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Question of the day
Friday, Aug 24, 2012 - Posted by Rich Miller * My brother Doug is an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention next week. I won’t be there with him because I just don’t go to national party conventions. I went to one in Chicago, but that was because it was so close. There’s just nothing I want to write about at either convention. I’m not sure how much TV coverage I’ll watch, either, because national politics just doesn’t interest me all that much. * The Question: Will you be watching the upcoming national party conventions? Explain.
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- mokenavince - Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 1:22 pm:
No!
- Just Observing - Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 1:24 pm:
I will not be watching either. If I want to get my fill of pre-scripted, regurgitated talking points, I’ll tune into Fox News or MSNBC.
- 47th Ward - Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 1:28 pm:
For me, the modern convention is a complete waste of time. It’s an infomercial for the nominees, and four days of patronizing, pandering and pablum masquerading at part of the civic life of the country. I’m glad the networks aren’t devoting a lot of time to it and believe they both could be/should be shortened to a weekend event.
Having said that, I’ll be going to my first convention in Charlotte this year. And I’ll watch at least a little of the network coverage of the RNCC.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 1:32 pm:
I’ll be watching the GOP convention for the first time just to see how many folks are wearing Akin buttons and the interviews with the Missouri Delegation.
- Because I say so... - Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 1:36 pm:
Probably not much. The White Sox even trumped the Olympics in our house.
I’m old enough to remember the days when conventions mattered. Great memories of watching a few with my dad.
- What planet is he from? - Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 1:39 pm:
I second Just Observing’s nomination. It was different back in the Dark Ages when they actually did something at the convention besides keeping all those smiling faces smiling so as not to show any signs of disagreement.
- railrat - Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 1:44 pm:
I agree with all the above the conventions of the 60’s(as far back as I can remember)where classic, sit around the old philco black and white with popcorn, true theatre
- Ray del Camino - Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 1:51 pm:
Will have to watch as part of my job as a professional politics geek. Meaningless drivel–bread and circuses for the most part. Will be much more interested in the bounces they produce in the polls than anything anybody says (of course, unless major gaffes occur).
- phocion - Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 2:00 pm:
Conventions can be such a bore. But there are some highlights in the recent past: Palin’s acceptance speech in 08, Obama’s speech in 04, Buchanan and Ann Richards in 92. Maybe Paul Ryan will be worth watching this year.
- Dirty Red - Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 2:03 pm:
Cubs are playing the brew crew under the lights at the friendly confines Monday through Wednesday. Need I say more?
- wordslinger - Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 2:06 pm:
No, they’re absolutely awful. They give tedium a bad name.
The last good one was the 1976 GOP when Ford and Reagan were duking it out (deep sigh — Ford and Reagan. Don’t you miss that Republican Party? No room for them in the tent today).
Still, you never know what might happen.
Mario came out of nowhere and rocked the Cow Palace in 1984 with a stemwinder defense of American progressives’ achievements.
Pat Buchanan scared the pants off America and wrecked the chances of a good man named Bush at the Astrodome in 1992. As Molly Ivins said at the time, it probably sounded better in the original German; actually, it was pretty tame by today’s GOP standards.
Some skinny back-bench state Senator from the South Side put on a pretty good show in Beantown in 2004 (we’re going to hear more from that kid, and I don’t mean a postcard).
This year, I might check in to see where the GOP hides their crazies (Michelle Bachman will speak at 4 a.m., followed by Allen West at 4:02 a.m. and Newt Gingrich at 4:04 a.m.; their microphones will not be hot).
I might tune in for Bubba’s speech for the Dems, just for the nostalgia.
Ah yes, the 90s, our vacation from history. It was a time of no wars, no more Soviets, a booming economy, budgets in surplus and our only worries revolved around Monica’s shoddy dry-cleaning habits.
- OneMan - Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 2:07 pm:
Not much, may catch the highlights on TV, but between the daughter’s first HS Volleyball match and coaching the boy’s football I can think of better things to do.
- Wensicia - Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 2:09 pm:
I’d rather watch paint dry.
- Cheswick - Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 2:50 pm:
That was perfection, wordslinger.
- Cincinnatus - Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 3:05 pm:
I will be watching the coverage of Biden in Tampa. Can’t wait to watch the traveling clown show…
- Crime Fighter - Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 3:25 pm:
No. I think the national two-party system has nothing to offer. Rhetoric is different between the two, but most bad ideas & policies have been shared: trickle-down; wartime tax cuts; domestic surveillance; Iraq WMD; bankster coddling; cowering to the NRA; fossil-centric dependency; and so on…..The Dems have simply been milder versions of these. I’m a conscientious objector to the two-party limit.
- Skeeter - Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 3:30 pm:
I feel sort of obligated to tune in for the keynote and for the candidates’ speeches (just the two — I really don’t care what Ryan and Biden say) but I highly doubt I will.
Unless the GOP goes moderate, my minds pretty much made up this year. I don’t see them moving to the left on anything though so why bother watching any of it? What’s the point?
- Endangered Moderate Species - Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 3:40 pm:
The Dems usually have a good line-up of bands.
- Shore - Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 3:44 pm:
If you’re a democrat the republican convention is worth watching for a couple of reasons. I just can’t see a party with all the Joe Walsh, Allen West, Christine O’Donnell, Todd Akin, Ron Paul freak show stuff of the last few years sticking to message. Romney doesn’t control this party as we saw this week, and there’s a strong chance you’ll get a major mistake that the media will run with and overshadow the convention.
If you’re a Republican, this is the first convention since 1944 without a Bush, Dole, Nixon in office or in some key role and it’s really a changing of the guard and a chance to see where the party heads next. A lot of these “new tea party anti-establishment reformers” are really just establishment types with new talking points, but there’s also a where do we go from here type deal. I personally think Paul Ryan has a great chance to give a Bill Clinton type 1988 speech given his lack of experience with this where he just puts people to sleep. Romney could also be flat.
There are always some people that come out of nowhere and rise in profile or ruin themselves, mia love is a name to watch too at the RNC.
- wordslinger - Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 3:53 pm:
–If you’re a Republican, this is the first convention since 1944 without a Bush, Dole, Nixon in office or in some key role..–
Just a quibble, Shore, but none of those guys were factors in ‘48 or ‘64.
- langhorne - Friday, Aug 24, 12 @ 3:58 pm:
my tolerance for national conventions is exhausted pretty close to the two minute mark. so i will just catch snippets here and there of the crazies, since they tend to get the attention.