PHILADELPHIA- The rerun begins in a few weeks. Yes, the Republican National Convention is over, but the political theatrics we saw all week will be reprised when the Democrats meet in Los Angeles. Count on it.
As one who has covered GOP conventions in the past this one was certainly original.
In summation I should probably recall key quotes from the speeches, serious policy considerations, and the like. But the things that cling to the memory are far more ephemeral and superfluous.
The first things that leap to mind are the things I saw the most of on the floor: delegates slapping these huge inflatable salami like things together. What they meant, or why each delegate was furnished with a pair remains a mystery to me. But boy did those Republicans enjoy slapping them together.
The musical entertainment was also an interesting mix. To reflect the new and improved multi-cultural GOP, hip-hop was interspersed with Latino and the normal Lee Greenwood fare. For a party that traditionally considers the Oakridge Boys cutting edge, this was quite a turnabout.
As I predicted in last week’s column the GOP went out of its way to feature minorities, handicapped people, even AIDS activists. Yes it was manipulative. Yes there were more minorities on the stage than in the crowd. Yes, it did at times resemble a racial sensitivity class. But the media coverage has still been unfair. They seem upset that the Republicans have finally beaten the Democrats at their own game. The Bushites could just as easily have left the few Republican minorities in the background where they have been in previous years. Then the charge would have been leveled that the “white boys club” was holding back the Latinos and the blacks. This obvious attempt to telegraph new openness and inclusiveness was a risky move for the party, but a largely successful one in the opinion of many of the delegates.
By cynically claiming that the GOP was merely “parading” the minorities across the stage in a “minstrel” fashion (as the New York Times declared a few days ago) the press is engaging in racism of its own. It is accusing those sincere black and Latino Republicans (small though their numbers may be) who actually hold conservative values of being disingenuous, of being “hypocrites”. Where is it written that all people of color must be Democrats?
A fact totally ignored by the networks and most of the written press was the outreach to Catholics at this GOP convention. Though the Catholic presence at the podium was pretty slight, the Republicans went so far as to reserve a skybox for Catholic nuns and clergy. The only cleric who actually appeared on stage was Cardinal Anthony Bevelacqua who was either the opening act for Chaka Khan, or the person charged with delivering the closing benediction. In either case he did a beautiful job in spite of the balloon popping.
Without those blue collar Catholic “swing votes” in the Northeast, Bush knows he cannot win come November. There is no doubt that this at least partially explains the ethnic diversity on display. These voters are largely ethnic types who are conservative, but culturally more at home with the diversity of the Democratic Party. George W. Bush is going to great lengths to make sure they feel more at home in his party. His acceptance speech was also peppered with language tailored to the Catholic ear. He promised to promote a “culture that values life”, the life of the elderly, sick, and unborn. He later promised to sign the partial birth abortion ban.
The Bush speech was a vast improvement over Dick Cheney’s tight-lipped, workman like speech from Wednesday night. From his tone and enthusiasm one was not quite sure if he was delivering a campaign speech or releasing a quarterly earnings report to the board of a bank. The cadence of the speech was so staccato Western Union could have delivered it. Here is an actual excerpt, the parenthesis are mine:
“We will speak of progress. (Stop) They will make accusations. (Stop) We will make proposals. (Stop) They will feed fear. (Stop) We will appeal to hope. (Stop) They will offer more lectures…”
The delegates responded with premeditated excitement. The three people who were watching at home probably took a different route:
We are now dozing. (Stop) We are now grabbing the remote. (Stop) We are now watching Survivor. (Stop)
Watching the close of the convention last night with Chaka Khan wailing as the balloons and the confetti overwhelmed the hall, it became clear that the reason it was so successful, the reason Bush might just snag those elusive Catholic swing voters, the reason so much of the media is grousing is that Republicans for the first time look so—Democratic! There was no contention at this gathering, no fights. The candidate even had a certain Clintonesque sheen: a twang, down home charm, a way with the ladies, and a heart for minorities. Coupled with his conservative principles, this could prove a winning combination. Bush is now on his own (Clinton inspired) whistle stop tour through the country. Lets hope he leaves the inflatable salamis in Philadelphia.
See you in Los Angeles.
