The Democratic Convention Party

The Democratic National Convention in Chicago has been moving more or less smoothly - Monday's schedule ran behind somewhat - but it has had some memorable moments, most notably the way the Obamas filleted Trump and talked bout all the second chances Trump got that no one in the convention hall would have gotten.  (Well, of course, they're Democrats, they blow it once, they're never allowed to try again.) All in all, very impressive.

Except for the roll call of the first ballot that nominated Kamala Harris.

The roll call? What happened?

Well, the producers of the convention, who obviously learned their skills rom David Wolper or someone like that, decided to play music of every different genre associated with each state when that state's delegation was called to cast its votes and it suddenly turned into Live Aid or something . . . and when it was Georgia's turn, some rapper/DJ/whatever who was a protégé of Robin Hood and was from Atlanta before he moved to Sherwood Forest,  turned the convention into a Freaknik.

As a European trapped in an American's body, given what I know bout party congresses in the Old Country, I am consistently amazed by how Americans, in addition to worshipping God and Mammon simultaneously, mix business with pleasure so seamlessly.

Old Days and All that Jazz

That's Chicago.

The first night of the Democratic convention last night was a look back and a passing of the torch.  Hillary Clinton was there to pretty much say to voters that she warned us about Trump in 2016 (without mentioning that other who warned us about Trump In 2016 also warned us that Hillary couldn't defeat him), and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez the Killer slayed Trump with her slashing rhetoric against Trump's alliance with the wealthy and powerful (when in fact, he's neither of those things, but Republicans pretend otherwise).

President Biden's farewell address to the convention wasn't much more than a recapitulation of his record, and the most memorable moment for me was when he said how in no other country could a kid from Scranton could one day sit behind the Resolute desk in the Oval Office as his country's leader.  I guess that makes sense; after all, how many countries have oval-shaped presidential or prime ministerial offices with a desk made of timbers from the H.M.S. Resolute?  (The King of England has one, but he was literally born into his job.)  And how many other world leaders would have come from Scranton?  

It was a bittersweet farewell for Biden, which brings to mind the subject of the bitter (not sweet) farewell of New Jersey's senior U.S. Senator.  Robert Menendez serves his long-awaited last day today in the Senate. His replacement, who will hold the seat until the election in November, is former gubernatorial aide George Helmy, whom Governor Phil Murphy appointed to fill out the reminder of Menendez's term.  

Biden Nails It

Joe Biden did what he had to do in his presidential nomination acceptance speech - he not only hit out out of park, he had a grand slam, getting the issues on each loaded base - the pandemic, the recession, and racial strife - over home plate, with climate change as the fourth home run. 

The former Vice President touched on these issues and summed up his plans for tackling them as President, and he did it with a message of compassion and patriotism with a tone of hope and faith, saying it was time for Americans to rise up and provide light over darkness.  He anchored his principles and beliefs in his personal story and his resolve to overcome tragedy and tribulations.   And he did it all without mentioning Trump by name.

This gets Biden off to a good start, and he has to keep up the soaring rhetoric for the next two months and change.  And here's one caveat - the Republicans hold their convention this week. Expect withering attacks on Biden from Republican speakers, and expect them - and Trump in particular - to twist Biden's words and take them out of context to the point where he's depicted as the second coming of Pol Pot. 

And, if that doesn't work, mail-in ballot delays and Kanye West on several state ballots ought to do the job.

I'ts not over, fellow Biden supporters.  Don't take anything for granted.  In the meantime, find something better to do than watching the Republican convention.  Like chewing on tin foil, the kind QAnon make their hats from.  

An Unconventional Convention

The Democrats aren't so much having a convention as a long infomercial of live speeches and prerecorded presentations all hosted by noted political power broker Eva Longoria - hardly reminiscent of past conventions in which the chair was usually a cigar-chomping Irish party bigwig with a Noo Yawk accent (although I'd rather look at Eva Longoria, of course), and the GOP convention will likely by hosted by Kevin Sorbo or someone like that.  (Last night the Democrats' host was Tracee Ellis Ross.)  But that's okay, given the pandemic and the fact that no one wants to go to Milwaukee even in normal times.  Sure, it has an art museum.  It has a major-league sports team.  It has nice parks.  Well, so does Newark.  

Now, I kid, of course, but with COVID-19 eighty-sixing rational connections, the Democrats have so far done a good job in making their case to the American voters with full-throated denunciations of Donald Trump and some pretty good character-witness testimonials of Joe Biden.  The video of Biden's travels on Amtrak - which he rode frequently as a U.S. Senator between Wilmington and Washington - not only made the case for Biden with the working-class folks who keep that train system going, it reminded voters of one of his key economic initiatives - modernizing Amtrak and putting it on par with the TGV in France or the ICE in Germany.  But ultimately, as I've already said, Biden himself has to make his own case.  Let's see how he does when he accepts the nomination. 

Defying Convention

Trump just canceled the planned Republican National Convention in Jacksonville.  (He will still accept the Republican presidential nomination at a smaller event in Charlotte, the original site of the 2020 GOP convention.)  He cited the virus and the risk involved in an effort to make himself look on the ball with the COVID-19 crisis.

Don't you believe it.  Trump is doing this to make himself look more politically palatable to those center-right voters who might be leaning to but are not entirely sold on Joe Biden.  Every move he makes from here on should be taken with more than a grain of salt.

We should just get rid of political conventions anyway.  I know they're sort of the equivalent of party congresses in Europe, but European party gatherings are more about setting the course for the party and planning policies than for nominating candidates for office; they tend to be held every year.  American national political conventions, held quadrennially, are mostly pep rallies; the platforms have already been worked out, and the presidential and vice presidential nominees have already been secured by the pledged delegates elected by rank-and-file party members in primaries and caucuses.

That said, when you consider the fact that the presidential nomination process is not unlike the general election - rank-and-file voters choose delegates to nominate a candidate the way all voters choose electors to elect a President and Vice President in November, maybe the delegates should do what the electors do - meet in small rooms somewhere and pick the candidate.  The party committees can count the ballots in a solemn ceremony at their Washington headquarters the way Congress counts the electoral votes before the inauguration.  And if no candidate for the nomination gets a majority on the first ballot . . . well, let the parties figure out how to decide the nominee.   But whatever they come up would be better than having delegates in an arena wearing funny hats and carrying signs.

For the record, the 2020 Democratic National Convention will be held in Milwaukee, but in a small venue with only a few party bigwigs.