The Bureau of Publicity of the Democratic National Committee, 1930–32

1933 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-65
Author(s):  
Thomas S. Barclay
Keyword(s):  
House Of Representatives ◽  
National Committee ◽  
Minority Party ◽  
Hoover Administration ◽  
National Convention ◽  
Limited Degree ◽  
First Session

An earlier note in the Review indicated the desirability of minority party activity in the interval between campaigns and appraised the organization and functioning of the publicity bureau of the Democratic national committee from June 1, 1929, until September 1,1930. During the period from September, 1930, to the convening of the Democratic national convention on June 27, 1932, the bureau continued, as a party agency, to criticise the policies of the Hoover administration and to assume, in a limited degree, the educational function of the minority party. In addition, it was necessary during the first session of the Seventy-second Congress to explain and justify the work of the Democratic House of Representatives.

Party Brands and the Democratic and Republican National Committees, 1952–1976

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boris Heersink
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
National Minority ◽  
National Committee ◽  
National Party ◽  
White House ◽  
Policy Positions ◽  
Party Leaders ◽  
Party Organizations ◽  
Minority Party ◽  
Party Brands

Political scientists have traditionally dismissed the Democratic and Republican National Committees as “service providers”—organizations that provide assistance to candidates in the form of campaign funding and expertise but otherwise lack political power. I argue this perspective has missed a crucial role national committees play in American politics, namely that national party organizations publicize their party's policy positions and, in doing so, attempt to create national party brands. These brands are important to party leaders—especially when the party is in the national minority—since they are fundamental to mobilizing voters in elections. In case studies covering the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Republican National Committee (RNC) in the period 1952–1976, I show that minority party committees prioritize their branding role and invest considerably in their publicity divisions, inaugurate new publicity programs, and create new communication tools to reach out to voting groups. Additionally, I show that in cases where the party is out of the White House, the national committees have considerable leeway in deciding what party image to publicize. Rather than being mere powerless service providers, I show that party committees have played crucial roles in debates concerning questions of ideology and issue positioning in both parties.

The Constitutional Convention of Massachusetts

1921 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 214-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence B. Evans
Keyword(s):  
House Of Representatives ◽  
The State ◽  
Party Organization ◽  
Congressional District ◽  
Constitutional Convention ◽  
The People ◽  
The World ◽  
Short Session ◽  
The City ◽  
First Session

The constitutional convention of Massachusetts which assembled in the city of Boston, June 6, 1917, and finally terminated its labors at a short session of two days in August, 1919, is the fourth body of this kind which the Old Bay State has had. The first convention was held in 1779 and 1780 in Cambridge and Boston, and formulated the constitution of 1780. This instrument, to which sixty-six amendments have been added, is the oldest written constitution now in force anywhere in the world. The second convention was held in 1820, and submitted a series of resolutions part of which were adopted and part rejected by the people. A third convention met in 1853 all of whose proposals were rejected. After an interval of sixty-four years, a fourth convention was called, which met in 1917 and again in 1918 and yet again in 1919. It submitted to the people twenty-two amendments and a revised draft of the constitution, all of which were accepted.The convention was composed of 320 delegates. Of these 16 were elected at large, 4 were elected by each congressional district, and the remaining 240 were elected from the districts created for the purpose of choosing members of the state house of representatives. They were elected without party designations, but before the election took place, the lines between the friends and the opponents of the initiative and referendum were rather sharply drawn, and this served practically all the purposes of party organization and designation. In fact, this question dominated the whole of the first session of the convention and overshadowed other questions which were probably of greater importance.

Political Scientists and the Republican National Conventions

1981 ◽  
Vol 14 (01) ◽  
pp. 38-40
Author(s):  
John F. Bibby
Keyword(s):  
Executive Director ◽  
Presidential Elections ◽  
National Committee ◽  
National Party ◽  
Fellowship Program ◽  
National Convention ◽  
Fellowship Programs ◽  
Key Staff ◽  
Staff Level ◽  
State Delegations

During the early 1960s, political scientists were afforded an opportunity to serve as participant-observers at both national party conventions under the convention fellowship program of the old National Center for Education in Politics (NCEP). With NCEP sponsorship, political scientists attached themselves to state delegations, convention committees and candidate organizations to observe at first hand the work of the conventions. A significant segment of our knowledge of conventions was derived from the writing of these NCEP fellows (see, for example, Paul Tillet, editor,Inside Politics: The National Party Conventions, 1960, which was cited frequently in the early editions of such standard texts as Polsby and Wildavsky'sPresidential Elections. The NCEP fellows' work also provided a basis for more sophisticated research. Although the NCEP has lapsed, its national convention and national committee fellowship programs resulted in continuing participation by political scientists at Republican national conventions.Involvement at the staff level in Republican conventions by political scientists has been most extensive in the work of the Committee on Resolutions (Platform). Arthur L. Peterson, formerly of Ohio Wesleyan University and now Dean at Eckard College, was a key staff member (Executive Director in 1964, 1968, 1972) of the Platform Committees between 1960 and 1976.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document