#37
View attachment 442501
Spring, 1984
Orville Maddox is talking to himself.
“Okay...I’ve got it. Lamm. No! Askew. Okay I like Askew on civil rights- but if that’s most important why not just vote for Jackson? No, Jackson’s too vague on too many things. Nader, then? He seems to know everything, and the kids love him. But then he’s too far to the left. I mean I’m okay with some good old FDR Oakie-aid, but sometimes these guys just need to know when to say when. So Lamm, then? Lamm’s solid on the environment. Really good on Labor. And I like what he has to say about the economy. Sweeney’s also good there, on labor. But then he’s got the same problem as Jackson; too one-note. So who’s left? Glenn? I don’t think I know a single thing he stands for.”
“Orville! You’ve been in there for 25 minutes! What are you doing!”
“I’ll be right out, Gladys!”
“Your vote is not going to decide the election, just pick one and come out of there! Or would you rather walk to Denny’s?”
“It’s a big decision, Gladys!”
“Oh for god’s sake, Orville Maddox, just pick Glenn like I did and finish up, I’m telling you your vote doesn't matter!”
The chief precinct operator approaches.
“Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to leave the polling place.”
“Don’t you take that tone with me, young man!”
“You’re causing a disruption.”
“I pay your salary!”
“We’re all volunteers here, ma’am.”
“Volunteer as public servants and this is how you serve the public, by attacking an old lady?”
“Ma’am no one’s- okay. I see your husband has left the booth.”
“I accidentally marked two. Could I have a new ballot.”
“Orville Maddox! Wait, Jesse, is that you?”
Jesse lives two doors down from Orville and Gladys.
“Hi, Gladys. ‘Scuse me, I’m going to vote now.”
“Jesse, will you give Orville a ride to the restaurant after you’re done? I can’t be in the same room with him right now, he’s got me so worked up.”
“Sure thing, Gladys, I’ll take care of him.”
“Bless you, son. Orville! Did you hear that, Jesse’s going to take you to the restaurant, IF you ever finish solving the grand issues of the day. I’m getting out of here before this pipsqueak dictator calls the sheriff on me.”
“Ma’am, that’s uncalled for.”
“Okay, Gladys, order me a Grand Slam! Now, let’s see….Lamm! No, wait…hmm…”
----
Late summer, 1984
CBS Evening News.
“...Okay I think we’ve got him now. He’s only a few hundred feet away, but things are so chaotic down on the floor just now I’m not sure...okay, John, how are things down on the ground?”
“Well Dan, I don’t think it’s as bad as ‘68, but that’s about all that can be said for it. I know that was a memorable night for you-”
“Yeah,I’d rather not think about that, John.”
“Well slightly controlled chaos is what comes to mind. We still have no idea who the vice presidential nominee is going to be. The balloting is set to begin shortly and the consensus, if you can call it that, seems to be that there is no consensus. The factions have ceased to negotiate, and it looks like this will come down to the rules of elimination balloting. If that’s the case, we might be able to give a slight edge to someone like John Glenn, who appears to be objectionable to the least number of people.”
“We’ve heard up here that Governor Culver refused the nomination.”
“We’ve heard that, too, Dan. Another item recently confirmed, the Nader, Jackson, and Sweeney delegates have agreed to act together. They don’t have enough to sway the contest, but in a close fight they could end up with the balance of power. I’ll tell you, I’ve never seen a more dedicated group of partisans than the left wing of the party here tonight, and throughout the campaign, really. They fought like wildcats from the first minute they got to the convention.”
“They’re largely responsible for the democratic reforms agreed upon for the next election, is that correct?”
“Well they’re certainly taking credit for them, Dan. Honestly, at this rate, we may have to wait until the end of the convention to get the whole story.”
“And there’s still no word from Governor Lamm?”
“No, Dan, not since the governor has released a statement stating that, given his own very narrow victory in securing the presidential nomination, he wanted to make sure the delegates did not feel this was a ticket forced upon them by one segment of the party.”
“Well there you have it from the floor here in Pittsburgh. Tom, any thoughts on the political implications of this kind of half-brokered convention?”
“Well Dan, I think obviously the chaos isn’t a good image for them to be projecting just now. Conventional wisdom held that the Democrats had a significant advantage coming into this election. The president’s term has been divisive; it’s seen probably more social change and indeed physical change to the country- in terms of where and how people are living, the types of jobs people are doing, the ways people save and spend money and go to school. People tend to react against any kind of change, and the Democrats certainly had a major opening, especially considering many pundits thought the Republicans would suffer more from the Conservative defections than the Democrats would. That hasn’t proven to be the case, both parties took a serious hit, and the Republicans were able to recover from it in a quicker, more organized fashion than the Democrats, and they’ve been able to poach a lot of moderate votes from the Democrats themselves.”
“It sounds like you’re ready to call this one.”
“It’s certainly more of an uphill battle for the Democrats than one would’ve expected if one were sitting comfortably back in 1981. But they do have a good chance. They have a built-in historical advantage when it comes to the electoral college, and after tonight if they can project a unified message and fire up their base, they could easily pull off a win in a divided field.”
“More from the Democratic National Convention in Pittsburgh, after these messages.”