Democrats looking good coming out of convention

PHILADELPHIA—If the Republican convention resembled a shaky shotgun marriage, the Democrats are like a sprawling modern family with the adults on the same page and a few unruly siblings and children doing as they please.

But their mostly solid outward unity reflects weeks of intensive behind-the-scenes work—and didn’t come without some continuing stress.

For weeks, Hillary Clinton’s campaign worked closely with runner-up Bernie Sanders, accepting compromises on the party platform and some con- tentious rule conflicts to ensure this week’s unity.

But a firestorm from last weekend’s release of thousands of embarrassing internal party emails dominated pre-convention news, forcing party chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s resignation. When the Rev. Cynthia Hale mentioned Clinton’s name in her opening invocation, many Sanders delegates booed, chanting, “Bernie, Bernie, Bernie.”

“The Democrats are in a total meltdown,” Republican nominee Donald Trump gleefully tweeted.

But after several raucous hours—with Clinton-deriding outbursts provoking counter chants of “Hillary, Hillary, Hillary”—a Sanders email urging respect helped quiet the protests, and her forces gradually regained control of the Wells Fargo Center. Monday ended on an upbeat note with several universally cheered pleas for unity, led by Michelle Obama’s rejoinder to Trump’s signature slogan, “Make America Great Again.”

When Democrats formally made Clinton the first major-party woman nominee Tuesday night, both sides’ nominating speeches accentuated the positive. And Sanders himself—like Clinton eight years ago—moved to give Clinton the party’s presidential nomination. The motion was loudly endorsed by all but several dozen reluctant Sanders supporters, who left the hall and groused loudly outside.

That underscored the fact that, like the Republicans, the Democrats still show scars from their intense primary battle. But there are significant differences.

GOP holdouts included many top leaders—former Presidents George H.W. and George W. Bush, past nominees Mitt Romney and John McCain, defeated rivals Ted Cruz and John Kasich.

Republican disunity was vividly on display when Cruz pointedly refused to endorse Trump, setting off loud boos on the eve of Trump’s acceptance speech.

Here, every significant Democratic leader backs Clinton, starting with Sanders. Unity appeals from his supporters Monday included a memorable scold from comedian Sarah Silverman, telling “the Bernie or bust people: You’re being ridiculous.”

The Vermont senator provided the climax by detailing reasons for backing his yearlong rival, concluding: “Hillary Clinton must become the next president of the United States. The choice is not even close.”

Second, leaders of the dissident factions have very different motivations. Cruz’s seemingly stem primarily from personal ambition, reflecting his calculation that Trump will either lose or be an unsuccessful president, opening the way for a second presidential bid in 2020. Kasich may also be looking ahead.

But Sanders, three decades older, wants mainly to press his agenda of economic and political reforms, which Clinton said she will fight for.

Third, the Democrats proved more efficient in controlling and channeling threats to the facade of unity.

Trump and top aides took nearly three days to acknowledge Melania Trump’s lifting of lines from Michelle Obama’s 2008 convention speech. But Democrats took barely 24 hours to force Wasserman Schultz’s resignation, convincing her before the convention began to prevent an ugly scene by relinquishing the opening gavel.

In contrast to heavy-handed GOP efforts to squelch floor challenges, the Democrats let the Sanders forces voice their support on Tuesday’s roll call. And they quickly reiterated Tuesday that Clinton opposes the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, after longtime backer Terry McAuliffe suggested the contrary.

Finally, while speeches at both conventions hailed their nominee and denounced their rival, the Democrats highlighted domestic issues barely mentioned in Cleveland—income inequality, climate change, the student loan crisis. Every day, figures from Clinton’s life—plus her presidential husband—testified to her personal history, compared with Trump’s family and business associates.

But, as Trump himself pointedly noted Wednesday, Democrats only minimally decried instability abroad, making few references to terrorism and the Islamic State until Wednesday night, while challenging GOP allegations of a breakdown of law and order at home.

This week’s polls show Trump’s support up among recalcitrant Republicans and independents; Clinton’s strategists hope next week’s will show similar gains with Democrats.

But conventions matter, Democratic pollster Peter Hart noted on a Wall Street Journal blog, declaring the tenor often foretells the ultimate outcome.

Citing the “potential for a strong finish” from speeches by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Clinton, he said, “If that happens, Democrats would head into the general election with history on their side.”