Open And Closed

Dear Boo and Bubble,

Geez….I’m sorry to have been so long in writing.  I must confess that the weather here at Sugar Mountain has been so gorgeous, it continually beckons me outside.  Today is equally pleasant, but I am determined to continue the story of Captain’s political career (and, consequently his relationship with Governor Dick Riley).  I'm sure there will be enough time left to go and play.

As I told you in the previous post, because of the help of friends and supporters, Captain became the Chairman of the Cherokee County Democratic Party.  He served in that capacity from 1980 until 1983 and it did prove to be a very interesting time to be involved.  In the summer of 1982, he was elected as an alternate delegate to the National Democratic Convention representing the 5^th Congressional District in South Carolina.  The convention was in New York City in Madison Square Garden.  I cajoled my way into the proceedings by successfully getting The Gaffney Ledger, our local newspaper, to request credentials for me as a special correspondent. 

One of our close friends from Gaffney, Mary Michaels, was also elected as a delegate and the three of us spent an exciting week in New York.  President Jimmy Carter sought the party’s nomination for a second term, but Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy launched a last minute challenge to that effort contending that Carter’s sinking national popularity made him a weak contender against the Republican nominee, Ronald Reagan.  He began a movement to demand that Carter should release all of the delegates he had accumulated over months of precinct, county and state meetings in order to make the convention “open” and let people vote directly for the candidate of their choice. 

The stakes were very high.  Carter couldn’t afford to alienate Kennedy’s supporters for the general election, but he certainly didn’t want to risk losing the nomination (he already had enough pledged delegates to secure it) through a procedural concession.  The two camps met behind closed doors and agreed to a compromise.  Carter would allow a vote among the delegates to see if they wanted to “unbind” themselves from their pledge and put the question of the preference for the nominee to an “up or down” vote. 

Captain and Mary sat on the convention floor with the SC delegation during all of these negotiations.  Envoys from both sides lobbied for their positions, but the Southern states remained staunchly in Carter’s column.  The delegates felt that they had been elected to represent the wishes of the Democrats in their various districts and to now go and vote for another candidate would violate the trust of the folks back home. As Carter’s highest profile supporter from South Carolina, Governor Riley worked diligently to ensure that the state’s delegates voted to remain pledged to the President.

My credentials allowed me access to the printed media section located high up in the crow’s nest of the Garden.  From this high perch, I observed the activity on the convention floor.  I also had the opportunity to interact with journalists from all over the United States and several foreign countries.  Even though Captain and Mary were strong Carter supporters, I determined to be as incognito as possible, hoping to encourage conversation rather than have people avoid me because of an advertised predisposition.  This strategy meant that, for the most part, I had to keep my mouth shut because my thick Southern accent would expose me every time. 

One morning, as the issue of an “Open” convention reached fever pitch, I happened to be sitting next to a reporter from a small newspaper in Massachusetts. 

“Hello,” he said.

“Hi,” I answered.

He immediately became suspicious.  Needed a follow-up question.

“How are you today?”

“Fi-un, thank you.”

Suspicions confirmed.  I was from the South.  He hesitated for a minute before starting in.

“You know, don’t you, that President Carter is keeping this from being an ‘open’ convention.”

“Oh, how so?”

“Because he won’t allow the delegates to vote their consciences on the nominee.  He’s afraid he’ll lose.  This convention is totally closed!” he declared with a frump like his word was it and I was wrong – even though I hadn’t really said anything yet.

I thought about just leaving it lie, but I just couldn’t do that.  I felt duty-bound to defend Carter……the South…..myself…..certainly my intelligence against this dismissive man who had probably sized me up as a yokel. 

I looked him straight in the eye and said, “Well, in my humble opinion, the fact that the delegates are being given the opportunity to vote on whether or not to unbind themselves makes this a very ‘open’ convention.”

He stared at me for a second and sort of snorted.  We both turned away and continued to watch the activity on the floor.  In a few minutes, he got up and left. 

I know I didn’t change his mind on anything, especially not his initial opinion of me.  But, I’ve always been very proud that at least I must have left him momentarily at a loss for words. 

Ultimately, Carter's position prevailed and a majority of the delegates voted to bind themselves to the commitments made at the grass roots level.  Carter won the nomination, although he lost badly in the general election in November of that year.  Still, the whole experience for us was quite amazing…..especially that one little nugget of triumph for me.

It's Easier Than You Think

Dear Boo and Bubble,

It’s been almost three weeks since I last wrote to you.  The main reason is the fact that I’ve actually been with you for most of that time.  As always, we had great fun, creating more wonderful memories together!

But, I want to get back to my stories about Captain and his foray into politics, and ultimately Governor Dick Riley’s influence on him.  As you know, Captain was a lawyer by profession. (Since his retirement, he likes to tell people now that he’s a “recovering lawyer” and attends AA - Attorneys Anonymous - meetings regularly to try to get over it.)  When he went out on his own in 1975 (See “Be the Turtle” – January 4, 2015), he determined that a portion of his time should be spent in community involvement.   This would serve two purposes – the first, to fulfill his belief that people should always give back; and second, to provide the opportunity to meet people and grow his business. 

He joined the local chapter of Sertoma and, in our country’s bicentennial celebration in 1976, chaired the committee that produced the reenactment of the Battle of Cowpens which was one of the turning points in America’s Revolutionary War.  The reenactment drew thousands of participants and viewers from all over the country.  For his efforts, Captain received a lifetime membership in Sertoma.  At the same time, he served as President of the local Red Cross board and, in 1979, chaired the annual United Way drive in Cherokee County. 

As a lawyer, he spent many hours in the local courthouse and knew all of the elected officials.   In Cherokee County, three women held significant positions – Ruth Clary, Clerk of Court; Gayle Phillips, Auditor; and Catherine Gibson, Treasurer – and Captain became good friends with all of them.  At the time, all levels of statewide politics were dominated by the Democratic Party and our county was no exception.

In early 1980, there was a vacancy for Chairman of the local Democratic Party.  Gayle and Catherine knew of Captain’s interest in politics, no doubt from his conversations with them about your great, great grandmother Lucille Tally (November 24, 2012 – “A Steel Magnolia In The Family”).   Thinking that this interest, coupled with his fledgling community stature, would make him a good choice for the position, they approached Captain about offering himself as a candidate.

It was going to be a critical time for the party in that Democrat Jimmy Carter would be seeking a second term as President of the United States.  Dick Riley had just assumed the governorship for South Carolina and he would spearhead Carter’s efforts in the state.  After weighing all of the responsibilities of the position against his other professional and personal obligations, Captain decided he would run.  Not only would it be exciting, it would give him the opportunity to get to know people from all over South Carolina.

The process for choosing a chairman, as well as support for Presidential candidates, started at the grass roots.  On a given Saturday, precinct meetings were held all over the county.  Each precinct elected officers and, according to the number of voters assigned to the precinct, determined the number of delegates eligible to attend the county convention.  Those present also declared their preferences for President and caucused together based upon them.  Delegates to the convention were then apportioned according to the percentage of support for each candidate.  (This time around, the overwhelming majority of delegates declared for Jimmy Carter.)

You might think that the task to get Captain elected Chairman of the county party would be daunting.  But, I must tell you, it was the same in 1980 as it is today……..very few people take part in their precinct meetings…….so few that in many cases there are less people actually present than there are required officer and delegate slots to be filled.  In many cases, precincts historically were controlled by one person who merely wrote in names of friends and family members on the required forms and turned them in as if a meeting had been held.

Understanding this, Captain obtained a copy of the voter registration rolls for all of the precincts in the county.  He convened a meeting of our friends and acquaintances who agreed to comb through the rolls and identify potential supporters in each precinct.  We then followed up with a call and asked those people to please attend their meetings to secure a slot as a delegate to the county convention.  The strategy was to take over as many precincts as possible through the basic act of participation.  If it worked, Captain would have a majority of delegates at the county convention to elect him chairman.

The designated Saturday morning came. For the very first time, Captain and I (along with many others working on his behalf) found ourselves at a party precinct meeting.  It took no more than an hour.  When it was over, his supporters dominated the delegate slates from precincts all over the county.  His election as county chairman was assured at the upcoming convention.

In hindsight, I have come to realize that this is truly one of those good news/bad news stories.  The good news is that, because not many people involve themselves in the political process, Captain was able to mobilize his supporters to guarantee a successful outcome.  The bad news is that, because not many people involve themselves in the political process, others can do the same thing.  Many states have now gone to primary elections to determine who the actual candidates will be for the major parties.  But, precincts are still the grass roots from which an organizational structure grows, and lack of participation by the vast majority leaves the system vulnerable to control by the extremes. 

This was the lesson we learned in 1980……and we’ve tried to remember it ever since…..and we still participate.