THE DISAPPEARING 2020 CONVENTION
Joe Biden, other speakers will not come to Milwaukee
Whatever was left of an in-person 2020 Democratic National Convention evaporated Wednesday as organizers announced Joe Biden won’t be traveling to Milwaukee to give his presidential acceptance speech.
And neither will any of the other speakers who will address the Aug. 1720 convention.
With the coronavirus pandemic paralyzing modern politics, Democrats will hold a virtual convention.
Biden will accept the party’s presidential nomination from his home state of Delaware.
Organizers said in a statement that there had been ongoing consultation with public officials and experts. The decision on speakers not traveling to Milwaukee was made “in order to prevent risking the health of our host community as well as the convention’s production teams, security officials, community partners, media and others necessary to orchestrate the event.”
Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez said: “From the very beginning of this pandemic, we put the health and safety of the American people first. We followed the science, listened to doctors and public health experts, and we continued making adjustments to our plans in order to protect lives. That’s the kind of steady and responsible leadership America deserves. And that’s the leadership Joe Biden will bring to the White House.”
During a virtual fundraiser, Biden said that Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett “put in place a 225-person limit on people assembling in any one place. I think it’s the
right thing to do. I’ve wanted to set an example as to how we should respond individually to this crisis.”
Biden added: “From the start of the process, we’ve made it clear ... science matters.”
While the political logic of picking Milwaukee rested heavily on the urgency Democrats faced in winning back Wisconsin in 2020, the Biden decision is one more blow to the idea that this convention could provide an electoral boost specific to Wisconsin.
It also raises the stakes for the fall campaign as both Biden and President Donald Trump are targeting Wisconsin’s electoral votes.
Biden hasn’t campaigned in person in Wisconsin at all this year, although he has made several virtual campaign appearances aimed at voters here.
The Trump campaign chided the decision to not have Biden speak in Milwaukee.
“Joe Biden is repeating the mistakes from the 2016 campaign. The fact remains that President Donald Trump has delivered on his promises to Wisconsin voters and he will carry the state again in November,” Trump Victory spokesperson Anna Kelly said.
But Democrats disputed the notion that Biden was repeating past mistakes.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin said in a statement that Biden is “prioritizing the health and safety of Wisconsinites.”
“Due to President Trump’s horrible mismanagement of COVID-19 we still do not have the pandemic under control,” she added. “Adjusting (to) the moment we are in, Vice President Biden has held virtual events across the state and taken his message of unity straight to the voters of Wisconsin in numerous interviews.”
The Milwaukee convention is now just a shell of what was originally envisioned.
“I would be lying if I didn’t tell you that I’m very, very disappointed in this professionally and personally because I think we all have had so much pride in having Milwaukee chosen to host the 2020 Democratic National Convention,” Barrett said.
When the city landed the convention more than a year ago, it was hoped that 50,000 people would travel to Milwaukee
for four non-stop days and nights of politics.
But the coronavirus pandemic upended plans. The original convention dates were moved back a month. Delegates were told to stay away.
And now, there won’t even be any speakers in Milwaukee.
“While we wish we could move forward with welcoming the world to beautiful Milwaukee in two weeks, we recognize protecting the health of our host community and everyone involved with this convention must be paramount,” Joe Solmonese, the convention’s chief executive, said in a statement.
Solmonese added: “This convention will look different than any previous convention in history. It will reach more people than ever before, and truly be a convention across America for all Americans, regardless of which party you belong to or who you’ve voted for in previous elections. This ‘unconventional convention’ will launch Joe Biden to victory in November.”
“Wow,” was the reaction of political scientist Byron Shafer, a retired University of Wisconsin-Madison professor and a scholar of conventions, to the news that Biden would not be present here.
The political question now looming for both parties is whether they can command anything approximating a normal audience as they remotely nominate their presidential candidates amid the pandemic this month.
“The president himself isn’t going to Charlotte. He’s not going to Jacksonville. Now the Democratic nominee is not coming” to Wisconsin, Shafer said. “If you were an audience member with a mild interest in politics, that might signal to you this isn’t worth it all, (that) you’re not going to spend 5 hours the week of the convention watching the (video) feed.”
Reince Priebus, former chair of both the Wisconsin GOP and the Republican National Committee, said that with his decision not to come to Milwaukee, Biden “opens himself to criticism that he can’t handle a pivotal moment” — that he is “avoiding the spotlight situations so as not to make errors and gaffes.”
At the same time, “I get the rationale” for not trying to deliver a convention speech without a convention audience, said Priebus, who oversaw the 2016 Republican convention in Cleveland.
“You can’t really create the magic of a convention without a crowd,” Priebus said.