GOP and Democrats “Living in Two Completely Different Worlds” — Lawless on Conventions LIVE

GOP and Democrats “Living in Two Completely Different Worlds” — Lawless on Conventions LIVE

University of Virginia Professor of Political Science Jennifer Lawless appeared on GoLocal LIVE where she broke down the Republican National Convention, a week following the Democrats’ — and said the two parties are in “two completely different worlds.”

“If you watched last week, and compared it to this week, you would have no idea what was true and what was not true — because they’re talking about the same things in completely different ways," she said. 

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Parties, Diversity, and Social Distancing

"Second, it’s clear that the Republicans were trying to stage what looks more like a conventional convention — they’re more likely to have audiences, they’re less likely to be adhering specifically to various social distancing or mask wearing guidelines," said Lawless. "So on that front, it just looked like a different kind of production."

"I would say a couple of things. The first is that because there is no convention floor and because we we don’t see what the delegates look like the Republicans [were] able to paint a picture of their party that’s more diverse than reality, and that certainly works to their advantage," she said. "If they can diversify their lineup and showcase some of the women and people of color who are members of the party — without then panning to the convention floor that looks ninety percent white — it helps them."

"The Republicans have clearly made it obvious that they’re pursuing a base strategy — they are throwing a ton of read meat to their supporters and the kinds of things the speakers spoke about regardless of who they are or what they look like are all things meant to increase voter turnout among Republicans," she said.