W&L Mock Convention draws
famous Democrats to Lexington
Former Texas Congressman Charles Wilson, former presidential candidate the Rev. Jesse Jackson, and Gov. Timothy M. Kaine are among the convention's featured speakers.
(AP Images)
A diverse group of past and present Democratic leaders will descend on Lexington this weekend for Washington and Lee University's Centennial Mock Convention.
Because this year's race will likely end with either a woman or African-American leading a major-party ticket for the first time, convention organizers chose speakers to reflect the campaign's diversity.
Former presidential candidates Jesse Jackson and Carol Mosley Braun, former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro and Richmond Mayor and former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder headline the list of notable Democrats.
Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and Sen. Jim Webb will also address the thousands of students and guests expected to attend. Many students are also excited to hear former congressman Charles Wilson, whom Tom Hanks played in the movie "Charlie Wilson's War."
Logan Gibson, a W&L senior who led the effort to recruit speakers, said drawing in a diverse list of speakers, including Virginia's Democratic leaders, was one of her priorities.
Wilder was the first African-American in the United States to be elected governor, while Mosley Braun is the first African-American woman to serve in the Senate. Ferraro, Walter Mondale's running mate in 1984, was the first woman to represent a national party as a vice presidential candidate.
"My original plan, because of difficulty in getting national people, was to make sure I locked in all the leaders from Virginia," Gibson said, "so that's why we got Webb on board and Kaine on board as the sitting governor. I don't believe the sitting governor has missed the convention [in] more than 50 years."
Last February, Kaine was the first sitting governor to endorse the candidacy of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama. Kaine campaigned for Obama in Iowa.
After watching video of the 2004 Mock Convention, Gibson realized that most speakers spent their time at the lectern stumping for their favorite candidate.
"Before [watching the video] I'd been telling them to talk about civic engagement, Gibson said. "Then I called them back and said, ‘Actually, just give a rip-roaring speech for whoever you support.'"
Kimberly Hunter, an aide to Webb, said the senator would not endorse a candidate before the Virginia primary on Feb. 12. Hunter said Webb was excited about his speech.
"The list of speakers reflects the high esteem people have for this event," Hunter said. "It's quite a compliment to be invited."
The convention also aims to showcase future party leaders like Harold Ford Jr., a former Tennessee congressman who is now head of the Democratic Leadership Council, or DLC.
"It's our centennial convention … and we really wanted to celebrate the rich past of the party and pick speakers who will be strong future leaders," Gibson said. "Jim Webb is going places; Harold Ford Jr. is head of the DLC, and when Bill Clinton came in '88, not only was he Arkansas's governor, he was head of DLC."
Other speakers include West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin, former Georgia Sen. Max Cleland, Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden and Texas State Rep. Patrick Rose.
"Hopefully in the future we can say, ‘wow, Beau Biden came and now he's Secretary of State,'" Gibson said.
Twenty years after then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton spoke at Mock Convention, students are still talking about Clinton's visit. After the convention, he jumped on stage at an off-campus party to play saxophone.
The convention begins Friday morning with a parade featuring floats made by each delegation. The parade will travel down Main Street before turning left and heading down Washington Street.
All convention sessions are sold out.
Produced by
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journalism students.
Lead Supervisors:
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Prof. Phylissa
Mitchell
Editing supervisor:
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Technical supervisor: Michael Todd