(For an alternate point of view see: “Point: Political Conventions Still Matter”)
Talk about unintended consequences. Democrats may not know it, but they may have just sounded the death knell for national political conventions.
When Vice President Kamala Harris received her party’s presidential nomination via a “virtual roll call” on August 6 — 13 days before the Democratic National Convention was scheduled to begin — it exposed the needlessness of the elaborate and grossly expensive quadrennial tradition.
There’s just no escaping reality any longer. The emperor has no clothes. The event is now as outdated as powdered wigs and the town crier.
When the first national political convention was held in the United States, it served a need. Some 155 delegates from 18 of the then-24 states met in a large saloon in Baltimore on Dec. 13, 1831, and unanimously made Henry Clay the National Republican presidential candidate in the following year’s contest. (Spoiler alert: He lost.) Though the candidate was defeated, a winning tradition had been born.
For more than a century, a party’s nominee was chosen at the convention. Highly important but often shunted off second-fiddle status was the adoption of the platform during that gathering. It’s a statement of what the party stands for and what it intends to do in office.
Over time, things changed. Though state presidential primaries had been held since the early 1900s, they were often little more than political beauty contests with little practical effect.
However, they came into their own in 1960 when John F. Kennedy used the primary route to demonstrate to the city bosses who controlled the Democratic Party machinery at the time that his Catholicism was not an obstacle to winning in November.
Then, a populist reform wave in the early 1970s shifted power from the smoke-filled rooms of convention lore to the primary and caucus system. When little-known former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter used it as a path to emerge out of nowhere and secure the Democratic nomination in 1976, the paradigm was shifted once and for all. Whoever won enough pledged delegates via those early contests would clinch the nomination.
From then on, conventions became little more than coronation ceremonies, ratifying the decision voters had made earlier at the primary polls.
Another trend began emerging. Presidential nominees on both sides started ignoring their party’s platform. Though that document may have said X, if the candidate believed Y, he just shrugged and went on his merry way down the campaign trail. Party platforms, once lengthy detailed documents, shrank into political Happy Meals. Soon, they became irrelevant to politicians, pundits and the public.
The final flicker of suspense was snuffed out once nominees began announcing their running mate days and sometimes weeks before the convention started. (Trump’s selection of JD Vance as the GOP convention opened in July is a rare exception.)
With the last bit of drama snatched away, what’s left? A four-day infomercial where a mélange of Washington luminaries, Hollywood types, and just plain folks are herded on and off the stage in a mashup resembling a political version of “America’s Got Talent.”
However, there is the balloon drop. Democrats and Republicans alike stubbornly cling to that tradition. They want to see their ticket appear together, arms hoisted overheard in unity, waving with their families at their side as a cascade of colored balloons slowly descends.
So, what’s the price tag for this orgy of partisan excess? Open Secrets estimates it took $65.7 million to throw the GOP’s big bash in Milwaukee last month. When all the bills are tallied, the larger Democratic pow-wow in the more expensive Chicago could likely be even higher.
And what does all that money get? A few seconds of balloons dropping on network TV.
Here’s a thought. Why not pull the plug on this time and money waster? Focus on a single National Campaign Kickoff Day to launch the official start of the fall campaign instead. Hold it just after Labor Day when summer vacations are over, the kiddies are back in school, and Americans are finally getting serious about the election. It could even be a multi-city event with the nominee in one place, the running mate in another, and various other big-name worthies hosting high-profile events in crucial swing states.
You could throw National Campaign Kickoff Day for a fraction of the cost of a weeklong convention. The tens of millions of dollars saved could be used instead for voter registration drives, advertising and all-important GOTV (get out the vote) efforts on Election Day. In short, these are the things that can help determine which candidate wins.
That would be a far more responsible way to use party resources. And, of course, there could still be balloons, too. You gotta have balloons.
