Connecting with Constituents

Identification Building and Blocking in Contemporary National Convention Addresses

By (author) Tammy R. Vigil

Publication date:

08 October 2015

Length of book:

446 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

ISBN-13: 9780739199039

Connecting with Constituents explores speeches delivered at national nominating conventions from historic, strategic, and analytic perspectives. Focusing on the strategies speakers use to appeal to particular facets of the American audience, this book illustrates the importance of nominating conventions as part of an ongoing national conversation about the political character of the country and its people. The individual chapters focus on different types of convention orations, including keynote speeches, acceptance addresses by presidential and vice presidential nominees, orations by the candidates’ wives, and addresses by other surrogate speakers. Each chapter provides a brief history of a particular type of oration, an explication of speakers, speeches, and contexts from the RNC and DNC between 1980 and 2008, and an in-depth comparative analysis of 2012 Republican and Democratic speeches. The book demonstrates how candidates and those speaking on their behalf employ strategies (such as telling personal stories, using jokes, offering intraparty appeals, acclaiming accomplishments, and framing the opponent in particular ways) to alter how citizens build, or fail to build, personal connections with the speakers, the parties, and their nominees. These analyses reveal more than simply how speakers and speechwriters persuade audience members; they show how would-be leaders view their potential constituents. They also highlight key social, historical, and political changes in the nation.

Connecting with Constituents blends historic anecdotes, excerpts from numerous speeches, and insights from political communication studies in a manner that engages the interests of anyone seeking to understand the relationship between political candidates, their speeches, and the people they wish to lead.

Introduction: The Importance of Presidential Campaigns and Nominating Conventions
Chapter One: Identification and the Race for the White House
Chapter Two: Setting the Tone: Convention Keynote Addresses
Chapter Three: Relying on Others: Special Surrogates Speak
Chapter Four: Running Mate Challenges: Vice Presidential Nominees’ Acceptance Speeches
Chapter Five: When Wives Speak: Addresses by Nominees’ Spouses
Chapter Six: The Main Event: Presidential Nomination Acceptance Addresses
Conclusion: The Ties that Bind: Lessons from Convention Speeches

Connecting with Constituents demonstrates the continuing importance of speeches at national political conventions for creating a sense of shared identity between candidates and the people. The useful comprehensive discussion of contemporary keynotes, surrogate speeches, candidate acceptance speeches, and speeches by candidates’ wives illuminates important trends in contemporary politics, especially the very different visions of the electorate expressed in recent Republican and Democratic conventions.