It’s DNC Week
Hello, I hope that your summer is ending on a high note.
The DNC takes place this week in Chicago. I expect the Dems to run a high-quality event, and the energy will be high.
Kamala Harris and Tim Walz have been enjoying a honeymoon period despite most voters having little sense of either of their bios or backgrounds. Fleshing out who the candidates are will be a plus, as will the parade of Democratic dignitaries, from Joe Biden, the Obamas and the Clintons to up-and-comers like Wes Moore, Gretchen Whitmer and Josh Shapiro.
The Democrats have a raft of appealing figures and a rich heritage to draw on – note that at the Republican Convention there was no Bush or Romney hearkening back to fondly-remembered past administrations. It was really the Trump show.
4 years ago I spoke at the DNC, but it was a virtual event due to COVID and I beamed my remarks from a studio in Manhattan. They approved my speech down to the word and timed it down to the second. There were multiple reviewers. Every speaking slot is highly in-demand and the planners want to dole them out only to the few who are integral to the message and story they want to put forward. People imagine a raucous affair, but in contemporary politics it’s a tightly scripted and choreographed made-for-TV special. Or at least that’s what the goal is, as in a live arena more spontaneity will emerge.
The main variable will be whether protestors make it into the broadcast – when I attended a Joe Biden speech in South Carolina earlier this year there were multiple protestors during his address. Thousands of protestors are expected outside the Chicago convention hall at a site a half-mile away and 30 delegates are ‘uncommitted’ and thus natural protestors. One would think that it would be tough in this context to get tons more people inside the hall given heightened scrutiny of party delegates and attendees. But there will definitely be some protestors in the building. In South Carolina, pro-Biden chants quickly rose to up to drown out any protestors, and countermeasures will be robust.
The second variable is whether the Dems decide to invite and include moderate Republicans and Independents in the primetime speaking slots. In past conventions they included figures like Mike Bloomberg and John Kasich. This year, the possibilities include folks like Mark Cuban, Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger or Geoff Duncan, the former Lt. Gov. of Georgia who has endorsed Kamala Harris. It would serve to broaden the anti-Trump coalition and I hope they do this, but they might not as the time slots are very coveted.
The third thing to keep an eye out for is if someone emerges and creates buzz for the future with a particularly outstanding speech the way that Barack Obama did in 2004. It hasn’t really happened since, but a half-dozen people will certainly try to make the most of the platform.
The Democrats will put on a good show and the Harris-Walz ticket will, I expect, get a polling bump out of it. The expectation is that afterwards the race will tighten and remain close throughout, with the next major catalyst on the schedule being the first presidential debate on September 10th. The Harris campaign is also putting more policy meat on the bone out there and weighing taking unscripted interviews.
Will the race follow its expected course? In many ways, the goal of the DNC is to minimize any surprises. But in this cycle, surprises may be par for the course.
If you're not pumped about your choices, Forward is endorsing dozens of candidates around the country – check them out here and support them as one of them could represent you! Last week, I was asked to write an Op-Ed for Newsweek about the Democrats and democracy – you can read it here!
