BRIEFLY
Edited by Donald Sevener
BE A PEPPER
Coke and Pepsi probably don't have much to worry about, but the soft drink giants will have competition at this summer's Democratic convention. Look for Clinton Cola to be the drink in hand at the height of hype. Packaged and promoted by Dan Partney of Granite City, the cola comes in a five-color can with President Bill Clinton's portrait in the "O" of cola, the White House above and a slogan below that says, "One taste to come back 4 more." Partney, whose father packaged a lemon-lime soft drink called Johnson Juice in the 1964 presidential campaign of Lyndon Johnson, is donating $2 from the sale of each $12 case of Clinton Cola to the Democratic Party. Partney estimates that
And the cola's value may go well
beyond thirst-quenching. As a collector's
item, Billy Beer, named after the First
Brother of President Jimmy Carter, now sells
for $210 a case, according to Partney. He
doesn't have current quotes on Johnson Juice.
THE BUCK
STOPS HERE
Republicans and Democrats try to milk national conventions for all the political capital they can. But other people are looking to capitalize on conventions for another purpose: to fatten their wallets. Mark Cook, deputy director of marketing and merchandising for the Democratic National Committee, says he gets 60 to 70 phone calls a day from people seeking to peddle their wares at the United Center. And they've got some curious wares to peddle. "Sometimes I've had to wonder what people are thinking," Cook says. "I've gotten calls from people who want to sell scented bath oils, lotions, love jellies. ... Some people have the fairly mistaken idea that this is going to be like the lotto for them — a way to make a lot of money." Most product ideas are eliminated because they don't meet the basic guidelines set by party leaders: All products sold at the convention must be made in America by union workers (with preference given to women- and minority-owned businesses). Others are ruled out because they show just plain bad taste. I've had people call and say, 'Picture so-and-so Republican on a T-shirt with a bullet hole in his forehead,'" Cook says. "You just hear some of the most vicious, nasty stuff.
"It sounds like a corny gauge, but
when I think about a product, I have to
think about the off-chance the president will walk by and see it. I'd hate to
be showing something and have him
pick it up and ask, 'Why are we selling
this?'"
VIRTUAL MALL
Have you been searching for a perfect gift for that special, politically involved someone? Have you grown tired of the same old buttons and bumper stickers the local party headquarters are distributing? Do you need to be a delegate to a national convention to find all the really cool stuff that you see on convention coverage? No. Nor do you need to turn to the Home Shopping Network. Turn instead to the Internet. For those interested in Campaign '96 Republican and Democratic memorabilia, the World Wide Web offers all the mall can provide without the parking hassles. The "Republican Main Street" World Wide Web site at http://www.rnc.com not only pro-
8 ¦ August 1996 Illinois Issues vides historical and current information about the party, but also a convenient gift shop. The shop carries everything from GOP Champion shirts and elephant-emblazoned neckties to brass car keys and canvas travel bags. The page works like an ordinary department store catalogue. You see what you want, dial an 800 number and in five to 10 days a UPS truck will deliver a package to your doorstep. It's that simple. The Democratic Party Home Page at http://www.democrats.org provides a variety of merchandise similar to the Republican site. While strolling through the aisles of the Democrats' shop, you can view the "Win in '96" virtual store complete with stickers, lapel pins, watches and, of course, mouse pads. The site has the advantage of cutting out the middleman. A tool in the Democrats' shop allows the user to order directly via the Internet with the use of a major credit card. Purchases are much easier and far less time-consuming, although sending credit card information over the Internet entails some risk of piracy. The only completely secure way to transmit such information is to make sure that your web browser and the server you are ordering from has encryption capabilities. As an alternative, the Democratic site also provides the old-fashioned 800 number technique.
So clear those charge cards, boot
up the computer and get online for
the ultimate political shopping experience!
NEWS HOUNDS
With little drama to report on at this year's Democratic convention, the nearly 15,000 members of the media expected to visit Chicago will be nosing around for news. Retrospectives on the raucous 1968 Democratic gathering and reviews of the championship Bulls basketball team are sure to abound. With that in mind, the Community News Project is trying to lure visiting journalists to look beyond the hype and hoopla at more consequential Chicago-based stories. Rather than peddling puff pieces, the project hopes to inspire a discussion of urban issues and concerns in the 1996 presidential campaign by pointing out problems — and solutions — Chicago has confronted. "In the 1992 campaign, urban issues really were submerged," says Mark Miller, senior consultant for the project. "We thought it would be great to interest the press in looking at Chicago as an urban lab." The project was organized by the Community Media Workshop, which tries to generate media attention for nonprofit groups' programs. The group sent briefing papers to media outlets all over the globe on issues ranging from Chicago recycling efforts to the city's experience with managed health care. The background papers are chock full of Chicago-based sources.
So far, says Miller, the response has been good. "We've had calls from a number of countries — Belgium, Japan, France, Canada. We've been involved in stories that appeared in Newsweek and USA Today. Our goals were to provide local
connections ... and beyond that, to offer a road map to a reporter. We're saying,
here are 20 people to talk to; here are five schools to visit. We hope they'll use them." Illinois Issues August 1996 ¦ 9
In 1896, when this cartoon was drawn, control of the national party convention could
mean control of the nomination. Here, U.S. Sen. John W. Daniel, who supported free
silver, and U.S. Sen. David Hill, an advocate of the gold standard, rush for the gavel
representing the temporary chairmanship of the Democratic National Convention.
Daniel won the gavel and helped bring about the adoption of a free silver platform and
nomination of a free silver candidate, the social reformer William Jennings Bryan.
Unconventional exhibits make museums take conventional look Democratic conventioneers can explore political history through several museum exhibits that look at past conventions and politics. "Parades, Protest, Politics: Chicago's Political Conventions" is at the Chicago Historical Society, Clark Street and North Avenue. The Chicago Public Library Harold Washington Center, 400 S. State Street, is featuring "The Artist as a Reporter: Political Conventions Since 1960" through September 28. The American Police Center and Museum at 1717 S. State Street is offering "The 1968 Democratic Convention: The Truth Behind the Print" through September 30. "Precincts, Parties, and Platforms: Politics and Chicago Jews" will be at the Spertus Museum, 618 S. Michigan Avenue, through the end of the year.
Jane Addams' Hull-House Museum at 800 S. Halsted Street has "Advocates for Children and Political Reform: The Women of Hull-House in
1896." And should conventioneers bring children, the Kohl Children's
Museum on Green Bay Road in Wilmette offers "Election '96," an interactive exhibit that allows children to participate in the voting process.
WEB SITE OF THE MONTH If you're a political junkie who anticipates the campaign season the way a Cubs fan awaits spring training, then the World Wide Web can give you a daily, perhaps even an hourly, fix. All Politics, at http://allpolitics.com, is run by CNN and Time and contains a variety of stories and graphics about issues and candidates, news and interviews, analysis and commentary, polls and cartoons. It even offers contests and games, including "Prez '96" that lets you select a fictitious candidate for president and manage his or her campaign.
Politics Now, at http://www.politicsnow.com is sponsored by ABC News, the National
Journal, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and Newsweek. It too offers a smorgasbord of news, opinion, polls, games and
direct online access to politicians and other
players. You can find out "The Buzz," listen in
as "Money Talk$" and register your view on
current issues in the "Voter Booth."
Vote Smart Web, at http://www.votesmart.org, bills itself as the one-stop shopping center
for political information, combining the database of Project Vote Smart with other web
sources. It has information about the federal
executive branch, Congress and the judiciary,
as well as issue information broken down by
state or category. Graphically austere, it also
has information on political campaigns and
organizations, issues and educational and reference resources that it labels a "voter's self-defense system." Not entirely sober, the site
also has links to political humor and to sites
that offer voter participation.
Finally, don't forget the political parties. Democrats plan to provide real-time chats
with delegates and other party officials during
their convention in Chicago; tune in at
http://www.dncc96.org. And Republicans are
inviting comments about their platform at
http://www.rnc.org.
Hey, it's your government — climb online
and take part.
10 ¦ August 1996 Illinois Issues
PATRONAGE
Illinois didn't invent the political spoils system, though we've managed to elaborate on the concept in creative ways. (For related stories on no-show or ghost payrollers, a subspecies of patronage, see Illinois Issues, July 1996, page 18, and June 1995, page 24.) In the past two decades we've also managed to become a national case study on the subject. In cases from Illinois, the U.S. Supreme Court has outlawed hiring and firing government employees for political reasons. This summer, in a case from Northlake (and a second one from the state of Kansas), the court extended the protection to independent contractors. John Gratzianna argued he lost a towing contract with the police department in Northlake because he opposed the mayor's re-election. In 1972, a federal consent decree prohibited Chicago city officials from requiring political work as a condition of employment. Then, in 1976, the high court ruled for the first time that patronage violates an individual's First Amendment rights by "severely restricting political belief and association." The court banned firing government workers for political reasons. In 1990, the court prohibited politicians from hiring, promoting or transferring most state employees for political reasons.
Gov. Jim Edgar unsuccessfully intervened in the Northlake case, asking the
justices to overturn the 1990 decision.
In the last 20 years, state officials have
increasingly relied on so-called pinstripe patronage, the practice of
awarding lucrative contracts to
political contributors and friends.
MOTOR-VOTER
"Vote early and often" is a time-honored punch line in Illinois, meant to evoke a more colorful political era. For the past year, the advice could have been, "Register early and often." Pointing to this state's history of vote fraud (particularly in Chicago's Democratic precincts), Republican Gov. Jim Edgar and his party's legislative leaders have refused to implement the federal "motor-voter" law for state and local elections, forcing some would-be voters to sign up twice (see Illinois Issues, June 1996, page 38; May 1996, page 3; and July 1995, page 8). In June, Cook County Circuit Judge Francis Barth ruled Illinois' system is unconstitutional and ordered state officials to implement a single system before the November 5 election. Ironically, the National Voter Registration Act was designed to make it easier for voters to register. It requires states to permit citizens to register by mail or when they apply for or renew driver's licenses, and to enlist voters at social service, military recruiting and other public offices. However, Illinois officials decided to fight motor-voter in federal and state courts. In March 1995, U.S. District Judge Milton I. Shadur ordered the state to comply with the law, but Illinois resisted and appealed. In June of that year, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the state to implement the law for federal elections. Officials set up two registration systems. In the primary about 133,000 Illinoisans who had registered in state facilities were unable to vote in local elections.
Motor-voter may be a partisan issue.
But pointing to the potential for fraud
seems the height of political cynicism
at a time when a declining number of
Illinoisans are bothering to even vote
once.
Illinois Issues August 1996 ¦ 11 |
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sale of the cola could bring as
much as half a million dollars for the
party in Illinois alone.
