2012 Democratic National Convention

• 1. Introduction

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  The 2012 Democratic National Convention opened on the 4th of September, 2012, in Charlotte, North Carolina, in an arena that had never before hosted a major party nominating convention. For three days, delegates, speakers, and protesters gathered in a city that sat at the heart of one of the most contested states in the country. The questions that hung over Charlotte were not simple ones. Could the Democrats fill a 72,000-seat football stadium for their president's acceptance speech? Could they keep the money flowing after a decision to ban corporate donations left them $27 million short? And could a party hold its convention in a state that had just voted, by constitutional amendment, to ban same-sex marriage? The answers to all three would arrive by Thursday night, and not one of them would land the way organizers had planned.

• 2. Why Charlotte

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  First Lady Michelle Obama announced on the 1st of February, 2011, in an email to supporters that Charlotte had been selected as the convention site. It was a choice with a clear political logic. In 2008, Barack Obama had carried North Carolina by just 13,692 votes out of more than 4.2 million cast. That razor-thin margin of 15 electoral votes made the state a prime target for both parties. Charlotte beat out three other finalists: Cleveland, Minneapolis, and St. Louis. It was the first time any major party had held its nominating convention in North Carolina.

  Organizers projected that the event would generate more than $150 million for Charlotte and the surrounding metropolitan area and bring over 35,000 delegates and visitors. The selection process had begun in earnest in October 2009, when the Democratic National Committee sent letters to potential host cities. The deadline for expressions of interest was the 11th of January, 2010. By June 2010, four finalist cities had been identified, and Charlotte ultimately won.

• 3. The Stadium That Wasn't

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  Thursday night, the 6th of September, was supposed to end at Bank of America Stadium, a 72,000-seat outdoor venue. Barack Obama had been set to deliver his acceptance speech there. Convention officials insisted publicly that Thursday's program would proceed at the stadium "rain or shine." Then, roughly 24 hours before the event, they moved everything indoors to the 20,000-seat Time Warner Cable Arena, citing a thunderstorm threat.

  The Charlotte NBC affiliate WCNC-TV's chief meteorologist, Brad Panovich, pushed back publicly on Twitter, writing that the "severe threat is almost zero Thursday night" and that the chance of rain was just 20 percent. He asked directly whether anyone would cancel a Panthers game or a concert under those same conditions. Media commentators questioned whether the real concern was not weather but an inability to fill a stadium of that size, raising the possibility that empty seats would signal low enthusiasm for the president.

  The NFL had already adjusted its schedule once because of the convention. The league moved its season-opening Kickoff game from Thursday to Wednesday, the 5th of September, to avoid a conflict with Obama's speech. That, in turn, forced the DNC to shift Joe Biden's vice presidential acceptance speech from its traditional slot the night before the presidential speech to Thursday evening, before Obama took the stage.

• 4. The Keynote and the First Lady

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  On the opening night, Tuesday the 4th of September, the keynote address went to 37-year-old San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro. Castro framed the election as a choice: a country where "the middle class pays more so that millionaires can pay less" versus one where "everybody pays their fair share." He described the opposing budget as one that "doesn't just pummel the middle class, it dismantles it." The Global Post described the audience as "adoring and appreciative" and called the words "powerful."

  Michelle Obama delivered the final speech of the opening night. Her 25-minute address focused on who Barack Obama was before the presidency, drawing on his knowledge of struggle and the American dream. She quoted a soldier blinded by a bomb in Afghanistan who said, "I'd give my eyes 100 times again to have the chance to do what I have done, and what I can still do." Jim Rutenberg, reporting for The New York Times, described the crowd as "electrified" by her delivery, noting that it drew people "to its feet."

• 5. Clinton, Warren, and a Disputed Vote

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  Wednesday the 5th of September brought its own turning point, one that had nothing to do with speeches. The original 2012 party platform had been written without the traditional references to God or God-given rights and without language naming Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland introduced a floor amendment to restore both. Convention chairman Antonio Villaraigosa put the amendment to a voice vote, which required a two-thirds majority to pass.

  The first vote was indecisive. The second was equally split. A woman standing near Villaraigosa told him, "You've got to rule, and then you've got to let them do what they're gonna do." A third vote produced the same result. Villaraigosa declared the amendment passed. The floor erupted in boos.

  Bill Clinton delivered the presidential nomination speech for Obama later that evening, formally nominating him for re-election. The nomination itself went to a roll call of all 5,556 delegates, every one of whom voted for Obama. Mississippi held its vote so Ohio could put the tally over the required 2,778, and the count continued while delegates drifted toward the exits. Wyoming cast the final votes in a near-empty hall. Elizabeth Warren, then a U.S. Senate candidate for Massachusetts, also spoke that Wednesday.

• 6. Money, Protests, and Controversy

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  The Democratic Party had announced in February 2011 that it would not accept corporate donations to fund the convention. The move was intended to strengthen the party's populist credentials and create distance from Bank of America and the financial industry. By June 2012, the convention was $27 million short of its fundraising goals. Some planned events were canceled. The previous convention had raised $33 million from corporate donors. Corporate sponsors were still permitted to make in-kind contributions and to donate to a nonprofit called New American City, Inc., which was incorporated on the 4th of April, 2011, and run by the directors of the host committee. Donors to that nonprofit included Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Duke Energy. The party's convention funds were held in a Bank of America account, and a $10 million line of credit from Duke Energy was also available.

  Charlotte received a $50 million federal security grant. The city spent roughly $25 million on its police force, with specific allocations including $303,596 for police bicycles, $61,000 on software, and $704,795 on a command center upgrade. Over 90 organizations had formed a coalition called the Coalition to March on Wall St. South, aligned with the Occupy Wall Street movement. One group of undocumented workers traveled to the convention by bus, calling their vehicle "The Undocubus," with participants accepting the risk of deportation if arrested.

  North Carolina's passage of Amendment 1 on the 8th of May, 2012, banning same-sex marriage, had prompted calls to move the convention elsewhere. The DNC declined. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the committee's chair, described North Carolina as "a critical battleground" and said the controversy was part of why it had been chosen.

• 7. An Unexpected Footnote

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  Not everything at the convention went according to plan, and at least one detail became an embarrassment after the fact. During the final night, as Senator John Kerry and retired Admiral John Nathman spoke, a montage of military ships and aircraft played as a tribute to veterans. The ships shown were Russian warships. The aircraft were Turkish F-5s. The Democratic National Convention Committee later issued an apology for featuring the Russian vessels.

  Benita Veliz spoke on Wednesday night and became the first person to address a United States national political convention while knowingly and unlawfully residing in the country. Former Republican Florida Governor Charlie Crist also appeared on Thursday, a signal of the crossover appeal the Obama campaign was seeking. Gabby Giffords, the former Arizona congresswoman who had been shot in 2011, led the Pledge of Allegiance on the final night, one of the convention's most charged moments.