by Rob Lyons
Well, it’s over now: both conventions have packed up and gone home. I’m heading home myself this afternoon.
If I had to pick one word to summarize these two Conventions it would be: slick. The Republicans throttled internal dissent from Haley delegates and Never Trumpers. The Democrats brooked no airing of grievances on the Gaza issue, and refused even to let a Palestinian delegate speak. Both conventions were designed to project an image of coherence and power and inexorability. Gone are the messy combative wheeling and dealing conventions of old, throwing of elbows, confrontations on camera, gone are the floor fights and platform squabbles.
The fact that I was persuaded so thoroughly by the Democrats says two things: first, that I’m pre-disposed, that their message speaks to me and my values: democracy, stewardship, freedom, choice, the role of the government in supporting people and taking care of things, of policing the market and combatting the corrosive power of money and greed.
And second, how professional and thoroughgoing was their presentation. Think of all the preternaturally talented people, the best minds of my generation, who gave their lives and their genius to the exalted project of burrowing into my brain to learn what makes me click, the microscience of reaction and impulse-chaining and storytelling – they marshaled all these crazy skills in service of making me feel what I felt. BF Skinner would be proud. I’m not regretting that I felt these things, and believed these things, because they resonate with my core beliefs. At the same time I’m acutely aware of the artifice that underpins the edifice. The fact that I note the composition of a photograph doesn’t diminish it’s impact. Studying music theory and penetrating the mysteries of sonata form or tritone substitution doesn’t render me immune from the evocative power of music.
Both these conventions made use of modern alchemical techniques to manipulate their audiences, but the Dems did it a whole lot better – just look at the re-imagining of the roll call. And look at how deep their bench was, and the speakers they were able to muster. Three former Democratic presidents were there: Biden, Obama and Clinton; while former president George W Bush boycotted the Republican convention, as did Mitt Romney. The Dems brought tons of celebrities: Oprah, Keenan Thompson, Steve Kerr, Pink, the Chicks, Kerry Washington, Eva Longoria — compared with Hulk Hogan and Kid Rock. A compelling affirmation of middle class values, framed in the language of freedom and patriotism. Compared to what? Mostly fear mongering by the Republicans. And just contrast Kamala’s crisp and powerful acceptance speech with Trump’s 90-minute rambling dyspeptic rant. “In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man,” she said. “But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious.”
We’ll never know who was watching, and how the Democratic Convention and its messages landed with the audience. Yet I cannot imagine a more complete and convincing presentation of their case than the Dems just made. Let’s just hope there were enough independents and moderate Republicans watching – and that the events of the next 10 weeks will continue to break our way. We need a Coalition of the Decent to mobilize every last vote, scour the countryside for sympathetic voters, urge them, encourage them, harangue them, scold them, and will them to the voting booth.
The need is all the more pressing when we consider that if this election is close, as the pundits predict, then in the days after November 5 we’ll enter into a fraught period of counting and recounting, of court challenges State by State that may wind their way up to the Supreme Court, a period of fighting figurative and literal, of lies and distortions and subterfuge, all in service of the next Big Lie. Only by scoring a resounding undeniable irrefutable overwhelming victory, not just in one swing state but in all of them, can we breathe easy. Failing that, we’ll be called upon to take other measures to protect our democracy and our country. Demonstrations, lobbying, raising money for legal challenges and defense, writing and blogging and filming and praying . . .
The Guardian recently published an article about war games conducted at the Brennan Center for Justice, with participation by 175 senior officials from recent administrations of both parties, including the Trump administration. Their charge was to work through scenarios under which Trump acts out the most extreme authoritarian elements of his agenda, and to explore what could be done to protect democracy in the face of possible abuses of power. You can read the Guardian article HERE. In one scenario Trump invokes the Insurrection Act and uses the military against American citizens to suppress peaceful protest; in another he weaponizes federal agencies, including the Justice Department, against his political enemies; and in a third he carries out mass roundups of undocumented immigrants and large-scale deportations. These are not far-fetched possibilities. Trump has openly declared his intention to do all of these and more — just check out Project 2025. The main takeaway from these role-playing exercises was that there are far fewer effective restraints than expected, and ultimately there is little that could be done to rein in a president bent on an authoritarian takeover of the government.
So let’s get moving, let’s round up those votes, let’s give it everything we’ve got right up until the last day. In the words of Warren Zevon (quoted by Coach Walz): “We’ll sleep when we’re dead.” Don’t hold back. Leave everything on the field.
