The Possibility of Politics
John Tuma’s Capitol Update – April 23, 2010
"The time has arrived for the Democratic Party to get out of the shadow of states’ rights and walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights. . . our land is now, more than ever before, the last best hope on earth. I know that we can . . . begin here the fuller and richer realization of that hope - that promise - of a land where all men are truly free and equal . . ."
- Hubert H. Humphrey, 1948 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, PA
In the American political and governing structure, party conventions often become the critical moment in time that set in course great changes in the history of our nation and become launching pads for great political careers. In 1948, the Democratic National Convention that gathered during the second week of July, in typical midsummer hot, steamy East Coast weather, was a convention that changed the structure of our national political landscape and helped launch the career of one of Minnesota's greatest political leaders.
By 1948 the national Democratic Party was in disarray. Having overcome the Great Depression and leading the nation successfully through World War II, they no longer had any great cause to bind together their far ranging and easily-fractured coalition. As they walked into their 1948 convention, there was a sense of inevitable defeat of the accidental president, Harry Truman, at the hands of the professional and energetic candidacy of New York Governor Thomas Dewey.
A year earlier, a small gathering of Northern liberals known as the Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) met in Chicago. The group was made up mostly of FDR New Deal administration members who were exiled during the war years and the Truman administration. It was at this meeting in Chicago that a previously unknown young mayor from Minneapolis named Hubert Humphrey caught the eye of this group, with his keen political vision complemented by an energy and infectious speaking style. With Humphrey's leadership, the ADA prepared for the Philadelphia convention with the hopes of introducing an aggressive civil rights plank that would call for federal action to outlaw lynching, insure Southern blacks the right to vote, and open the military to equal access for minorities. They knew they would face institutional opposition from the Southerners who stubbornly guarded the states’ rights plank of the Democratic Party.
The ADA, under the leadership of Humphrey, led an effective floor campaign convincing delegates that a strong civil rights plank would re-energize the liberal Northern base and bring in the disenfranchised minority communities. The floor action culminated in what many have considered one of the greatest political speeches of the 20th century by Humphrey. It resulted in an overwhelming victory for the strong ADA civil rights plank. Soon thereafter delegates from four Southern states bolted from the convention to nominate "Dixiecrat" Strom Thurmond for the presidency.
Many felt this Southern defection was the doom of the Democratic Party in 1948. Undeterred, Harry Truman wisely took the momentum from the convention, galvanizing support from Northern liberals and an energized minority community to pull off one of the greatest upset victories in American history. In the race for U. S. Senate that same year, Hubert Humphrey rode to victory on a wave of pride that Minnesotans felt from the triumph of our favorite son in Philadelphia. Though the bold words of the 1948 civil rights plank would not find their way into law until 1964, the actions of Humphrey launched him into national prominence and led to one of the greatest political careers in Minnesota history.
Therefore, political conventions do matter. The 2010 Minnesota Legislature has moved cautiously through April because of the upcoming party conventions at the end of this month. Governor Pawlenty’s announcement that he will not seek reelection has touched off one of the biggest political scrums for the direction of Minnesota and has offered an opportunity for many to launch their political careers to a new level. The possible direction of our environmental and energy policy certainly will be affected by the outcome of this next election.
The direction of Minnesota's environmental policy will start to take shape with the DFL's endorsing convention in Duluth this weekend, with the endorsement for their gubernatorial candidate occurring on Saturday (and possibly into the wee hours of Sunday morning). Due to federal election law changes, Minnesota has moved up its primary election to the second week in August; that's why the conventions have been moved to April prior to the end of session as opposed to a more typical mid-June date. Having conventions during legislative session is a new phenomenon which has slowed the progress of the Legislature since the Passover/Easter break. Even though the Legislature has been relatively quiet leading up to this convention, there were a couple of issues on MEP's collaborative agenda which did see action.
The legislation to help the Minnesota Department of Transportation work closely with communities to develop environmentally sensitive and safe roadways known as Complete Streets reached the House floor for final House debate and passage on Wednesday. The chief author of HF2801, Rep. Mike Obermueller (DFL- Eagan), did a stellar job in presenting the legislation. After Obermueller effectively fought off some partisan amendments, the bill passed on a solid bipartisan vote of 92-37. Ten Republicans joined all of the DFLers in the House to support the legislation. The two leading Republican candidates for governor were not on the list of Republicans supporting the legislation, but more on that next week.
On Monday in the Senate, there were two attempts to amend energy bills with the repeal of the State's moratorium on the construction of new nuclear power plants which was adopted back in 1994 as part of the Prairie Island compromise. When a similar amendment was offered a few weeks ago on the Senate floor, the DFL majority handled the procedure quite poorly. Fortunately, the DFL majority showed a much steadier hand on the driving wheel of their parliamentary proceedings this time around; Hubert Humphrey would have been proud. Both amendments were ruled out of order under the germaneness rule and the DFL caucus remained unified when the minority attempted to overturn the procedural decisions.
In a few days there will be plenty of political discussion following one of the most significant political conventions in the history of the Minnesota DFL party . . . a party, by the way, which was built in no small part by Hubert Humphrey. You can expect that the DFL majority in the Legislature will quickly digest the meaning of that convention and move with great dispatch to wrap up the 2010 legislative session. There will be little desire to stay around to battle the lame-duck governor when the real political battle will be waged in the cities, hamlets, and distant back roads across this great State.
Next week we will touch on the significance of the Republican convention, which will be held on Friday and Saturday of next week. So stay tuned as Minnesota history is being made at both the Legislature and political party conventions. If you want to be part of this great debate for Minnesota's future, I would suggest showing up for the gubernatorial candidate forum hosted by MEP on Sunday, May 2 at 1 p.m. at the Living Green Expo located on the State Fairgrounds. For more details, go to: http://www.mepartnership.org/mep_pressroom.asp?new_id=3835
