I’ve been a good boy, I have. Despite my intense distaste for all things Trump, I’ve been sampling the RNC—Republican National Convention.
It hasn’t been easy. I felt the Democrats did not do an adequate job of explaining their ideas last week—what they stand for and what their agenda is—but the Democratic National Convention did have a platform, and Joe Biden, at least, did have some substance in his speech.
The RNC? Platform, schmatform. Ideas, scmideas. Let’s point out that Joe Biden is a commie socialist atheist who, along with the evil liberal media, hates mom, apple pie and ’Merica.
There has bene an odd insurgent theme to the first three nights of the RNC. The Trump campaign hasn’t had an original idea since 2016, and it shows. It’s all “MAGA.” But, hasn’t the orange dear leader been president for more than three years? Before 2018, didn’t the GOP control both houses of Congress? Why didn't he Make America Great Again already? What, then, is the GOP insurging against?
America and the future, I suspect.
The speakers have been a motely crew. The Trump campaign (this is really just an informercial for the Trump campaign) is shameless and brazen. It has speaker after speaker spout bizarre conspiracy theory and outright lies, and them moves on.
Last week, I wrote about my favorite DNC speeches. There isn’t a lot to like at the RNC, and there is one more night, although I will be shocked if I like the orange one’s speeche. So, rather than speeches that resonated with me, this is more a rundown of what I found most weird at the DNC.
First, if you follow me on Facebook, you can skip down a bit. One example of an RNC speech that stood out to me was one I wrote about already on Facebook. It was not just the whole bucket of crazy that was in this speech, it was the odd, strident, angry tone with which it was all shouted.
Speech 1: Kimberly Guilfoyle from night 1:
My previously published (on Facebook) analysis: Kimberly! Holey smokes! All that we need is the sound of 20,000 boots hitting the ground as 10,000 storm troopers goosestep by. And there is so much BS to unpack here--neither Harris nor Biden are socialists. Pointing out that California is our richest state doesn't support your thesis. American cities are messy and messed up in both blue and red states--our deep urban problems are not a partisan issue. Kamala is a former prosecutor, too; Joe Biden does not support de-funding the police (who are mostly paid for by state and local taxes that the president does not influence). Puerto Ricans are Americans at birth by law since 1917--thus your mother was not an immigrant. Our current chaos and economic downturn aren't things that Trump will fix--they are the conditions that this incompetent president helped bring about. The riots and lawlessness you so fear are features of Trump's dysfunctional America. You're right on one point--this is a battle for the soul of America. I hope most Americans can recognize evil when they see it's tribble-headed symbol and shouting allies, and it's also is why I'll vote against that soulless orange demon who plays at being president and doesn't understand the job. I was already a reluctant Biden voter anyway--thanks for strengthening my resolve. This was a cynical speech, GOP fearmongering at its worst and fearmongering was the main feature of night one of this this week's RNC. Way to shout it proud and loud--I can hear the crazy. Golly.
I think that sums up my feelings. Next, that couple that aimed guns at Black Lives Matter protesters in Saint Louis.
Speech 2, Mark and Patricia McCloskey from night 1:
Well, this one is a bit complicated. The McCloskeys are being a bit coy about their own actions, even though they are lawyers. They live on a private street—the gate that they accuse the protestors of smashing wasn’t on their yard or lawn, it was the gate to the street itself. When they waived guns at the protestors, it’s not clear any were on their lawn. They say they were threatened—and they were, but it may be because they were pointing guns at people. The BBC provides a good report on that confusing events of that night. The McCloskeys then follow the GOP line of extrapolating to the lawless wasteland that a Biden president would bring, ignoring that the lawless wasteland they live in is during the Trump presidency. Patricia McCloskey, in particular, makes a specific false claim—that Biden would somehow end (white) suburbs, a claim debunked by PolitiFact.
Speech 3 and 4: And now a twofer: Two Iowans featured, Gov. Kim Reynolds (night 2) and Sen. Joni Ernst (night 3):
As for Governor Reynolds, as an Iowan I am disgusted with her slow and languid response to the COVID-19 crisis. She refused to issue a mask mandate early on, and Iowans are dying as a result. And she has been rather slow on the derecho response, although that’s an ongoing story and my feelings are not as strong there. However, Trump’s trip to Cedar Rapids was a sad joke, he distinguished himself mostly because he didn’t chuck paper towels at us. While here, Trump met only with loyalists—our Democratic representative in Congress lives in Cedar Rapids, but was not invited to be among the officials who met Trump during his brief stop at the airport, although he did include her empty-suit GOP opponent (a tasteful lady empty suit, both the representative and her opponent are women). Shame. And Joni Ernst, to me, suffers from the same problem—both of our main female officials represent important gender steps forward in Iowa—our first female senator and governor—and both are pathetic Trump apologists. Senator Ernst was going to “make them squeal,” but has refused to call out some of worst and harshest lies of Donald Trump. The state is a mess, thanks to Governor Reynolds. The state is ashamed. More because of Rep. Steve King then Sen. Joni Ernst, but Senator Ernst doesn’t help much. So, as an Iowan, I was not so much motivated by our dynamic duo as full of dread and shame.
Speech 6: Tiffany Trump, night 2.
Representing oppressed, rich law school graduates of America, Tiffany was an OK speaker for a Trump kid. Junior and Erich maybe should taken notes, they were much angrier and more strident in their respective ads for Donald Trump. Tiffany, however, was still a bit weird. She complained about how hard it is to find a job. Heck, child, some of your family have done just fine for years without discernible employment, and others (looking at you Jared and President Trump) are in jobs they are wildly unqualified for. Don’t worry. He’s not as rich as he claims to be, but Daddy’s loaded. I suppose that’s a bit snarky. I felt myself just feeling snarky during her speech. She didn’t shout at me like crazy Kimberly, but she did not feel warm and genuine, either.
I didn’t see all the speeches, but this is a sample of the tone and quality of what I saw. The RNC is full of rage and fear and darkness, and yet complains that the Democrats are the party to be afraid of.
But two speeches were, to me, a bit more interesting and different:
Bonus speech 1: Melania Trump, night 2:
I know, I’m sorry, it’s not the full speech. I couldn’t take it and didn’t watch the full speech—but not because she said the wrong things. I was just too tired and she put me to sleep. The interesting thing about Melania is that she was willing to say many of the right things that nobody else would say. The sample here is about the pandemic, which she didn’t call the “China flu.” She expressed sorrow and sympathy. Well, kudos, it’s the kind of thing I wish many more speakers had said. But I didn’t watch the whole thing because the whole speech was rather dull. She had little energy and displayed little passion as she stood there, stiffly reading the right words. It was an odd example of how the right notes may fall flat when delivered badly. And I was angry. Not at Melania—she was the best—but at the setting. The Trump campaign has turned the White House into a political prop—and no, during campaigns, previous president didn’t typically do that. So Melania, odd, stiff and dull as she was, still stood out in the Rose Garden--totally the wrong setting
Bonus speech 2: Nicholas Sandmann, night 2:
He’s young, very young, and I won’t critique his speaking style. (Sorry, Tiffany and Melania, you’re both adults, which makes your style fair game). This young man does have a legitimate beef with the American media. A couple of years ago, he attended a March for Life in Washington DC, and ended up in a confrontation with protesters during a visit to the Lincoln Memorial. His version of evens is a bit one-sided—see Vox analysis of the speech and its aftermath. But he’s got a valid point. Isolated videos often go viral, and we leap to conclusions without waiting for context—a bad habit we’ve seen on display over and over. But, frankly, that’s not a sin of the left. The left isn’t innocent, but misrepresenting video snippets happens all the time on the right, too. And where Nicholas Sandmann goes astray is when he ties his treatment to President Trump's. No ,Trump is not a victim as Sandmann is. Trump is a President who lies constantly, and we see his lies. President Trump doesn’t respect the constitution and doesn’t respect the free flow of information. And at least CNN and the Washington Post reported a settlement with Sandmann--has Trump ever admitted he was wrong? Nicholas Sandmann is right to feel he was unfairly canceled. But he’s completely wrong on Trump. Still, it’s good to see that a young man does express himself. Sir, you’re almost completely incorrect. But thank you for joining the discourse.
Night 4 has started. Some sports wild bald sport dude is shouting at me. Anyway, I’m a bit surprised I saw nothing worth noting on night 3—I promise I did watch the prime-time stuff. I guess Mike Pence is just a ghost who can pass by without making an impression.
On to the ultimate night. God save the Republic!
No comments:
Post a Comment