The Republican National Convention in Cleveland looks to be an interesting event - for those of us who enjoy prime-time train wrecks.
I had previously commented here on this article, which appeared in New York Magazine, describing the fundamentals of organizing a modern American political party convention. It’s typically what author (and experienced convention reporter) Ed Kilgore calls a “turnkey” operation, as the party officials prepare a sparse outline of events, and then turn over the details a couple of weeks in advance to the operatives of the presumptive nominee. So what if there is no candidate with a clear majority to take over the reins before the opening gavel falls? According to Kilgore, what we are likely to see is “a disorganized mess that undermines the show of unity these events are intended to produce.”
Says Kilgore:
News-media interest in a contested convention so far has focused almost entirely on byzantine scenarios for the presidential balloting and what they might produce. But a better and more immediate question is whether chaos will break out long before the balloting begins, in the full view of cameras and with no one in particular in charge.
This morning the New York Times published a story that suggests that chaos is already starting to take hold in the planning of this year’s Republican National Convention. A few quotes from the Times to give you a taste of the state of our rival’s woes:
Some of the country’s best-known corporations are nervously grappling with what role they should play at the Republican National Convention, given the likely nomination of Donald J. Trump, whose divisive candidacy has alienated many women, blacks and Hispanics.
An array of activist groups is organizing a campaign to pressure the companies to refuse to sponsor the gathering, which many of the corporations have done for the Republican and the Democratic Parties for decades. The pressure is emerging as some businesses and trade groups are privately debating whether to scale back their participation, according to interviews with more than a dozen lobbyists, consultants and fund-raisers directly involved in the conversations.
[snip]
“These are Maalox months for everyone,” said Bruce Haynes, a public-relations consultant at Purple Strategies, a Virginia-based bipartisan communications firm. “If this is going to look like 1968, there will be people that say, ‘That’s not where I want my product placement,’ ” he added, referring to clashes between the police and protesters at the Democratic convention in Chicago.
The question of corporate involvement is not the only challenge. For the first time since the Nixon era, federal funds will not be provided to defray the cost of the conventions, putting a greater burden on the parties to raise money.
Fasten your seatbelts, Republicans. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.