Politics
By ROBERT KIECKHEFER

Convention fallout

IF THE national conventions portend anything in Illinois this year, it might be a message of warning for the Democrats.

Consider the difference in the way the parties prepared for the conventions. The Republicans looked like they'd have an eternal hassle, with Gov. James R. Thompson at first unwilling to do what he had to do to guarantee his position as chairman and a bunch of Anderson delegates all set to tiptoe down the path of division in the name of principle.

The Democrats, with a tradition of strong leadership and party unity to guide them, appeared ready to absorb the Kennedy delegates within their ranks and go to Madison Square Garden with a least a semblance of order.

Obviously, things didn't work out that way. The Republicans put their house in order, and, as a result, the state played a substantial role at the Detroit convention. It's not too farfetched to think that performance might restore the state to good graces in a Reagan administration which otherwise might have been inclined to ignore Illinois.

The Democrats, on the other hand, found themselves sliding further and further into disarray as convention week neared. The confusion and lack of leadership only reinforced the image forged by Chicago Mayor Jane M. Byrne in her flip-flop on a presidential endorsement.

What happened?

On the Republican side of the coin, the state benefitted from some good fortune and from Thompson's willingness — as a good politician — to accept the inevitable.

The governor had two chances to bow to the inevitable. He took both of them in stride and wound up with the respect of some groups which might otherwise have been reinforced as enemies. The first example is Thompson's presidential endorsement. The governor, speaking plainly, waffled all over the lot in his support for a candidate. By the time Ronald Reagan's bandwagon wound up as the only entry in the race, Thompson was on the sidelines and his chances for the chairmanship were in real doubt. Inevitably, the solution was a quick endorsement for Reagan, and he did it with a minimum of fuss and some aplomb. And when it became clear the Anderson delegates intended to make their voices heard at the GOP convention, Thompson bowed to that inevitability. He let them have their say and defused a situation which could have been nasty and given a black eye to the state.

The good fortune was Thompson's standing as a moderate Midwesterner at a convention dominated by conservatives. It was that positioning — as well as his growing reputation within the party — which prompted Reagan and GOP Chairman Bill Brock to invite Thompson to join the small task force they put together to try to persuade Gerald R. Ford to accept the vice presidential nomination. That invitation must have come as a very pleasant surprise for Thompson, and, at the very least, the result has to be an "in" for Thompson at a Reagan White House. At the most, could there be an invitation to join the cabinet?

Then there are the Democrats. One has to conclude Richard J. Daley would roll over in his grave if he could see the tumult.

The mayor of Chicago not a delegate to the national convention? The Cook County Democratic chairman and the party's Senate candidate not even attending the festivities? The chairmanship of the delegation up for grabs among independents, newcomers and unknowns, and eventually being dictated by the White House?

The stage, of course, was set by Mrs. Byrne's endorsement of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy at a time when he looked like a sure bet to win the nomination. A devoted Kennedy fan, Mrs. Byrne was left on the outside looking in when the senator's campaign fell apart. Ditto George Dunne, who has taken almost no public role or position on national issues.

So, who was to lead the Illinois delegation? State Treasurer Jerome Cosentino was ready to jump into the void. He had supported Carter despite Mrs. Byrne's bid for Kennedy. Unfortunately for the party, the treasurer wasn't the only one to sense the political void, and Comptroller Roland Burris was not shy about making a move for the top spot.

Apparently fearing a bloodbath during the organization of the state delegation, President Carter put together a four-person, co-chairmanship ticket and used his personal spokesman in Illinois, the Rev. James Wall, to hammer that plan through the first delegation caucus.

Cosentino was infuriated, Wall lost what little standing he had with the pros, and the delegation was left, in effect, with no leader at all.

The decision to meddle came home to roost when Carter's popularity began to sag, and the call went out for an "open" convention. As a result of the long chain of blunders and miscalculation, the president was left without effective representation in a delegation that included his largest single bloc of delegates.

This is written before the convention, so it's hard to say how serious the situation will be in terms of repercussions. But if the party can't organize better than that — if it can't keep its obvious leaders out in the front ranks — there will be a hard task of fund-raising this fall. And who can say what will be the fallout for Alan J. Dixon and the legislative candidates?

34/September 1980/Illinois Issues