Democrats banking on California, dreaming of November

By Matt Smith/CNN

Democrats point to the symbolism of Los Angeles and its history as a cultural crossroads when they describe how they chose the city that hosts their upcoming convention.

"We think Los Angeles and California help us show in a very visual and sort of literal way the story of the Democratic Party," said Jenny Backus, a spokeswoman for the party.

With 54 electoral votes, the Golden State is also considered the keystone to Vice President Al Gore's presidential aspirations once he claims the nomination there. It's also the home of Hollywood and the entertainment industry, which has donated millions to the Democrats in recent years.

The last time the Democrats held their convention in Los Angeles was 1960, when they nominated John F. Kennedy -- a candidate with movie-star appeal and Hollywood acquaintances such as Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra -- for president. It was at that convention that Kennedy coined the phrase "New Frontier," which helped give his era a name.

The state has an extensive slate of prominent Democratic officeholders, including Gov. Gray Davis and Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer. It has also been the "laboratory of the new economy," Backus said. That economy is one of the pillars that Democrats are banking on to aid a Gore victory in November.

Few American cities strike such a chord in the American consciousness. From the Beach Boys to Baywatch, Los Angeles has been celebrated as a land of dreams, a ticket to the good life.

"California has been the land of opportunity. It's been a melting pot of people from all over the world. It's a city and state that richly celebrate their diversity and has become stronger because of it," Backus said.

Others have been less generous -- Dorothy Parker mocked it as "72 suburbs in search of a city," while Raymond Chandler called it "a big, hard-boiled city with no more personality than a paper cup." But Los Angeles easily forgave Chandler's gripes: The tales of detective Phillip Marlowe's forays through the dream palace's dark basement gave the city a cachet that a dozen studio publicists could never have imagined.

Unlike Philadelphia, where the Republicans are holding their convention this year, Los Angeles was barely on the map just a century ago. The rise of the motion picture industry, the discovery of oil in the area and the growth of the aircraft and aerospace industries all fueled the city's boom in the early 20th century. Hordes of Hispanic, European and Asian migrants have swelled the area's population to 10 million.

But the L.A. dream has been rocked in the past decade by police scandals, the Rodney King riots, natural disasters and economic retrenchment. Still, its recovery from its economic doldrums "is a great success story of Clinton-Gore and Democratic policies," Backus said.

While top officials hope to put aside memories of its recent setbacks for the convention, the region's law enforcement community has raised fears of large-scale civil disorder around the event.

Tens of thousands of protesters are expected to attend both conventions this year, many hosting a "shadow convention" that takes both major parties to task on issues such as campaign finance reform, poverty and the nation's drug policies. Though protest leaders say their efforts will be non-violent, Mayor Richard Riordan warned, "Police will get tough when confronted with lawlessness."

Riordan, a two-term Republican, wrote in the Los Angeles Times in mid-July that a small, organized and violent element amid the peaceful demonstrators was bent on confrontation.

"The image of a police officer arresting a young person who has been destroying property or injuring people with a tire iron may not play well on television, but there may be no other choice," Riordan wrote. "It is important that city leaders not play into the hands of anarchists. We must not handcuff police in their use of non-lethal weapons, such as rubber bullets and pepper spray, when necessary."

Backus said convention organizers have made no changes in plans due to the ruling.

"We're a party that celebrates free speech," she said. "We're trying to warn our delegates to be aware of slowdowns and small inconveniences, but I think everybody is there to celebrate democracy with a little 'd.' "