American Government; The Delegate Selection Process

<v Speaker>This American citizen decided to take an active part in selecting a candidate for <v Speaker>president of the United States. <v Speaker>In early 1975, Pat Pangburn's growing interest in politics <v Speaker>began to focus on a dark horse candidate for president: Jimmy Carter. <v Speaker>In July 1976, the American bicentennial year, both she and <v Speaker>her candidate made it to New York City and the Democratic National Convention. <v Speaker>Politics, to me, is a microcosm of um our existence. <v Speaker>It's a speeded-up version, meaning that- that <v Speaker>uh a couple years in politics, you learn about people and things, <v Speaker>what it would probably take you maybe 15 or 20 years to learn <v Speaker>in just an everyday living situation. <v Speaker>Pat's home state, Texas, had passed a law setting up a one time only presidential <v Speaker>primary in 1976 to replace their normal convention process. <v Speaker>Pat Pangburn became a delegate for Jimmy Carter by actively participating in the petition <v Speaker>process that put Carter in the primary in Texas.

<v Speaker>On the primary ballot, the presidential candidates who had qualified to run in Texas <v Speaker>were listed with the names of their pledged delegates. <v Speaker>Then on primary day, voters expressed their preference for presidential candidate by <v Speaker>voting for his delegates. <v Speaker>Carter carried Pat's district and by a winner take all provision in the Texas law, <v Speaker>all Carter's delegates, including Pat, were chosen to represent the 8th <v Speaker>District at the Democratic National Convention. <v Speaker>But since the Texas law had provided that only 75 percent of the national convention <v Speaker>delegates were chosen in that primary, Pat continued to work in the state convention <v Speaker>process, hoping to influence the selection of the remaining 25 percent. <v Speaker>Also, it was in this political convention process that Pat could hope to influence <v Speaker>the direction of the Democratic Party in her own state. <v Speaker>A precinct convention is the- the start of this process. <v Speaker>And actually what it is, is uh a series of eliminations. <v Speaker>People who are elected here tonight, and we will elect 17 delegates and 17

<v Speaker>alternates, will go next Saturday to our senatorial district convention, <v Speaker>whereby in that caucus we will send one person to the state convention, according <v Speaker>to uh the figures that we have. <v Speaker>A person going to state convention will be in a caucus, such as this, to determine <v Speaker>who will be going to the national convention from uh their particular group. <v Speaker>So we're starting out tonight, and this is the- the democratic process. <v Speaker>I think it's very important [fade out to narration] Pat had attended the 72 and 74 <v Speaker>precinct conventions. And in 76, she ran for both precinct <v Speaker>chairperson and convention chairperson. <v Speaker>She won both. [man speaking in background] 200 25 to 23. <v Speaker>[applause] My memory is correct! <v Speaker>Under the party rules, in order to effectively organize, you surround yourself <v Speaker>with a candidate or an issue to draw in people. <v Speaker>In 1976, we had Jimmy Carter and we were able to get people that we've had in the past <v Speaker>precinct conventions and new people who hadn't participated in politics

<v Speaker>but just admired Jimmy Carter and were also infatuated with the idea that if <v Speaker>they attended the precinct convention, that that was a step in the ultimate process <v Speaker>of nominating him. We had more people than the other- the other people did. <v Speaker>And um uh this is the way the process is done, <v Speaker>that uh um you are given a percentage <v Speaker>of delegates to the next level convention um uh contingent upon the number <v Speaker>of people you have at that convention. <v Speaker>In the state of Texas last Saturday, the people overwhelmingly elected Jimmy Carter as <v Speaker>their presidential preference. <v Speaker>Jimmy Carter [fade out to narration] <v Speaker>The next level convention was the state senatorial district convention, held one <v Speaker>week after the primary. <v Speaker>Pat and the other Carter supporters, many of them old timers in the convention process, <v Speaker>felt that Jimmy Carter had made a strong enough showing in the primary that they could <v Speaker>gain control of the convention.

<v Speaker>Any time you're in a convention situation, you want to know where your strengths <v Speaker>are. And uh we had deemed the election of permanent chairman <v Speaker>as the test vote to see where our forces were. <v Speaker>[background chatter] The temporary chairperson was from the opposition <v Speaker>faction and moved to postpone the election of a permanent chairperson, <v Speaker>a move he hoped would weaken the position of the Carter forces. <v Speaker>I raised a point of order that this was not correct and it did not follow the prescribed <v Speaker>agenda because it would have been detrimental to my effort <v Speaker>and the effort of the Carter forces at this convention to postpone that election. <v Speaker>After the election of permanent chairman, the next order of business was <v Speaker>to um caucus within the precincts and have the precincts elect their <v Speaker>delegates to the state convention. <v Speaker>The next order of business is to elect the At-Large delegates and <v Speaker>that- that was it right there, that we were afraid that if we did not have our person in <v Speaker>as chairman, that uh the selection of the At-Large delegates would not be

<v Speaker>fair and equitable. <v Speaker>And um uh we wanted to make sure we had the chairman. <v Speaker>So the chairman could increase the committees according to the rules and <v Speaker>uh ensure this fair representation. <v Speaker>[background chatter] <v Speaker>The issue was forced and the chair called for the election of the permanent chairperson. <v Speaker>Though it seesawed at first, when the final vote was counted, the Carter nominee, <v Speaker>Tim Kelly, was elected. <v Speaker>The opposition faction bowed to the loss and didn't even bother to offer a nominee <v Speaker>for secretary. <v Speaker>The tally has been completed the vote for Smith 457, for Kelly 530, <v Speaker>and I declare Mr. Kelly the winner. <v Speaker>All the rules are available for anyone, at least within the Democratic Party. <v Speaker>And you study them and you read them all the time until you're very familiar. <v Speaker>[Tim Kelly] My first time to be on this platform, I'm going to do my best <v Speaker>to run this convention in a fair way under

<v Speaker>the rules. You will caucus either by paired precinct, and <v Speaker>you are already paired, those who are paired, and individual precinct. <v Speaker>Each will hold a caucus. <v Speaker>Anyone can nominate any other person or himself to be <v Speaker>a delegate to the state convention. <v Speaker>After all nominations have ceased, there will then be one vote <v Speaker>and one vote only. <v Speaker>The person who receives the greatest number of votes in that precinct or in <v Speaker>that pair of precincts is the delegate to the state convention. <v Speaker>The person who has the second largest number of votes is the alternate <v Speaker>to the state convention. <v Speaker>Pat was nominated and elected to represent her precinct at the state convention. <v Speaker>She, and the other delegates elect, then went to the nominating committee to register <v Speaker>and express their presidential preference. <v Speaker>Democratic Party rules require that the delegates selected at the district convention to <v Speaker>attend the state convention must proportionately reflect the presidential preferences of

<v Speaker>all the delegates at the district convention. <v Speaker>If the presidential preferences of the delegates elected are not in the same proportions <v Speaker>as the body as a whole, it is the task of this nominating committee to balance the <v Speaker>ratios by the selection of At-Large delegates. <v Speaker>The District Convention as a body ratified the nominees and adjourned. <v Speaker>In June, the delegations from the 31 senatorial district conventions gathered <v Speaker>for a state convention. <v Speaker>In presidential election years, both parties in Texas have 2 state conventions. <v Speaker>The first is for the national party business and the second in September is for <v Speaker>state party machinery. <v Speaker>The state convention in 1976 was charged with electing <v Speaker>32 delegates at large to the national convention. <v Speaker>I served on Carter's delegate screening committee, about 15 people <v Speaker>who would take recommendations from across the state of people who were interested in

<v Speaker>being delegates. <v Speaker>We wanted to make sure that they were for Jimmy Carter and that they could be counted on <v Speaker>to vote for Jimmy Carter to the national convention. <v Speaker>The first business of the June Democratic State convention was the selection of the <v Speaker>Permanent Credentials Committee. <v Speaker>This vital committee was to review a credentials challenge by the Carter delegates in the <v Speaker>16th Senatorial District. <v Speaker>This challenge had already been reviewed by the Temporary Credentials Committee, with the <v Speaker>majority ruling against the Carter people and a minority dissenting <v Speaker>by. <v Speaker>The Permanent Credentials Committee deadlocked on the issue and the Carter forces took <v Speaker>their challenge to the floor of the convention. <v Speaker>[background] All opposed say no!

<v Speaker>The vote was too close for a voice count, and so a roll call vote was necessary. <v Speaker>There were, I suppose you could say, real Carter delegates and phony Carter delegates <v Speaker>in the the16th senatorial district convention. <v Speaker>The phony Carter delegates did not have the strength to win <v Speaker>the majority of the delegates to the state convention. <v Speaker>But uh with some tricky maneuvering, were able to subvert the real <v Speaker>Carter delegates' strength. <v Speaker>The phony Carter people were ejected from the convention. <v Speaker>They had violated the rules. And the state convention has as a whole ratified that. <v Speaker>And the real Carter forces who had behaved in a legitimate fashion <v Speaker>were reinstated. <v Speaker>In a coalition with the liberal uncommitted and other outsiders, the Carter delegates <v Speaker>had again won a test vote. <v Speaker>This was the first evidence that a change of power was taking place in this convention. <v Speaker>I think it told anyone who was looking that Jimmy Carter more or less had a delegate

<v Speaker>strength right there. His people from all over the state were all over the convention. <v Speaker>Convention officers were then elected and the committees assigned and the convention <v Speaker>adjourned for the day. <v Speaker>If there isn't a ceremony, it isn't a convention. <v Speaker>And Texas Democrats moved into the second day in the traditional style. <v Speaker>[sings national anthem in background] <v Speaker>But I did come by because I heard that there were some Democrats in town,

<v Speaker>and I don't ever want to be anywhere where Democrats are not. <v Speaker>I want at least one section of the columns of United States <v Speaker>with a Democrat in the White House. <v Speaker>We've got to have that. <v Speaker>Now, you have heard- you have heard during the time that you have been here, <v Speaker>many appeals to unity. <v Speaker>That has become the watchword. <v Speaker>And I can simply say that as Democrats, let <v Speaker>us not be petty when the cause for which we have to fight <v Speaker>is so just. <v Speaker>While the main body of the convention waited, the real political struggles went on in the <v Speaker>committee meetings. <v Speaker>These committees reflected the power change of the day before and new faces, Carter <v Speaker>people, were being placed in positions of power. <v Speaker>Pat herself was nominated for the Democratic National Committee.

<v Speaker>One of the other charges of a state convention is to elect <v Speaker>members of the Democratic National Committee from Texas. <v Speaker>And this is done by a DNC nominating <v Speaker>committee. They take nominations and um hear <v Speaker>testimony about qualifications and hard work and the committee votes. <v Speaker>And I was one of those seven chosen by the DNC nominating committee. <v Speaker>The next step is ratification by the full convention, which is uh in most <v Speaker>cases very pro forma. <v Speaker>Those who were nominated, elected to Democratic National committeemen, committeewomen <v Speaker>are as follows. <v Speaker>One, Joe Branau, of Bear County [fade out to narration]. <v Speaker>Although the power structure had changed, the theme of Jimmy Carter's campaign was unity. <v Speaker>[background chatter] And when members of the disposed power group threatened to walk out, <v Speaker>compromise became necessary, [background chatter] and Pat Pangburn became the <v Speaker>center of that compromise.

<v Speaker>Number 7: Miss Pat <v Speaker>Pangburn of Dallas County has withdrawn in the interest of the candidacy <v Speaker>of Jimmy Carter. She was Jimmy Carter's- on Jimmy Carter's National <v Speaker>Steering Committee in the interest of the unity of the Democratic Party <v Speaker>[fade out to narration]. <v Speaker>I was at the Rice Hotel the time I heard that there was some conflict. <v Speaker>[background chatter] And so I rushed to the convention center uh to be told that Governor <v Speaker>Briscoe was insistent that his choice, Jess Hay, was <v Speaker>to be retained on the National Committee and he would leave the convention <v Speaker>and would not participate in the general election campaign for Jimmy Carter, if <v Speaker>his choice was not honored. <v Speaker>And I was the only real bonafide <v Speaker>Carter person, of us 7 people, that had been with Carter campaigned for- <v Speaker>for a year previous to that day. <v Speaker>I cannot help but say that to be nominated to the highest <v Speaker>body in the Democratic Party is a matter for my deepest thanks

<v Speaker>and appreciation. <v Speaker>There are times, however, when accomplishment of an even more important <v Speaker>objective requires personal considerations to be set aside. <v Speaker>Well, I sort of felt like I was put upon in a way. <v Speaker>Uh it was something that had to be done. And I think that anybody in the same <v Speaker>circumstance, who had spent a year with the Carter campaign up to that point, uh <v Speaker>would be very sensitive you know to the problem and would do it. <v Speaker>But then the personal considerations were such that it was upsetting, uh that it was <v Speaker>something that I worked hard for. And, you know, you don't like to give up, once you win <v Speaker>something. <v Speaker>To be replaced by Mr. Jess Hay, I second the report <v Speaker>of the committee. <v Speaker>Chair recognizes Commissioner Bob Armstrong to second the nomination. <v Speaker>Mr. Chairman, delegates. <v Speaker>The last time I stood at this microphone, I said that there were no gains without pains. <v Speaker>Let me tell you, as I- and I speak principally to the Carter delegates,

<v Speaker>that as far as Pat Pangburn's situation is concerned, this is one <v Speaker>where there are no pains. [fade out to narration] <v Speaker>For her actions, Pat was promised an at large delegate seat on the National Executive <v Speaker>Committee, a promise later kept. <v Speaker>Now unified, the convention discharged its final business. <v Speaker>The adoption of new rules, approval of presidential electors for the Electoral College <v Speaker>and approval of the slate of delegates to the National Democratic Convention. <v Speaker>This state convention had brought about a change in the power structure of the Texas <v Speaker>Democratic Party, and accomplished that without dividing the party into openly <v Speaker>warring factions. The Texas Democratic Party was ready for the national <v Speaker>convention. <v Speaker>There was a feeling on my part right before I went to New York that <v Speaker>um oh Jimmy had it. You know, it was in the bag for him. <v Speaker>You know, why should I really go up there? <v Speaker>Um that it- it's an expensive trip. You're not subsidized by anyone. <v Speaker>And uh, you know, gee, maybe I should just, you know, stay around home,

<v Speaker>and not- not necessarily go, but it was really a grand experience. <v Speaker>[music]. <v Speaker>First thing that hit me when I entered the garden was the, you know, the vast array

<v Speaker>of colors. It was just larger than life. <v Speaker>It was uh uh very, very, very, very exciting, very crowded, a <v Speaker>press of bodies. <v Speaker>Madison Square Garden is a very small place, but uh um it was just a, <v Speaker>you know, a great experience. Everywhere you look can see a luminary or a dignitary <v Speaker>or a movie star. And uh was very exciting for me. <v Speaker>The 76 Democratic National Convention. <v Speaker>The job at hand is the nomination of a candidate for the seat in the Oval Office. <v Speaker>And the name of the nominee isn't any secret. <v Speaker>Jimmy Carter is assured the nomination by the number of delegates already pledged to him <v Speaker>in state primaries. <v Speaker>With millions of American voters watching, the convention is in search of some excitement <v Speaker>that will keep them tuned in. <v Speaker>Primetime television is a paradise for maximum party exposure, and the <v Speaker>Democratic officers are calculatingly careful with a television script for their <v Speaker>convention.

<v Speaker>These self-appointed experts on law and order, they took <v Speaker>crime off the street. They put it in the White House. <v Speaker>All keynote speeches and major personalities are aired during prime viewing <v Speaker>hours. The thrust is to focus on the Democrats platform <v Speaker>and the new unity in the party. <v Speaker>But in the face of unity, there is no loss of state identity. <v Speaker>Each state party, though run under the umbrella of the National Party rules, still <v Speaker>operates independently. <v Speaker>Even the delegates to the National Party Convention are selected differently in the <v Speaker>various states. <v Speaker>In Illinois, in each congressional district, we have 24 of them in Illinois, <v Speaker>uh a delegate files through petition to run as a delegate <v Speaker>uh with a preference towards a presidential uh candidate. <v Speaker>That delegate then must campaign in that congressional district for himself, <v Speaker>as well as that presidential candidate that he's representing.

<v Speaker>A delegate could run as an uncommitted delegate if he wishes. <v Speaker>Now, to give an example, we'll take my congressional district. <v Speaker>I'm from the 15th Congressional District. <v Speaker>I met Jimmy Carter a year ago and he asked me to run as a delegate. <v Speaker>5 others also ran as a delegate for Carter in my congressional district. <v Speaker>There were delegates representing five other candidates <v Speaker>in that congressional district. <v Speaker>When the voters voted in the primary, they voted in a preferential preference, which was <v Speaker>just a beauty uh pageant. <v Speaker>Then they voted for the delegates. <v Speaker>They had cast 6 votes. <v Speaker>Now, in the outcome of that voting, 5 Carter delegates were elected, <v Speaker>they received the fi- 5 top votes, one Humphrey delegate was elected <v Speaker>and they went- they come directly to the convention. <v Speaker>We also have At-Large delegates elected based on the number of <v Speaker>delegates that a presidential candidate gets.

<v Speaker>Well, we have a proportional representative uh system in California that <v Speaker>was a- the result of the uh outcry against the winner-take-all <v Speaker>primaries of 72. <v Speaker>And uh we choose our delegates on the uh caucus level, on the congressional district <v Speaker>caucus level. Uh and uh the uh- the uh- the <v Speaker>list of those chosen is then uh sent to the secretary of state, <v Speaker>and it's allocated by the C D levels statewide in <v Speaker>relationship to the percentage of uh votes that are cast for the individual candidate. <v Speaker>State delegations still operate mostly as a unit at the national convention. <v Speaker>They sit together on the floor. They vote together and work together. <v Speaker>They gather together frequently outside the convention in state caucuses to maintain <v Speaker>their organization and plan their group strategy. <v Speaker>The thing we don't want is people drifting in saying, "Oh, I'm sorry, I was gone, vote <v Speaker>me." And somebody doesn't know whether he did or not.

<v Speaker>But the thing it would help us the most is to keep the aisles cleared and to keep people <v Speaker>in their seats during the time that we're taking that vote. <v Speaker>This is the headquarters for the state delegation. <v Speaker>Here they get information about the agenda and convention procedures. <v Speaker>Remember that tonight we have only the nomination and election of a presidential nominee <v Speaker>[fade out to narration]. <v Speaker>In conventions where the outcome is more in doubt, these state caucuses become <v Speaker>the center of last-minute campaigning by the candidates. <v Speaker>But in this convention, a leading candidate is more interested in unifying factions than <v Speaker>in securing votes. He already has the vote. <v Speaker>So Jimmy Carter makes his appearances at special interest caucuses [background chatter] <v Speaker>Governor, I present to you the delegates and alternates who have traveled <v Speaker>around this great nation to be here and participate [applause] <v Speaker>There is a variety of interests caucuses vying for influence at the convention. <v Speaker>Latino, labor, amnesty, abortion, blacks, women, <v Speaker>all groups with an eye on influencing the party platform.

<v Speaker>The rules and the presidential nominee [background chatter] <v Speaker>[Jimmy Carter in background] In the past, that you have not been adequately represented [applause] <v Speaker>On the third day of the convention, the nominations finally get underway. <v Speaker>Though Carter is considered a shoo-in, his nomination must be legitimized <v Speaker>through the traditional democratic process. <v Speaker>Every faction is allowed its moment in the spotlight. <v Speaker>The parade of nominating speeches runs from real contenders to candidates no longer <v Speaker>in the contest who want to throw their support to the front runner. <v Speaker>[applause] <v Speaker>The lone contender at the convention was Jerry Brown, governor of California. <v Speaker>Though a late entry into the primary battle, he had made a surprising show of strength <v Speaker>against Carter. But he started too late to really compete with the former unknown from <v Speaker>Georgia, whose long line of primary victories assured Jimmy Carter <v Speaker>that he would be the Democratic Party's nominee for president.

<v Speaker>The moment of truth. For the delegates, the roll call vote is what they've been <v Speaker>working toward for months, to vote for his candidate for the highest office <v Speaker>in the United States. And with the roll call, state by state, <v Speaker>the candidacy of the Democratic nominee is legalized. <v Speaker>Pat Pangburn can at last cast her vote for Jimmy Carter. <v Speaker>But before Texas Governor Briscoe could cast Pat's vote, Carter passes <v Speaker>the magic number and has enough votes to be the official nominee. <v Speaker>The Democratic National Party has a candidate for president of the United States. <v Speaker>Then the remaining states cast their votes, for the record.[background chatter] <v Speaker>At a California caucus the following morning, Jerry Brown symbolizes the Democratic

<v Speaker>drive for unity in 1977, as he throws his support to Carter. <v Speaker>[Jerry Brown in background] This program to fruition. Not for me, but to elect our next <v Speaker>president, Jimmy Carter, and every legislator in our party. <v Speaker>Will you do that? [applause] <v Speaker>The polls now show us in a very strong position because we have unity. <v Speaker>Republicans are divided, as you know. <v Speaker>But that gap in the public opinion polls is inevitably <v Speaker>going to be decreased substantially. <v Speaker>If there's one fatal mistake that we can make this year, <v Speaker>it's overconfidence. <v Speaker>On the last day of the convention, a vice-presidential candidate is selected. <v Speaker>Carter, like most presidential nominees, selects his own running mate. <v Speaker>But the democratic process requires the nominating speech and roll call vote to legalize <v Speaker>the proceedings. And the Democrats have their ticket. <v Speaker>My name is Jimmy Carter and I'm running for president.

<v Speaker>[applause] <v Speaker>Together, the 1976 Democratic National Convention delegates have <v Speaker>picked a winner. <v Speaker>Pat Pangburn wanted an active voice in the selection of her political party's nominee for <v Speaker>president. She combined that desire with a lot of hard work and became <v Speaker>a part of the grassroots swell that carried Jimmy Carter to the Democratic National <v Speaker>Convention and eventually to the White House. <v Speaker>She and thousands like her are the real proof that democracy strength lies <v Speaker>with the people. It's as strong as they are, as active as they are, <v Speaker>and as dormant as they are. <v Speaker>For Pat, democracy is a winner. <v Speaker>The men of 1776 are sending us a message here tonight. <v Speaker>Freedom is never a resting place. <v Speaker>It is not a reward for having been born an American. <v Speaker>It must be won by every generation, earned by every citizen.

<v Speaker>Or it will be lost. <v Speaker>Those founding fathers did not guarantee success. <v Speaker>They spoke only of opportunity. <v Speaker>The Declaration of Independence does not guarantee [fade out]