Last week, the Republican National Convention in Tampa pulled out all the stops: candidates Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan spoke, as did several other Conservative superstars – even Academy Award-winning actor and director Clint Eastwood.
Now it’s the Democrats’ turn. The question: how will they follow it up?
On Tuesday, the Democratic National Convention began in Charlotte, N.C. and will be hosted by Kal Penn, of Harold and Kumar fame.
Conventions are all about the spectacle. They are designed to elicit national attention, and potentially win over undecided voters. However, with the advent of cable television, national conventions have gradually received less and less coverage until today. Only one hour will be broadcast per night on the major networks.
Thus, it is imperative that conventions garner a mass audience, while still maintaining a united image. This is done with the power of fame.
The McCain ads of the 2008 election cycle were not far off when they labeled Barack Obama “the biggest celebrity in the world,” and the Obama campaign capitalized on this image. At the 2008 DNC, Obama emerged from a flag-immersed colonnade onto a podium in Denver, accompanied by thunderous applause. America was excited for this young senator, the first African-American presidential candidate: change we could believe in. As Sarah Palin said, “I didn’t know he was a Greek god.”
But now the novelty has worn off a bit – he’s the incumbent. Incumbents are boring. Therefore, the president needs a new strategy, a new tableau to fish for applause.
Enter Kumar. Or, more precisely, a bizarre viral video of the president telephoning Kal Penn – who is in character as Kumar – asking for him to attend the convention in Charlotte, N.C. This video sacrifices the austerity of the White House in order to pander to the funny bones of the undecided masses. I think it is silly, and simply beneath the President.
As a decided voter, I’d like to hear more about the man who ended the (illegal and immoral) war in Iraq, killed Osama bin Laden and won the Nobel Peace Prize. But alas…
However, we can all expect the convention itself to be a more serious occasion. The Democratic Party will present itself as the party of the people creating liberty, posited against the Republican Party of the wealthy. The Ryan budget will certainly be attacked for its severe cuts to Medicare and federal student loans, consonant with generous tax cuts for the wealthy. Trickle-down Reaganomics didn’t work for the lower classes in the 1980s, and they won’t work now.
Furthermore, we can expect to see Obama take firm stands on social issues from which Romney tends to shy, such as gay rights and women’s rights. It behooves the president to take reactionary stances. Extreme Conservative values, if played up the right way, will drive moderate female voters away from the Romney ticket and toward the Obama ticket.
Congressman Todd Akin could possibly be the best thing to happen to the Democratic Party this election year.
Indeed, for egalitarian social policy, blue is the way to go.
I look forward to seeing what the Democrats have to say this week, and I hope other young voters will take an interest as well. Regardless of one’s personal values, it should still be a great show.
Welch is a sophomore majoring in accounting.
