Are political conventions necessary?
The article below is the most recent in a series of syndicated articles written by Governor Howard Dean. DFNH is proud to present this series for your reading pleasure. By Gov. Howard Dean, M.D. As the Democratic Convention begins this week, followed by the Republicans’ in September, journalists who are bored with the scripted proceedings will write opinion pieces about behind-the-scenes dealings which may or may not be going on and will raise questions about why conventions are even newsworthy. Since 1968, conventions have been lackluster precisely because the choices of nominees are far more likely to be made by voters in either party than they are by backroom deals. This is a huge step forward, but it is also ancient history for most political reporters and for a great deal of the voting public. A huge reform coming out of 1968 was the requirement, at least for the Democrats, that delegations reflect the diversity of the electorate, but we now take that for granted as well. So we ar
