How many of you can remember the 1968 election? How many remember how volatile that was? There were two political assassinations, first Dr. King, then Senator Robert Kennedy. There was the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago that ended in riots. There was George Wallace, then a die hard segregationist who won half the South.
Today, we are in the smartphone era and the 2016 election is shaping to be almost as volatile. In July, the Republican National Convention will take place in Cleveland, probably with no clear-cut nominee. Nearly 20,000 will attend, including delegates. Most will be blogging, texting, Facebook(ing), tweeting, and You Tube(ing) their experience. A Trump campaign member says they will use their own tech hardware for communication rather than Quicken Loans Arena’s WiFi. Ted Cruz’s team works on an app to see where each delegate might be swayed. Expect FireChat to be used. That’s an app that doesn’t even need the Internet. It uses Bluetooth and peer WiFi connections. Organizers can even track delegates by putting RFID technologies in their badges. Candidates can ask delegates to download an app specifically for the convention. These are small trackers that can be bought and sold for $20. There’s also talk of an online check-in. We don’t know how many, or if any, Trump, Cruz or Kasich have supported.
Are you aware that by July’s convention, none of these candidates may have the 1,237 delegates they need to get the nominee. Then what? The last time the Republicans had to deal with that was in 1952. Obviously, this is a totally different world than it was in 1952. A lot more is at stake. Allegations of corruption and wrongdoing are everywhere. ?I think it’s disturbing enough they want to use RFID technology to track people’s every move, even in the bathroom. It makes me wonder, “What are they doing with the RFID chips in our cards”? I hate to say it, but tensions are so high within and between the political parties that I wouldn’t be surprised if rioting broke out, just like it did in 1968, probably even worse. And smartphone technology would cover it all. Do they have an app to help keep the peace? Will they come up with that?