Democrats in 2016: Philadelphia after Cleveland
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 Date: November 8, 2016 |
Winner: Donald Trump (R) Hillary Clinton (D) • Jill Stein (G) • Gary Johnson (L) • Vice presidential candidates |
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This article covering the 2016 presidential election was written outside the scope of Ballotpedia's encyclopedic coverage and does not fall under our neutrality policy or style guidelines. It is preserved as it was originally written. For our encyclopedic coverage of the 2016 election, click here.
July 25, 2016
By Rich Cohen
Note: This is a three-part series in which Rich Cohen examines the Democratic nominee, the party, the convention, and the campaign.
Even the best-laid political plans can go awry, as each party’s run-up to this month’s conventions has shown. Those problems offer useful insight into the relative style and strengths of the chief contenders. Take your pick between Hillary Clinton’s more consensus-oriented but heavy-handed management, versus Donald Trump’s free-wheeling and adversarial approach.
Following Trump’s chaotic and often fratricidal Republican convention the past week, Clinton and her team confidently prepared for a more positive and better organized Democratic gathering. Their weekend started well, with the enthusiastic unveiling in Miami of Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia as Clinton’s running mate and a final agreement on convention rules with her chief foe for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
Those best-laid plans then collapsed on Sunday: The embarrassing revelation two days earlier by the WikiLeaks website of internal Democratic National Committee emails showed favoritism of Clinton over Sanders, many Sanders allies felt a renewed sense of betrayal, and DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned under pressure. The furor cast a shadow over the start of the proceedings in Philadelphia, much as plagiarism charges against the nominee’s wife Melania Trump disrupted the show in Cleveland.
Democratic leaders quickly responded by promoting Donna Brazile to interim chairwoman of the DNC until the election. Wasserman Schultz received statements of appreciation from Clinton, President Barack Obama, and Vice President Joe Biden. Even Sanders voiced “thanks for her years of service,” coupled with a demand for “new leadership that will open the doors of the party.” Many rank-and-file delegates were glad to see her go.
By contrast, Trump continued his running feud with his two final opponents for the Republican nomination: Ohio Gov. John Kasich, the nominal host of the convention who never stepped inside the Quicken Loans Arena, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who enraged much of the party with a convention speech that refused to endorse Trump. Prior to departing Cleveland, Trump unleashed a bitter public attack against Cruz, said that he would not accept his support, and vowed to oppose any further bid by Cruz for elected office.
While Clinton encouraged Democrats to emphasize collegiality and to put their differences behind them, Trump was unyielding in asserting control, and he disdained the customary political camaraderie.
The separate situations, of course, were more complex than the headlines revealed. As DNC chair, Wasserman Schultz had repeatedly incurred the wrath of Sanders’ team during the primaries with alleged favoritism of Clinton, whom she had supported during the 2008 contest against Obama.
The WikiLeaks posting caused additional complications. Cyber experts believed that the electronic release of the roughly 20,000 emails had the fingerprints of Russian agents who were seeking to damage Clinton and boost Trump, according to news reports. Top Clinton officials explicitly made such stunning charges; Trump’s campaign denied them. Clinton’s credibility on emails recently had been undermined when FBI director James Comey said that its investigation of her computer practices had shown that she was “extremely careless.”
For his part, Trump contended that his GOP foes had violated earlier pledges and his attempts to reach common ground. The nominee and his top advisers recounted private efforts prior to the convention to resolve differences—including an offer by Donald Trump Jr. to a top Kasich aide to tap Kasich as his running mate, with sweeping powers as vice president if they were elected.
The preludes to each convention showed other contrasts between the prospective opponents. In the GOP platform committee battle, Trump mostly kept hands-off as party regulars reached agreements that sometimes conflicted with his stated views. By contrast, top Clinton aides met for weeks with their Sanders counterparts on the Democratic platform; the two rivals sealed their conciliatory deals at a New Hampshire event. Clinton gained the stamp of approval of other party leaders, especially Obama. Trump, for his part, routinely clashed with previous GOP leaders.
Those various rationales and back-room dealings typically get lost in the high-stakes clashes. Still, they offer revealing looks at the personalities of the candidates and how each might govern, if elected.
Clinton has been slow to offer her top legislative priorities. But in recent weeks, news reports from the campaign have reported on her hope, if she is elected, to seek consensus with Congress—including with Republican leaders.[1]
Kaine reinforced that point in a joint interview Sunday with Clinton on CBS’s “60 Minutes,” when he talked up the prospect of cutting deals with Congress. He conceded that Republicans likely will retain House control and appealed to House Speaker Paul Ryan’s desire for a “legacy,” adding, “Each side’s gotta give on something.”[2]
Not coincidentally, several GOP senators applauded Clinton’s selection of Kaine as her running mate. Some said that they were friends with the Democratic senator.
Trump, by contrast, failed to mention Congress or any of its members during his 75-minute convention acceptance speech. Instead, he offered a more authoritarian style. “Nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it,” he said.
Washington insiders generally encourage conciliation. Clinton has highlighted her own experiences as an active first lady and senator, in addition to secretary of state. But the general public this year has strongly objected to the status quo and how business gets done in the Capitol. The success of Trump’s outsider appeal has been a powerful message for change.
Their contrasting handling of convention controversies may become a prominent aspect of the upcoming campaign.
Richard E. Cohen is a senior editor at Ballotpedia and a veteran congressional reporter. Among the books that he has written, he is chief author of The 2016 Almanac of American Politics.
See also
- Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2016
- Democratic National Committee
- Democratic National Convention, 2016
