The political conventions have certainly created a lot of buzz over the past two weeks. But do they really impact the political process anymore?
Some political analysts say they are outdated and arcane. After all most of the political decisions have been made long before delegates get to the conventions.
"In essence they have become staged media events. They haven't been brokered in forever," says Truckee Meadows Community College Political Science Professor Fred Lokken. "It used to be that conventions were contentious and votes meant something. There was drama and there were ballots upon ballots upon ballots to be counted. Now, with the caucus and primary season, delegates are allocated to the candidates long before the conventions ever begin."
That makes the conventions more a line up of big name speakers than anything else. But they hardly reach the undecided. Instead the parties preach to the party faithful. That does however energize those attending.
"There really is a problem of having to generate excitement. They are so contrived and so artificial that they have been accused of being just a propaganda machine," Lokken says.
This year the conventions for both parties were cut from the traditional four days to three. Lokken says that part of the evolution. "It hasn't evolved for the good of the democracy," he says. "In fact it's something that we should be challenging the parties to just do away with."
Written by Erin Breen
