McManus: Bye, traditional conventions - Columbian.com - The Columbian
Democrats around the country will gather around computer screens and smartphones next week for a strange new version of a timeworn political ritual: their party’s presidential convention.
They won’t flood into Milwaukee and crowd into a noisy sports arena for four nights of hoopla. They won’t hobnob with party elders, campaign donors or up-and-coming politicians. They won’t even wave placards or cheer, except in their living rooms.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made those traditions impossible and the conventions will almost surely be better for it. Ever since 1948, when conventions were first broadcast on television, the quadrennial events have slowly morphed from authentic political gatherings into slickly produced infomercials.
This year, the conventions can finally be honest about what they are.
There will still be roll call votes, but they’ll only be for show; the nominees were chosen months ago. The last time a convention included a serious parliamentary battle was 1980, when Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts unsuccessfully tried to wrest delegates from President Jimmy Carter.
The old-style conventions weren’t particularly good TV; they were live pageants adapted for the small screen, often awkwardly. The live action — make that live inaction — got in the way.
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