Attention, speakers at the Republican convention. The party has just a few rules for you to follow as you join in this time-honored example of democracy in action:
You will be assigned a Bush campaign speechwriter to work with you whether you want it or not. Every word in your speech that appears on the teleprompter will be cleared by the party in advance.
You will make the key points the party wants. You will attend rehearsals. You will keep it short, short, short.
Those are the no-nonsense guidelines set down by Craig Fuller, Bush/
Quayle `92 convention chairman, in a five-page letter to participants in the party`s convention in Houston, which begins Aug. 17.
Knight-Ridder obtained from a congressional office part of the letter dealing with rules for speakers. The Bush campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
Stephen Hess, a political analyst with the Brookings Institution, said the marching orders simply reflect the role of the modern political convention: a four-day television ad for the party and its candidate.
”These conventions are the political parties trying to tell consumers why they should buy their product,” he said. ”Of course, they`re scripted.” The convention will have some dissension, however. The Republicans, unlike the Democrats, will give time to those opposing the party`s position on abortion.
Scripting conventions is a bipartisan effort. Before their convention in New York last month, the Democrats sent letters to speakers reviewing major themes, stressing the need for teamwork and offering facts to bring up about nominee Bill Clinton.
The party also asked speakers to submit a copy of their speech for the cuing device, which was reviewed by staffers, said Laura Quinn, press secretary for Clinton`s campaign at the convention.
But, she said, Democrats being Democrats, many speakers didn`t submit text in advance or show up for rehearsals. ”You`re just not going to tell Mario Cuomo or Jesse Jackson what to say,” she said.
