Democratic Convention 2024
Matt Welch | 8.21.2024 1:15 PM
If you were either viewing or attending the second day of the Democratic National Convention Tuesday night, and decided to skip out on the traditional hour-long state-by-state roll call to grab some dinner between the speeches of private pension bailout advocate Kenneth Stribling and professional anti-Trump Republican Ana Navarro, you missed one entertaining and potentially even meaningful spectacle.
Roll calls are, in the best and worst case, the county fairs of national nominating conventions, with thematically dressed state delegations (cheese-heads for Wisconsinites, star-spangled cowboy hats for the Texans, etc.) flanking a local pol or two on the mic as they cite fun facts and political trivia about theirs, the greatest state in the union, before announcing the already-known vote totals for the next American president. And yes, the Libertarians do it, too (minus the known vote totals), though sometimes they sacrifice the cheesy recitations to save time.
But last night's ritual was different enough to make you almost hopeful about the future of American civic life. Not because of the political content, at all, but because of something closer to the opposite of politics: music.
On stage, parallel to the podium, wearing shades, a white boater hat, and a shiny blue satin suit, was a ridiculous-looking creature named DJ Cassidy. He promptly transformed the liturgical drudgery into a 76-minute dance party and a celebratory reminder of why,........