DNC vs RNC Compare and contrast what the two conventions are saying Charles Lipson
https://spectator.us/two-conventions-saying-dnc-rnc/
What’s the bottom line, so far?
Democrats think they will win by making the race a referendum on Donald Trump (more the person than the policies, though they hate both). They are effectively trying to run Joe Biden as a generic Democrat.
Republicans think the path to victory is to make the race a choice, Trump versus Biden, and to say Biden is unable or unwilling to stop the far-left in his party. Drawing a sharp contrast between the two parties was the whole point of Vice President Mike Pence’s speech to conclude the convention’s third night. For the most part, though, Republicans focused on the positive case for Trump, not the negative one for Biden. They featured lots of everyday Americans who said they had been helped by Trump’s policies, sometimes adding that he had reached out to them personally.
The Democrats made a very strong negative case, devoting almost their entire convention to attacks on Trump, leavened by their depiction of Joe Biden as a genuinely decent guy. Their policies got very little attention.
The parties did agree on one thing: the differences between them are stark. Both make a convincing case that this is the most consequential election in decades.
How did the two conventions differ?
The Republicans focused on policy, the Democrats on personality (Trump’s) and what they consider the grim state of the country.
The Democrats’ were silent about urban violence, the Republicans’ stressed law-and-order and the fact that these are Democratic-run cities.
The conventions looked different, with more live events and occasional audiences at the Republican one. The Republicans also featured lots of everyday people, telling stories of how Trump’s policies helped them and, often, how he reached out to them personal. Many of those focused on swing states in the upper Midwest.
Why did Democrats say so little about their policies?
Because they are a deeply divided party, held together mainly by their shared loathing of Donald Trump. As Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said several months ago, in other Western countries, she wouldn’t be in the same party as Biden, Pelosi, Hillary, and other mainstream Democrats.
Party leaders understand that cleavage, and they know what makes it worse: specific policy proposals. The more they discuss how much they will raise taxes or how fast they will move the economy to green energy, the more they drive a wedge between the two wings of the party.
The conventions signal a long-term realignment of U.S. voters
Those working-class speakers underscore a tectonic change in American voters’ party alignment. Blue-collar workers, the heart of the Democratic Party since the Great Depression, increasingly identify as Republicans. By contrast, prosperous, educated suburbanites, who were once liberal Republicans, are now mostly centrist Democrats. There are very few “Rockefeller Republicans” or “Blue Dog Democrats” still walking the earth, seeking votes.
Why have Republicans featured so many African-American speakers?
Two reasons, one of them obvious, one not. The obvious reason is that Donald Trump believes he can capture significantly more than the 8% vote he got in 2016. Even a small increase could help him carry swing states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, Florida, and North Carolina.
The second reason is equally important but typically overlooked. Many white voters will not support a candidate they consider racist. Pause for a moment and reflect on how praiseworthy that is. Those are America’s best values, and they are widely shared. Voters want evidence their president treats everyone fairly, regardless of skin color, that he cares about our country’s racial divide and is doing something about it, not just appealing cynically for votes.
Conventions always say “this is the most important election” and the sun won’t come up if the other side wins. Most years, voters ignore that hyperbole. This year, with a choice so stark, many voters think it is true.
Comments are closed.
