Now that Texas Gov. George W. Bush has selected Dick Cheney to be his vice presidential candidate, the focus can begin to shift to the upcoming Republican and Democratic Party conventions.
More of a staged theatrical event than a meeting to decide each party’s nominees, the conventions this year should be even less interesting for the average viewing citizen because the conventions are now, for all real intents, meaningless. While protests outside of the events could offer an entertaining show of sound and fury that signifies nothing.
The Republican National Convention begins Monday with almost no drama available. The Democrats will try to throw together an equally non-controversial, uplifting springboard for Al Gore two weeks later.
As for the Republicans, any controversy has been removed from the convention, taking away all of the unique drama that once played a great role in the events. Bush has the nomination wrapped up and the marauder John McCain has been vanquished. The convention managers will make sure that the party’s most accomplished speaker and longshot candidate Alan Keyes will never speak during prime time so that he can’t pull a Pat Buchanan, sink-the-ship speech, declaring war on liberals that costs the party dearly at election time. The only possible disagreement could be on Cheney, but that won’t amount to much.
In Los Angeles, Gore will be fresh off his announcement of his veep candidate and hoping that his coronation as a candidate goes smoothly as it is slated to do. The only groups inside the convention who won’t openly kiss the feet of the Democrat king are the Teamsters who are angry with Gore’s support of free trade with China and will also have attended the Republican convention. But by November this lover’s spat will be all over and the status quo will once again reign.
Protests outside of each convention, however, threaten to detract from the bedazzling spectacle of free-flowing confetti and star-spangled balloon drops. While the pomp and circumstance of a marriage between party factions takes place inside, political outsiders will be braving the mild summer elements so that their voices will be heard.
Protesters have set up training camps in California to prepare another WTO-esque political statement to the Democrats, one that says the party has sold out their activist fan base in favor of big money interests. And protesters have been fighting legal battles to protest on the property of the Republican convention site in Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love and “civil” protest.
It is these protesters who offer the best entertainment value during this political period. You see, no one is more fun to watch than blind and frenzied believers who have everything backwards.
The very essence of party conventions is so that various voices within a group can be heard. Yet these self-imposed outsiders choose not to have their voices heard in a constructive fashion, but rather cast themselves in an antagonistic role.
Modern protesters have become more aggressive and less reasonable in their demands. They believe that whenever decision-making groups don’t purchase wholesale the ideas of the demonstrators that there is a massive conspiracy against the American people. These groups are easily identified by ridiculous rhetoric, ugly signs and even uglier dancing.
Thus by their own choices, they ensure they are not taken seriously and then have even more reason to complain. But that should be enough reason to tune into the party conventions in the coming weeks. After all, since the politicians are no longer providing any legitimate entertainment, might as well take it where we can get it.