Adventures at the Democratic National Convention, 1992-Style

Last month’s Democratic National Convention shebang in Chicago put me in mind of the time I attended a DNC, in New York in 1992. I wasn’t a delegate, though.

Sep 08, 2024

Programming Note: On Tuesday night, the 10^th, I will host a live chat on the Substack app during and briefly after the presidential debate, which runs from 8:00 to 9:30 CDT. If you do not have the app, you can get it here on Apple or here on Google.

The debate itself will air on ABC and stream on ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu. In addition, other broadcast networks and channels will be simulcasting the debate, including Fox News, CNN, NBC, CBS and NewsNation.

Please join us Tuesday night for a lively chat about the debate!

Sunday, September 8, 2024

Last month’s Democratic National Convention brought back memories of the only DNC I’ve attended – the one in New York City in 1992 which nominated Bill Clinton and Al Gore. It was a fantastic week. New York City was at its most beautiful — cloudless skies and mild temperatures — and on its best behavior. The convention was largely positive, notwithstanding a pitched debate over abortion on the inside and the insurgent candidacy (and temporary withdrawal that week) of Ross Perot on the outside. Best of all, I was not a delegate; I was on the staff of the Convention Chair.

For people of a certain level of political passion, self-regard and work ethic, attending your party’s national convention is like going to the Olympics, but without the drug testing.

The process begins at least a year before the convention, and is very competitive. Aspiring delegates print up flyers and bumper stickers and hand them out relentlessly at party events. They solicit endorsements from elected officials and other party stalwarts. They are ubiquitous at party functions, candidate fundraisers and community events, constantly asking if you’ll commit to endorsing their selection as a delegate. Now, in the age of social media, they create Facebook, Instagram and TikTok pages – often all three – complete with biographical information and their “platform.”

Unlike the Republicans, the Democrats strive to meet some demographic goals in their state delegations – so many people under 30, so many Asian Americans, so many left-handed bisexuals. Many hopeful delegates meet more than one such criteria, and relentlessly work one constituency group, then another, in hopes of making the final delegate list.

If you are lucky enough to be selected, two things occur:

You are completely on your own to provide airfare, ground transportation, lodging, clothing and necessities for the five or six days you’re away from home. This can cost $10,000 or more. To be sure, there are charter discounts and blocks of rooms reserved in hotels, but those may not be the best. The Texas delegation, for instance, being of no value to the Democrats nationally, is often relegated to some past-its-prime hotel on the other side of town. I suspect the same thing happens to the California delegation at the Republicans’ convention; and
You will have no meaningful say in the convention’s selection of candidates or adoption of a platform. That’s because the candidates have already been selected, and the platform has 99% been written, by the time you arrive in the convention city.

In summary, you’re there as a player in a script that was written by other people, usually long before you’ve arrived at the convention city.

II.

In the early summer of 1992, I was invited to attend the Democratic National Convention as part of the entourage of my then-boss, Texas Governor Ann Richards. Ann was the Convention Chair, nominally the presiding officer of the convention – calling sessions to order, presiding over key moments like the platform adoption and nominations, generally being the face of the convention. It is one of the more powerful roles at the convention, and in keeping with the party’s election-year focus on the “Year of the Woman.”

Ann was a very popular figure leading up to the convention. She had come to national prominence of the strength of a barn-burning 1998 keynote speech lampooning GOP candidate (and fellow Texan) George H.W. Bush. She was also developing a national profile as a successful Sunbelt governor.

I worked for her in the Governor’s Office at the time, and I was invited on three conditions:

I had to take vacation time from my State job to go (some colleagues wanted to go but did not have sufficient vacation time: S.O.L.);
I had to organize and pay for airfare, hotel, meals and incidentals during the trip, and
I must be on my best behavior and do nothing that would reflect poorly on Governor Richards and the State of Texas.

III.

I arrived on Sunday and checked into a hotel within walking distance of Madison Square Garden, where the convention was being held. It was a nice hotel, very convenient to MSG, but my room was about the size of a walk-in closet. I did not get walk-in closet pricing, however.

Monday morning, I met with the other Richards staffers in town for the convention. A group of us were assigned to attend the daily meetings of the delegations and report back on anything significant we learned. Each delegation had a breakfast meeting, usually at 7:30 or 8:00 a.m., at which the elected officials and party poohbahs from that state went over the day’s schedule and high points. A pep rally, sort of.

I was assigned to the Florida, Massachusetts and New York delegations. Massachusetts and New York were legacy Democratic strongholds, and the daily meetings featured pep talks from the likes of Mario Cuomo and Ted Kennedy. I gotta tell you, it was a little surreal to be sitting next to Ted Kennedy at a Massachusetts meeting and being introduced (cue the obligatory butchering of my name) as a representative of Ann Richards. The most frequent request I received at these briefing was, could I get the Governor to drop by one morning?

Whatever political intelligence we gathered at those meetings was reported to Kirk Adams, Governor Richards’s political director. Then we were given other assignments for the day: sit in on the labor caucus meeting at 10:00, keep an eye on the Credentials Committee meetings at noon, or attend the press conference of some congressman trying to make a splash in a media-rich environment.

The evening sessions, when the convention was broadcast live – in the days of three TV and a dozen radio networks — we were tasked to stay close to the floor and report on anything significant we learned. Practically, this meant wandering around Madison Square Garden, popping into the skyboxes – DNC overlord Ron Brown had a very nice one – and absorbing the vibe of the event. That was also the chance to see the celebrities, both political and otherwise, who were at the convention. I ran into Michael J. Fox, then at the height of his popularity, several times, and shared a moment with the actor Elisabeth Shue. But a gentleman never tells …

IV.

And, of course, there were the parties. Many started after that evening’s ceremonies were over, or at least winding down. They were usually held at places like the South Street Seaport and featured food, drinks and entertainment.

A party hosted by Governor Richards for the Texas delegation at the Supper Club on the Upper West Side provided one of the great stories from that week. Richards, like many other guests, was to arrive in a town car. A small group of panhandlers was approaching each car as it arrived, dashing to open the door and then asking a handout for their courtesy.

On Ann’s protective detail that night was a DPS officer who grew increasingly concerned with the panhandlers swarming the arriving cars. He went to nearby NYPD officers, who told him there was nothing they could do as long as the panhandlers did not physically assault anyone. He then went over to the most aggressive panhandler.

“In a few minutes, a car is going to arrive here with the Governor of Texas in it. I am an officer with the Texas DPS, charged to protect her. If you or anyone else approaches that car, here” – pointing to a holstered weapon at his left side – “is the gun I will shoot you with and here” – pointing to the DPS shield clipped onto the right side of his belt – “is the badge that will let me get away with it.”

When the Governor arrived a few minutes later, he calmly opened her door for her, unimpeded by the suddenly passive panhandlers.

The convention ended on Thursday evening. I stayed a couple extra days, and arrived back in Austin on Sunday.

All in all, it was a marvelous experience – a wonderful celebration of our democracy and the solemn opportunity we are given, no matter how cynically we view it, to choose our own leaders every four years. I never made it to another national convention, and that privilege has been entrusted to a new generation.

Because it was in the days before cellphones and social media, the only record I have of my presence there is this photo, taken by my friend Shawn Morris. It is Thursday evening, and Bill Clinton is delivering his acceptance speech. We are the floor to witness the moment.

Back to the Future …

There are 58 days remaining until the election. Now is the time to make and confirm your plans to vote.

If you live in Texas, you won’t be surprised to know that our Only Attorney General, Ken Paxton, is eager to suppress the vote in any way he can. He’s taking aim at voter registration efforts, including suing Travis County for having the temerity to send voter registration forms to un-registered voters. You owe it to him to make sure you are registered to vote. If you live in Texas, you can check your voter registration status at the Secretary of State’s “Am I Registered?” portal. Or, contact your county voter registrar to see how to register if necessary.

Here, from my friend Michelle H. Davis at her excellent Lone Star Left’s Newsletter, is a calendar of major election dates: