system that began in earnest after 1968. Preference added instead of caucuses, creating more promising delegates that reflect the voices of the people, and public transparency all played a role in the system we have today .
What do they do instead of fundraising and parties?
ZBW: Conventions are also skmoozy weeks full of fundraisers. How will campaigns that create this spigot be eliminated this year?
AL: Campaigns are getting creative this year. There are tele-rallies, online fundraisers and an even greater emphasis on social media campaigns. Everyone learns as they go, and seeing the numbers that place both sides, it seems like donors have forgiven this. Interactions interactively will never completely disappear – there is an advantage to meeting someone in the flesh and hearing from them … especially if you are being watched by the Secret Service and are fully empowered every day.
Joe Biden spent decades empathizing with people on the track, hearing their stories and promising to speak for them. Donald Trump thrives with an audience and channels her enthusiasm into his work. Those have been critical pieces of their political personas, and I expect them to return safely as soon as possible.
Are there fights over party platforms this year?
ZBW: One of the less thoughtful but more interesting elements of a convention is the party platform. Is there anything you think people should know about party platforms this year?
While this will not rob anyone, it was a real attempt by Biden to reach out to voters and Sanders delegates. Normally, there would still be some sort of floor fighting over the platform at the convention. It seems highly unlikely given the technological logistics of the Democratic convention. Maybe a little upside to the all-virtual convention for Biden.
On the Republican side, there have been no changes this year, as expected with an incumbent president. That caused a problem because the Republican National Committee voted to maintain the 2016 platform that the ‘current president’ based, who was not Donald Trump when it was drafted in 2016. However, the r will not be significant changes to the GOP.
Where do these things happen?
ZBW: Democrats would hold their convention in Milwaukee and Republicans would hold them in … it keeps changing! Where do Republicans keep them? And what is behind the selection of these particular locations?
AL: Democrats have moved pretty much online, with only local delegates making an appearance in Milwaukee. Republicans will still run some businesses in Charlotte, but both are extremely downsized. We still do not know where the president will accept his nomination – he has run the White House as Gettysburg as possible locations.
Why were Milwaukee and Charlotte originally chosen? Politics. The last time a Wisconsin Republican voted in a 2016 presidential election was in 1984. President Trump broke a 32-year streak, and now Democrats are working insecurely to bring the Badger State back into the fold. North Carolina is a critical battlefield state that voted for Obama in 2008 and Trump in 2016. The Tar Heel State is not only in the nomination to elect the president, but both a quote from the House of Representatives and the House of Representatives. the governors are informed. The down-ballot races there will have a major impact on the future of the state. Republicans who choose Charlotte originally showed that they take those threats seriously.
What surprises do you expect?
ZBW: Every convention has something strange as well as memorable moment. Al Gore kiss. Barack Obama steals John Kerry’s show. The Surprise of Sarah Palin. Clint Eastwood debates an empty seat. You have seen all scheduled events. What is it about who we’ll talk about for years?
AL: Your examples show that unexpected moments can leave the strongest impressions. You never know who will give the most impressive speech or who will have a strange moment. That said, I broadly look forward to some pure 2020 moments during the conventions. A child banging in the room during a speech by a legislator, a dog barking unforgivably at the most unforgiving time and of course, the speaker who forgets to push himself out. Both parties work hard to prevent this, but as past conventions have shown, the best placed plans are …
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