DU - Why Dean is Not McGovern

1) McGovern alienated significant portions of the Democratic base. “Rallying the base” is usually not the way to win elections because elections are mostly won by garnering the votes of swing voters who decide who to vote for by looking at sound bites and have only a cursory knowledge of the issues. Eroding your base, however, is a certain way to lose an election. Trade unions and big city machines were critical to the success of any Democrat then. The AFL-CIO, perceiving McGovern as the candidate of shaggy-haired, elitist war protestors, denied McGovern it’s endorsement depriving his campaign of a considerable amount of money and a then-crucial Democratic constituency. The Daly machine in Chicago gave McGovern only the most grudging support after their slate of delegates was rejected at the convention and the Democratic mayor of Philadelphia endorsed Nixon.

Dean, on the other hand, does not appear likely to turn away any important Democratic constituency. He may not be everyone’s first choice but it’s hard to imagine an important group of Democrats turning to Bush if he’s the nominee.

2) McGovern survived a contentious and damaging convention. The political convention has become a TV miniseries, a week long well scripted commercial for the party and its nominee. McGovern arrived at his convention with his nomination probable but not certain. A last minute attempt to deprive him of almost half his California delegates and maybe the nomination had to be beaten back. In fact the convention became so bogged down in partisan disputes that McGovern didn’t even give his acceptance speech until the early morning hours when almost no one got to see it. The party had not put its best foot forward and as a result McGovern’s convention may have been the only one in history in which the candidate was further behind in the polls when it ended. It is almost inconceivable that Dean or any nominee will have to endure a similar fate next year.

3) The Eagleton Disaster. McGovern’s choice for a running mate was Senator Thomas Eagleton of Missouri. Shortly after the convention it was revealed that he had been hospitalized several times for nervous exhaustion and had been treated for depression with electro-shock therapy. McGovern handled the situation as badly as it can be handled, first standing by Eagleton and then a few days later letting the press know that he wanted Eagleton to step down. It made McGovern look indecisive and the ensuing search for a new running mate during which McGovern was turned down by numerous prominent Democrats made the campaign look ridiculous. It was a death march from that time onward.

4) McGovern was seen as a cultural threat. As divided as American society may sometimes seem today it is one big happy family compared to the way it was in the late 60’s and early ‘70s. Ironically McGovern himself was a soft-spoken hero of World War II but his support of abortion rights, amnesty for draft evaders and the decriminalization of marijuana made him appear to be the candidate of hippies and radicals. Although the McGovernites eventually won the culture war they were seen by significant segments of the population as an assault on the American way of life.

Deans and most of his supporters tend to be upper middle class, accomplished professionals, hardly a group that threatens anyone. He’s probably going to have to hone his skills in relating to the people who attend NASCAR events but they aren’t going to automatically tune him out the way they did McGovern. There is nothing in the Dean vision of America that would drastically change the direction of American society.