Perceptions of Democracy at the 2016 Democratic National Convention
Amidst the dissonance of cheering delegates, chanting protestors, police sirens, and the enervated but furious sound of press keyboards, the 2016 Democratic National Convention proceeded in a characteristically melodramatic fashion. Yet this particular quadrennial exercise in political theater was different. The almost unanimous optimism and Democratic support that distinguished Obama’s nomination at past conventions was absent, replaced instead by seemingly irreconcilable divisions and the petrifying specter of a looming, bumbling dystopian nightmare awaiting Democratic Party defeat.
To many within the Wells Fargo Center, the masses of clamoring protestors that clung to the barricading fence of the convention and hurled one accusatory litany after the other didn’t get the full picture. That is, the fury of the protestors was the consequence of their collective failure to understand and fear the ‘bumbling dystopian nightmare’ of a Trump presidency. And yet despite this apparent frustration with the protestors, either out of a sense of banal obligation or genuine belief, many people inside the Convention offered the consolation that the protestors were a symptom of a robust democratic system. Was this true? Indeed, the 2016 Democratic Convention, as many publications have pointed out, operated on a particularly optimistic party platform and rhetorical philosophy. However, were the sanguine proclamations made at the Convention shared by other American citizens, or were they simply the deliberate manifestation of a false optimism felt solely within the DNC’s stuffy political cauldron?
While there were clear and expected divisions on contentious issues—these include the debates over social security system’s, abortion, and intervention in the Middle East– DNC attendees and protestors seemed to be divided on a foundational question about the integrity of American democracy this election. No doubt, the skeptical sentiments of protestors were kindled by the email scandal that resulted in the resignation of DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. However, whatever the cause, assessments of American democracy ranged dramatically. This piece will draw on interviews I conducted throughout the course of the Convention in order to highlight the lapse in the perceptions of democracy between DNC participant and DNC protestor and hopefully make some suggestions about its causes.
Inside the Convention
On the floor of the DNC, the optimism of Convention participants was booming as politicians, delegates, and celebrities alike seemed to urge – and perhaps tacitly expect – their progressive critics to unite around Hillary Clinton in order to ‘form a more perfect democratic union’ (read: prevent a Trump presidency). However, by adopting this optimism and justifying Clinton in the terms of the US’ romantic founding political story, the Democrats at the DNC found themselves in a precarious position. They exhorted Bernie Sander’s raucous supporters to adopt a ‘Lesser Evil Voting’ strategy that capitulates to an undemocratic process while simultaneously championing the privilege of ‘political’ choice. Here are a few excerpts from discussions I had with DNC participants in which they offer their assessment of American democracy:
Secretary of Labor Tom Perez:
“American democracy means that every person in this country has the chance to realize their highest and best dreams. It means that we're stronger together. It means that when we unite and celebrate our diversity, we celebrate our democracy. When we divide, we do an injustice to our democracy. With Hillary Clinton, we will fulfill our role as a democracy. But, as we know from the constitution, the job of forming a more perfect union is the timeless work of our democracy and we do that the best when we unite people.”
Mississippi Delegate and ‘Queen of Political Fashion’ Kelly Jacobs:
“I have lived and travelled to 27 countries… and a lot of countries absolutely do not have…the power to protest against the government like I've seen so many Bernie Sander's [supporters] today.”
The Mayor of Elizabeth, New Jersey Chris Bollwage:
“Democracy is a competition of ideas and that competition of ideas should generate a majority opinion while respecting the rights of the minority.”
American television presenter Jerry Springer:
“Democracy means a free people have a right to elect their own leaders. Democracy doesn’t always make the right decisions, but its an opportunity for the people themselves to decide who should lead them.”
Rhode Island Senator Gayle Goldin:
“Democracy in this country is about creating an equitable society where we have all of our voices heard.”
Outside the Convention
The apparent optimism of most delegates and ‘high profile’ figures within the convention was matched with a seemingly equal amount of pessimism and the distraught lamentations of the protestors that gathered outside the DNC’s two primary locations. BPR spoke with many of these protestors, the vast majority of which passionately supported Bernie Sanders or had moved on to Jill Stein. Throughout these discussions, the chief sources of their frustration became increasingly clear; the incessant accusations of Clinton as an untrustworthy, Wall Street serving ‘war-hawk’ helped explain why discussions about her often provoked a more embittered response than those about Trump. Indeed, for these protestors a vote for Clinton was utterly condemnable despite the alternatives in this election; many people had resolutely chosen to either abstain, vote for the Green Party’s Jill Stein, or otherwise do the unthinkable and vote for ‘Trump.’ As a consequence, I do not think this election is one that centers upon traditional left-right competition. Instead, the forthcoming Clinton vs Trump contest—if you’ll excuse my dismissal of third party candidates—seems to be one between the ‘establishment’ and ‘non-establishment’ populism. This explains why such a significant number of Bernie Sanders supporters feel repulsed by the calls to offer support for Clinton. Below are a series of quotes from protestors at the DNC, who, as you will notice, offer an entirely different assessment of American democracy and the state of the 2016 Election than their ‘establishment’ counterparts.
David Cobb (former Green Party Presidential Candidate (2004) and activist)
“The political and cultural realignment that we are experiencing now is no longer Democrat versus Republican or Left versus Right, which does exist. It’s establishment versus anti-establishment, the base versus the leadership. Principled liberals and progressives have been lied to by the ruling elite of the Democratic Party who are taking marching orders from Wall Street and corporations…
This realignment is a consequence of the ecological crisis, economic crisis of late stage capitalism…[and] a political crisis where the political class is not able to deliver and address the needs of ordinary people. The current system cannot solve the crisis it created…
[This election] is the single best opportunity we the people have had to break open the two party system in a hundred years, so I am all in on breaking the two party system. I am not voting for Hillary Clinton and I am not voting for Donald Trump, I am voting for Jill Stein. I am voting for what I want. My own vote is my one opportunity to express my opinion. And damn it all I’m going to express my opinion!”
Volunteer for World Can’t Wait.net and Protestor:
“We live in an oligarchy, not a democracy because the politicians and the top 1% control everything and have the real power to influence policy. Everyone who is voting for Hillary Clinton is either out of touch or ignorant. They’re voting for the candidate that serves them best. But for most people, she’s not going to help.”
Protestor Outside DNC Wells Fargo Center (Interview by Eli Motycka):
“The Democrats are just as corrupt as the fucking Republicans. They’re either going to represent the party or we leave. We all leave. They lose power. They’ll lose the White House, they’ll lose the fucking Senate, they’ll lose the fucking Congress, and the Republicans and the Independents and the Green Party will take over, and they can all kick dust.”
Protestor Outside DNC Convention Center (Interview by Eli Motycka):
“I was an election officer and I witnessed election fraud. I saw a woman grab paper ballots out of her back pocket and stuff them into her ballot box and no one would do anything about it. I reported it to authorities and apparently it didn’t matter to the authorities that someone was trying to cast more votes than me.”
Concluding Remarks
These are only a few discussions among the many that BPR had over the course of the convention and highlight only a fraction of the frustrations that people both inside and outside the DNC felt. While the issues facing the US this election are complicated—and I do not think there is a simple way to characterize either the protestors or DNC participants – I want to offer the following concluding remark:
The entire DNC experience seemed to reiterate and solidify the idea of division between protestor and attendee; as one walks into the arena, he or she is greeted by the shouts of people separated by two high metal fences and a line of shoulder-to-shoulder police officers. Its these surreal moments that support the illusory division between “us” and “them” that seemed to reverberate in the minds of everyone even remotely involved in the DNC. I say that this division is illusory because it centers on a belief in the inevitability of mutual antagonism between the establishment and non-establishment. And yet, it’s abundantly clear that most DNC attendees who support Clinton are not simply elitists looking out for their own pocket just as most protestors are not simply uninformed or misguided populists. On the contrary, both sides genuinely believe that they are working to promote progressive values; the former by preventing a Trump Presidency that would be unequivocally harmful to American liberalism and the latter by pushing forward the politicians and ideas that Democrats have often been too slow to absorb.
Amidst the dissonance of cheering delegates, chanting protestors, police sirens, and the enervated but furious sound of press keyboards, the 2016 Democratic National Convention proceeded in a characteristically melodramatic fashion. Yet this particular quadrennial exercise in political theater was different. The almost unanimous optimism and Democratic support that distinguished Obama’s nomination at past conventions was absent, replaced instead by seemingly irreconcilable divisions and the petrifying specter of a looming, bumbling dystopian nightmare awaiting Democratic Party defeat.
To many within the Wells Fargo Center, the masses of clamoring protestors that clung to the barricading fence of the convention and hurled one accusatory litany after the other didn’t get the full picture. That is, the fury of the protestors was the consequence of their collective failure to understand and fear the ‘bumbling dystopian nightmare’ of a Trump presidency. And yet despite this apparent frustration with the protestors, either out of a sense of banal obligation or genuine belief, many people inside the Convention offered the consolation that the protestors were a symptom of a robust democratic system. Was this true? Indeed, the 2016 Democratic Convention, as many publications have pointed out, operated on a particularly optimistic party platform and rhetorical philosophy. However, were the sanguine proclamations made at the Convention shared by other American citizens, or were they simply the deliberate manifestation of a false optimism felt solely within the DNC’s stuffy political cauldron?
While there were clear and expected divisions on contentious issues—these include the debates over social security system’s, abortion, and intervention in the Middle East– DNC attendees and protestors seemed to be divided on a foundational question about the integrity of American democracy this election. No doubt, the skeptical sentiments of protestors were kindled by the email scandal that resulted in the resignation of DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. However, whatever the cause, assessments of American democracy ranged dramatically. This piece will draw on interviews I conducted throughout the course of the Convention in order to highlight the lapse in the perceptions of democracy between DNC participant and DNC protestor and hopefully make some suggestions about its causes.
Inside the Convention
On the floor of the DNC, the optimism of Convention participants was booming as politicians, delegates, and celebrities alike seemed to urge – and perhaps tacitly expect – their progressive critics to unite around Hillary Clinton in order to ‘form a more perfect democratic union’ (read: prevent a Trump presidency). However, by adopting this optimism and justifying Clinton in the terms of the US’ romantic founding political story, the Democrats at the DNC found themselves in a precarious position. They exhorted Bernie Sander’s raucous supporters to adopt a ‘Lesser Evil Voting’ strategy that capitulates to an undemocratic process while simultaneously championing the privilege of ‘political’ choice. Here are a few excerpts from discussions I had with DNC participants in which they offer their assessment of American democracy:
Secretary of Labor Tom Perez:
“American democracy means that every person in this country has the chance to realize their highest and best dreams. It means that we're stronger together. It means that when we unite and celebrate our diversity, we celebrate our democracy. When we divide, we do an injustice to our democracy. With Hillary Clinton, we will fulfill our role as a democracy. But, as we know from the constitution, the job of forming a more perfect union is the timeless work of our democracy and we do that the best when we unite people.”
Mississippi Delegate and ‘Queen of Political Fashion’ Kelly Jacobs:
“I have lived and travelled to 27 countries… and a lot of countries absolutely do not have…the power to protest against the government like I've seen so many Bernie Sander's [supporters] today.”
The Mayor of Elizabeth, New Jersey Chris Bollwage:
“Democracy is a competition of ideas and that competition of ideas should generate a majority opinion while respecting the rights of the minority.”
American television presenter Jerry Springer:
“Democracy means a free people have a right to elect their own leaders. Democracy doesn’t always make the right decisions, but its an opportunity for the people themselves to decide who should lead them.”
Rhode Island Senator Gayle Goldin:
“Democracy in this country is about creating an equitable society where we have all of our voices heard.”
Outside the Convention
The apparent optimism of most delegates and ‘high profile’ figures within the convention was matched with a seemingly equal amount of pessimism and the distraught lamentations of the protestors that gathered outside the DNC’s two primary locations. BPR spoke with many of these protestors, the vast majority of which passionately supported Bernie Sanders or had moved on to Jill Stein. Throughout these discussions, the chief sources of their frustration became increasingly clear; the incessant accusations of Clinton as an untrustworthy, Wall Street serving ‘war-hawk’ helped explain why discussions about her often provoked a more embittered response than those about Trump. Indeed, for these protestors a vote for Clinton was utterly condemnable despite the alternatives in this election; many people had resolutely chosen to either abstain, vote for the Green Party’s Jill Stein, or otherwise do the unthinkable and vote for ‘Trump.’ As a consequence, I do not think this election is one that centers upon traditional left-right competition. Instead, the forthcoming Clinton vs Trump contest—if you’ll excuse my dismissal of third party candidates—seems to be one between the ‘establishment’ and ‘non-establishment’ populism. This explains why such a significant number of Bernie Sanders supporters feel repulsed by the calls to offer support for Clinton. Below are a series of quotes from protestors at the DNC, who, as you will notice, offer an entirely different assessment of American democracy and the state of the 2016 Election than their ‘establishment’ counterparts.
David Cobb (former Green Party Presidential Candidate (2004) and activist)
“The political and cultural realignment that we are experiencing now is no longer Democrat versus Republican or Left versus Right, which does exist. It’s establishment versus anti-establishment, the base versus the leadership. Principled liberals and progressives have been lied to by the ruling elite of the Democratic Party who are taking marching orders from Wall Street and corporations…
This realignment is a consequence of the ecological crisis, economic crisis of late stage capitalism…[and] a political crisis where the political class is not able to deliver and address the needs of ordinary people. The current system cannot solve the crisis it created…
[This election] is the single best opportunity we the people have had to break open the two party system in a hundred years, so I am all in on breaking the two party system. I am not voting for Hillary Clinton and I am not voting for Donald Trump, I am voting for Jill Stein. I am voting for what I want. My own vote is my one opportunity to express my opinion. And damn it all I’m going to express my opinion!”
Volunteer for World Can’t Wait.net and Protestor:
“We live in an oligarchy, not a democracy because the politicians and the top 1% control everything and have the real power to influence policy. Everyone who is voting for Hillary Clinton is either out of touch or ignorant. They’re voting for the candidate that serves them best. But for most people, she’s not going to help.”
Protestor Outside DNC Wells Fargo Center (Interview by Eli Motycka):
“The Democrats are just as corrupt as the fucking Republicans. They’re either going to represent the party or we leave. We all leave. They lose power. They’ll lose the White House, they’ll lose the fucking Senate, they’ll lose the fucking Congress, and the Republicans and the Independents and the Green Party will take over, and they can all kick dust.”
Protestor Outside DNC Convention Center (Interview by Eli Motycka):
“I was an election officer and I witnessed election fraud. I saw a woman grab paper ballots out of her back pocket and stuff them into her ballot box and no one would do anything about it. I reported it to authorities and apparently it didn’t matter to the authorities that someone was trying to cast more votes than me.”
Concluding Remarks
These are only a few discussions among the many that BPR had over the course of the convention and highlight only a fraction of the frustrations that people both inside and outside the DNC felt. While the issues facing the US this election are complicated—and I do not think there is a simple way to characterize either the protestors or DNC participants – I want to offer the following concluding remark:
The entire DNC experience seemed to reiterate and solidify the idea of division between protestor and attendee; as one walks into the arena, he or she is greeted by the shouts of people separated by two high metal fences and a line of shoulder-to-shoulder police officers. Its these surreal moments that support the illusory division between “us” and “them” that seemed to reverberate in the minds of everyone even remotely involved in the DNC. I say that this division is illusory because it centers on a belief in the inevitability of mutual antagonism between the establishment and non-establishment. And yet, it’s abundantly clear that most DNC attendees who support Clinton are not simply elitists looking out for their own pocket just as most protestors are not simply uninformed or misguided populists. On the contrary, both sides genuinely believe that they are working to promote progressive values; the former by preventing a Trump Presidency that would be unequivocally harmful to American liberalism and the latter by pushing forward the politicians and ideas that Democrats have often been too slow to absorb.
