The Democratic National Convention is set to take off tonight with a number of highly anticipated speeches, including a speech from First Lady Michelle Obama and a keynote address presented by Julian Castro. Both of these speeches will be the highlight of the evening, what they will share in common is an effort to fire up the Democratic base to re-energize the enthusiasm that has waned since 2008.
The Republican National Convention failed to move the polls, and the much anticipated acceptance speech given by Mitt Romney was largely a flop according to a Gallup poll finding that the speech did not change how people plan to vote in November. American’s in general did not tune in to watch the RNC and ratings for the event were at their lowest since 1996. Romney’s speech failed to woo Independent voters and now Democrats need to seize the opportunity to do so by contrasting their platform and rhetoric with that of the Republicans.
A stagnant and slowly improving economy are hard sells when put up against the heavily negative campaign elements implemented by Republicans this election cycle. But because the Republican’s failed to significantly move swing voters the Democrats are in a prime position to inspire and fire up the most vital base necessary in 2012 the undecided voter. The best way to do this is through a intensive and thorough undertaking of the parties policies and positions given through the parties platforms and contrasting them.
Many of the newly released party planks of the Democratic party have the ability to rejuvenate the youth base as well as other members of the party that may have been discouraged this election season from the heavily negative campaigning. These include the inclusion of gay marriage into the platform, as well as the healthcare platform that allows an individual to stay on a parents health plan until they are 26. With the release of these planks it is vital that the speakers discuss them in detail. Big slogans are catchy but what people are interested in is the facts that will guide these policies. One of the biggest blunders of the Republican convention aside from the odd speech given by Clint Eastwood, was the onslaught of fact checkers after one of the most popular speeches of the convention Paul Ryan’s. So while voters want policy details, what they want more than anything are truthful details. One of the best things that can happen during the DNC is to make sure that fact checkers don’t have to post any “pants on fire” or “Pinocchios” after a major stump speech.
