The news media is fully stuck in the doldrums of summer. Since many reporters and newsmakers are either on vacation or about to go on vacation, they have been more interested in prognostication for the future instead of current events. As a result, there has been a slow trickle of news about the upcoming Democratic and Republican National Conventions. Pundits have debated a proposal by Teamsters President Sean O’Brien to speak at both conventions later this summer. There have also been questions over potential protestors and protest votes at the conventions against the parties’ two historically unpopular candidates.
Ed Kilgore at New York magazine made an intriguing proposal for the Democratic National Convention back in May. He argued that the convention should be virtual like it was during the pandemic in 2020. This move would make it more difficult for protestors to derail the proceedings and make a spectacle. Kilgore argued, “the old-school convention staging that protesters crave had already become painfully obsolete before the pandemic conditions of 2020 made junking them obligatory.”
A Virtual Convention
The idea of a virtual convention makes sense in some ways. As the questionable importance of Trump’s verdict shows, it is nearly impossible for any news story to break through and tip the race for either candidate. Conventions are much less of a television draw than they used to be. But it is still symbolically important for the Democrats to run a successful convention at as grand a stage as they can.
Democrats need to show that they can still govern effectively. Their president is massively unpopular and attacked on every front. Many Americans believe he is too old and incompetent to fix the nation’s problems. They think the thorny issues of immigration, inflation, and the economy are beyond his grasp. While many do not support Trump as a person, they believe he can bring the country back to its economic heights during his presidency.
A virtual convention would simply reinforce many of these concerns among the electorate. By going virtual, Democrats would be signaling that they do not know how to reconcile the disparate viewpoints in their party. They are not interested in law and order in a convention hall, let alone in the country at large. The party would show that they have no plan on the future of Gaza, the behavior of Israel, or foreign policy in general. This critical line would be constantly amplified in conservative media as well. Any headline that points to “Democrats in disarray” is always popular and this one would have a certain degree of merit.
A successful convention is not the game-changer that will save Joe Biden’s bid for reelection. Democrats will need to continue hammering home Biden’s accomplishments as well as the unique threat his opponent poses. But a successful DNC has the potential to show the country Democrats are united and can get things done. It may not accomplish much. But a flawless virtual convention would accomplish even less.