The Democratic Party used to be strong on tight organization and spectacular brawls. Last week, at the Democrats' off-year convention in Chicago, organization politics was hardly visible, and there were no brawls.
Cook County's Jack Arvey, last of the big-city-machine bosses, wandered aimlessly around the Conrad Hilton Hotel, his local and national power diminished in the last year. At least, the assembled pols knew Arvey. Most of them did not even recognize Richard Balch, chairman of the once-powerful New York State organization. The voice of labor was muted, too. The C.I.O.'s James...
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