It’s August 21, do you know who your president is?

I know the guy they kicked to the curb for the last time on Monday—Joe Biden—certainly isn’t running the place.

They kept him up until midnight and then kicked him out the door for good. Okay, let’s be honest. We know America hasn’t had a convention with any real suspense in decades.

We’ve gone into every one of these conventions since 1984 knowing who all the candidates will be for president and vice president. 

They were done deals but at least they gave us the illusion of democracy. We used to love seeing the floor vote and the names of all the candidates who ran for president and their supporters make their case. 

We used to be very interested in what the party platforms would say. At the conventions, many of us felt we were going to see an actual democratic process and felt like we had a say in it.

It was like the difference between going to McDonald’s, where we had no say in our meals, and Burger King. 

Well, the American people aren’t getting it their way. Not even the people everyone assumes always vote for them. 

That includes black voters here in Chicago! 

For three election cycles in a row now, the DNC has shoved the party’s presidential nominee down the throats of its voters: 

Hillary in 2016, Joe Biden in 2020, and now the quick switcheroo to Kamala in 2024. 

There’s no great evidence that any of those three people would have won the Democrat nomination if the same kind of primary and relatively fair nomination process of the past had been in place. 

In 2016, we at least had the semblance of a convention that looked like it was a part of the Democratic process. In 2020, we had a Zoom convention because of the COVID lockdowns, and it didn’t even try to look normal. 

But what’s their excuse this time? 

No floor votes at all. No running mate drama like we saw with Ronald Reagan in 1980 or Jimmy Carter in 1976. No real discussion of policy.

And who can blame them? Even Kamala Harris knows giving the people substance and issues is a bad idea for the Democrats. 

Here’s the thing. This all seems so familiar to those of us who have historical knowledge and memories.
 
We remember that the Soviet Union used to have conventions too. They even had elections that were just a mirage. That’s what this convention feels like. 

It’s just a celebration of a party’s name. Not of any substance. Not of any policy. 

It’s not even a celebration of Kamala Harris. She’s obviously just a placeholder. 

Every morning on this program I’ve been asking, “Who is the president of the United States?” 

Well to the Democrats, it clearly does not matter. Just like the post-Stalin Soviets, it’s not about the leader. It’s about the party.