Unconventional politics
CONGRESSMAN Edward Markey had it about right this week when he compared the torrent of events surrounding the Democratic National Convention to "trying to take a sip of water from an open fire hydrant." It was impossible to take in all the rallies, forums, and tours around town, and the media, bored with the story inside the hall, did little to cover the vigorous debate going on outside.
A panel of network news anchors at the Kennedy School on Sunday jostled politely until Jim Lehrer of PBS took the networks to task for their plans to air so little of the convention. Lehrer noted one poll indicating that 75 percent of Americans were following this election closely, compared with less than 50 percent four years ago. Peter Jennings responded that conventions are too much like infomercials. "But they're infomercials about the future of the country," Lehrer said.
He was right. The audience there thought so. Another bit of evidence: Signs, buttons, and other items from the Barack Obama keynote speech are hot items on
Energized seniors
The ballroom at the Sheraton was packed with politically active people age 65 and over in the DNC's senior caucus. Not one of them had applied for the Medicare drug prescription card, according to Patti Reilly, communications director for the Alliance for Retired Americans. Why? Too confusing.
They're pushing for a change in the law instead. Reilly noted that nearly 80 percent of this "educated, energized" segment of the electorate is registered to vote and that in 2000 they represented one-quarter of all votes cast. Politicians need to give these voters the attention they deserve by coming up with an intelligent, fair plan for lowering drug prices and preserving Social Security. Gimmicks and election-year platitudes don't cut it.
Unfree speech
The protest pen near the Fleet Center fostered an unlikely solidarity. Conservative Christians opposed to abortion stood with prochoice liberals to rail against the caging of free speech in a small, ugly space where few delegates would see or hear them. Right or left, political views cannot be muzzled under the mantle of security. It's time to find a way to reconcile safety and freedom.
Unfilled boots
In Copley Square, the American Friends Service Committee mounted a moving exhibit of military boots representing fallen US soldiers in Iraq. The boots were donated by surplus stores. But earlier this year, as the exhibit toured the country, the Ohio family of Master Sergeant Robert J. Dowdy, age 38, donated their son's boots to be part of those long, sad rows of unfillable shoes. The AFSC also built a mountain of civilian footwear, which will be sent to Iraq, and which represent the 16,000 Iraqi citizens said to have died in the war. Political choices don't get much closer to home.
Pro Bono
Boston was bursting with politicians, but one of the best political discussions came from Bono, the Irish rock star. In town to push the fight against AIDS and poverty in Africa, the U2 lead singer argued knowledgeably and deftly. While many Democrats have strong positions on AIDS, he told Globe editors, President Bush must be given credit: He has doubled the US contribution.
Bono skirts the opposition of some churches to condoms and asks them to help in other ways. And while agricultural subsidies in the United States and Europe are unfair to Third World farmers, Bono said he knows they won't be eliminated, so he pushes to give poor farmers subsidies, too. Lessons in practical politics, building coalitions rather than divisions. Take note, Washington.
Clear conscience
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sums up the greatest threat to America's environment in two words: George Bush. In a passionately pounding speech at the First Parish Church in Cambridge, Kennedy hit hard, saying that one out of every four black children in New York City has asthma and that he himself has three sons with asthma. His pitch: Clean up the air to clear up the asthma attacks; clean up mercury to protect children from damage and diseases; and clean out the White House because President Bush is giving polluters free rein. Kennedy says good environmental policy can be good for the economy. It's a compelling argument. The environment isn't a luxury to be protected only when times are good. Clean air, water, and land are human necessities.
A thorough airing
One point made by nominee John Kerry and several other convention speakers is that the United States can create good jobs, reduce pollution and global warming, and curb its dependence on foreign oil by investing in clean energy. The idea got a thorough airing Wednesday afternoon at a panel in the Financial District sponsored by three environmental organizations and the Apollo Alliance, a coalition of environmental and labor leaders.
The push is for investments in hybrid cars, an upgrading of the electrical grid, renewable power sources, and development of much more efficient appliances. John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, said he saw this initiative as a way to "protect the industrial base by moving it into the future."
Another needed innovation the participants discussed: forming new bonds between the traditional antagonists of organized labor and environmentalists.
Housing inspector
A Wednesday bus tour of affordable housing developments in the South End, Roxbury, and Jamaica Plain attracted more than 100 delegates who wanted to see how a city with record-high housing prices provides housing for low- and moderate-income people. One delegate could teach Boston a thing or two.
Mayor R.T. Rybak of Minneapolis actually ran on a housing platform in 2001 and won. He also joins Mayor Menino as one of the few US mayors who use municipal funds, not just state and federal dollars, to build inexpensive housing. Rybak was impressed by Boston's efforts with one exception: the extensive design and architectural reviews that developers must face when trying to build multifamily housing. "Everything doesn't have to be derivative," said Rybak while the bus passed another brick bow-front building. "Suburban-style tract housing can be nice."
Healthy skepticism
The loudest cheers at a health care rally in Faneuil Hall Thursday were reserved for Senator Edward Kennedy, Democratic Representative John Lewis of Georgia and other speakers who demanded health insurance as a right for every American. The several hundred people cheered Senator Hillary Clinton, too, but they quieted when she recited the details of John Kerry's health care plan, which relies on incremental improvements to cover 27 million Americans.
Ever since the Clinton plan failed in Congress a decade ago, Democrats have sought only minor changes. Kerry's plan is more comprehensive but would still leave 15 million to 20 million Americans uninsured.
Representative Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, reminded the crowd that the election of a Democratic Congress is essential for major expansions of health coverage. Howard Dean recalled that disunity among Democrats helped sink the Clinton plan. Left unmentioned were the polls that show support for universal health coverage eroding when Americans consider the details. Kerry's approach may be more realistic, but without a Democratic Congress, even his improvements have little chance of passage.
Free drinks to all
Mayor Menino invited the Rev. Jesse Jackson on a Thursday tour of successful commercial and housing developments in Roxbury after Jackson made what the mayor perceived as insensitive remarks about the gap between the economic and social status of the city's white and black residents. But reporters at the Grove Hall mall seemed more interested in asking the mayor about reports that few delegates were spending money in downtown businesses.
A Grove Hall business owner made the strongest case for taking an expansive approach. Clayton Turnbull, a Dunkin' Donut franchisee in Grove Hall and business booster for the convention's host committee, suggested that many Bostonians who normally take their vacations in August took off this week instead and will be back in the city next month, opening their wallets. The best strategy, he said, is to be gracious so visitors will want to return. Putting his product where his mouth is, Turnbull then provided free drinks to everyone at the Jackson event.
