Rewiring Politics: Presidential Nominating Conventions in the Media Age by Costas Panagopoulos

Author:Costas Panagopoulos [Panagopoulos, Costas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, General, Political Process, Campaigns & Elections
ISBN: 9780807132067
Google: 7DG8EbswxBoC
Goodreads: 1364332
Publisher: LSU Press
Published: 2007-02-01T00:00:00+00:00

Delegates had no idea what was happening. The amphitheater [where the convention was held] not only was surrounded by fences and barbed wire, it was isolated from any live coverage from Grant Park [where the demonstrations were being held]. Satellites and portable transmission gear lay in the future. We could have had live pictures, but a telephone workers strike had blocked installation of telephone lines to our remote camera units. So film and videotape shot in Grant Park had to be hand carried six miles to the amphitheater. A conveniently timed taxi strike further immobilized the city. It seemed that the only workers who were not on strike were the Chicago Police.17

The situation became chaotic at a time when it was particularly difficult for the convention to function and present a unified message: during prime-time roll-call voting. A vicious twenty-minute confrontation between demonstrators and various security forces, especially the Chicago Police, ensued around prominent downtown hotels, including one housing Hubert Humphrey. At the same time, lesser violence broke out at the convention. Police tried to remove a member of the Alabama delegation from the floor, allegedly at the direction of the U.S. Secret Service. Other delegations blocked the aisles to prevent police from removing the delegate, resulting in pushing and shoving.18

By 9:30 that night, videotape of the Grant Park demonstrations arrived at the convention hall. As the media aired the footage, “delegates watch, first in disbelief, and then in rage.” Shortly thereafter, New York senator Abraham Ribicoff interrupted his speech nominating George McGovern, looked at Mayor Daley, and declared, “With George McGovern as president of the United States, we wouldn’t have to have Gestapo tactics in the streets of Chicago.”19 Protestors were well aware of the media’s coverage priorities and news cycles, and they staged demonstrations to play out on the evening news.20 The convention was in shambles, having suffered a political crisis of epic proportions in the full glare of the media spotlight.

MODERN CONVENTIONS: LIMITING CRISES, DIFFERENT CONFLICTS

Until the 1960s, the key source of conflict—and the potential for crisis—surrounded nominating party candidates. Given the modern primary system, however, the presidential nominees from each party are well known long before the convention begins. Conventions are, therefore, more about affirming the party’s choice and building unity than about the drama of deciding who will represent the party in the fall.

Byron Shafer argues that these “reformed” party conventions emphasize launching the general-election campaign but also make doing so more difficult as various factions compete for influence in shaping the party platform.21 Because various interests within the parties have less power to directly exert their influence over nominee selection at the convention, the fight between factions shifts to influencing the party platform. This change has important implications for message crises at conventions.

Factional conflicts within the convention present at least two significant threats to the picture-perfect convention that is so essential to the intense media scrutiny of modern American politics. First, conflicts between party factions make it more difficult for convention organizers to present a unified message to the public, which is the essence of message crisis.

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