Originally released August 2020. Jimmy Carter’s 1976 convention in New York handed him 30 percentage points in the polls. No other party convention has ever done that for a candidate. It turned an unknown upstart into the leader of a party. And it is seen as one of the best We look at what happened – from a strict chairman’s gavel to a secret VP pick, from expert badge distribution to checking for bugged telephones, from fighting crime to picking up garbage, from dodging the draft to dodging the press. A scandal over the lightbulbs, an astronaut does not reach the sky, while a new celebrity is born. Also: searching for Hunter Thompson and Joe Biden, polyester suits, delegates learning judo, peanuts and fried chicken.
We also talk to a few delegates to the 1976 convention about their memories. Thanks to John Pouland, Lynda Hallmark Gammage and Billy Rodgers of TX 1976 for their participation.
(and In a few weeks – how it all went downhill for Carter in ’80)
Music: Lee Rosevere and Dee Yan Key
Why not the 1976 GOP? Well, we covered that, in 2016: https://myhistorycanbeatupyourpolitics.wordpress.com/2016/04/26/1976-gop-convention-a-dozen-ronald-reagans-part-five/
My History Can Beat Up Your Politics 