Political Junkies' Dream

(Guest post by Mr. BackyardConservative)

A real dream for political junkies –A convention floor fight

Recent political history has turned the national nominating conventions into little more than coronations of the presumptive nominees. The odds still favor that result in 2008, but political junkies can have their own scenarios. The best would be a floor fight look in the old days. In 1952, the GOP nomination contest between General Eisenhower and Senator Robert Taft came down to a battle over the credentials of the Texas delegation.

Texas Republicans ( a scarce commodity in those days) held caucuses to select their delegates. Eisenhower forces flocked to the caucus sites with “new” Republicans who chose overwhelmingly pro-Ike delegations. The regular Republicans withdrew and held rump caucuses claiming that Democrats had hijacked the process. These rump caucuses selected Taft delegates. The Texas state convention was held in Mineral Waters, Texas. The party machinery controlled by Taft men seated the Taft delegates. The Eisenhower delegates met across the street. Both conventions sent slates to the Chicago convention.

Taft came to the convention with the most delegates but not a majority. Although the Taft delegates were originally seated a bitter floor fight ensued between the conservative Midwestern faction and the liberal Eastern faction. The Eisenhower forces rallied around “Fair Play” and ultimately seated their Texas delegates. Eisenhower obtained enough support to come just a few delegates short of nomination on the first ballot. Delegates switched and Eisenhower was nominated on the first ballot. The exciting Republican convention was followed in Chicago by the Democratic convention which took 3 ballots to “draft” Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson. This would be the last national convention to require more than one ballot.

What might the conventions fight about in 2008? How about the actions of the Democrat National Committee in stripping delegates from Michigan? Senator Clinton the probable winner of the primary might find those delegates would come in very handy. The Republicans took delegates away from New Hampshire, Wyoming, South Carolina and Florida. An anyone but Huckabee coalition might find those delegates useful come the first ballot. It is important to remember that fights like these would be decided by delegates bound only by their own judgment. The Democrats might have fights about the undemocratic “Super Delegates.” The networks might have to tear themselves away from American Gladiator and present a civic reality show.

It probably won’t happen. But maybe the Great Media Conspiracy can script this one!

UPDATE: Great minds, Jay Cost, RCP's The Horse Race Blog looks ahead to the Republican convention.

UPDATE: More on the delegate allocation.