Good morning and welcome to On Politics, a every day political evaluation of the 2020 elections based mostly on reporting by New York Instances journalists.
Enroll right here to get On Politics in your inbox each weekday.
A stroll in Liberty State Park in Jersey Metropolis on Saturday, when all state parks, golf programs and county parks reopened in New Jersey.
If the occasion conventions are referred to as off, will they be missed?
Political conventions, with all of the attendant hoopla of nominating a candidate for the White Home, have been part of American marketing campaign life for practically 200 years. Politicians love them. Pundits love them. Reporters love them. And what’s to not like? 4 days of speaking and dwelling politics in a corridor stuffed with a number of the greatest stars of politics and journalism. Did we point out the open bars and free meals?
Not surprisingly, the concept of a conference — packing 1000’s of individuals right into a crowded area — seems a little less alluring these days. The Democrats are considering scrapping the event this year, and the Republicans might follow suit.
But would that really be so bad?
Even before the pandemic threatened to push the conventions off the 2020 stage, party members were wondering if their time had already passed. The days when real nominating decisions were made at conventions seem long gone. Live network coverage has dwindled to an hour a night.
But more than anything, the parties’ gatherings are a reminder of an old-school kind of politics that doesn’t seem to have the power to influence governance or ideas in this age of antiestablishmentarianism on both the left and the right. Trump’s victory in 2016 was very much a defeat of the Republican Party itself.
The open bars and free food are hard to resist, but the truth is, the Democratic and Republican Parties are no longer what they once were — and neither are their quadrennial conventions.
On Politics is also available as a newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.
Is there anything you think we’re missing? Anything you want to see more of? We’d love to hear from you. Email us at onpolitics@nytimes.com.