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Politics and Activism

The Relative Disaster That Was The RNC

How the antics last Monday sunk the G.O.P. even lower

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The Relative Disaster That Was The RNC
Time

With the conclusion of the Republican National Convention, many conservatives' fearful inclinations became reality. Donald Trump was officially named the G.O.P.'s presidential candidate, with Indiana Governor Mike Pence also nominated as his vice-presidential mate. It was the culmination after months of "populist" campaigning by the candidate out to prove a point: it was said he couldn't do it, but yet there he was.

As was to be expected, there was plenty of zeal that filled Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio last week. As speakers took the stage to spew their hatred of Hillary Clinton and tout the qualities of Donald Trump, chants of "Lock her up!" and "Trump! Trump! Trump!" filled the air.

There were also instances where the colors of the Grand Old Party's most divisive stood out. Anarchy ensued. Plagiarism was committed. Republicans made fools of themselves.

Few perhaps could imagine just how much of a demagogic wonder the Convention was. The shallowness of conglomerate Republican forces was perpetuated right from the start until the end of the first day.

Let's start with the hype rant that was given on Monday afternoon. It was offered by Rev. Mark Burns, a pastor from South Carolina and Trump campaign ally, and a leader in a highly controversial wing of Christianity. He gave what perhaps may be the most blatantly partisan invocation ever heard in any convention:


Even if one only saw this speech for what was literally said, it is not rocket science that Republicans don't have much respect for the other party.

It's not just simply because their ideology is different, but partly because they cannot scratch away the itch of inter-party division. Why else would this pastor make it absolutely clear that it is the Democratic Party that is the "enemy", and that it could never be within themselves? This is part of the greater point. With this move, Republicans further ostracized themselves from conciliation with Democrats and unaffiliated voters yearning for civility.

This brings us to the Anti-Trump Establishment, Republicans who have been hell-bent on blocking Trump from receiving the nomination since the near-outset. Anti-Trump delegates from a handful of states like Texas and Utah tried to force a roll call vote on the rules of the convention. The goal was to challenge Trump's support by the other states' delegations on an individual basis, and it was not achieved:

Little more can be said about this display. The discord speaks for itself: The Republican Party that wanted to exhibit a total presumption of unity behind Donald Trump was not, or did not seem, unified. The alliances against Trump made fools of themselves, and in turn demonstrated to those not blinded by party devotion that all is still not well between "allies" within the G.O.P. Healthy blood is still not likely to flow completely through the veins of the party anytime soon.

Then there was Melania Trump. After Donald made a showman's entrance onto the convention stage (to the tune of a misappropriated use of "We are the Champions"; why would Queen complain otherwise?), Melania was introduced as one of the keynote speakers of the convention Monday night.

After she took her place at the podium, she went on with her general speech touting hard work and following dreams, drawing a positive reaction from the crowd. Viewers soon found that the speech was not all that original:

It is rather interesting that after all of the criticism that has been lobbed the First Lady's way by Republicans, the Trump campaign had the gall to consider pulling from Mrs. Obama's speech from the Democratic Convention in 2008 - wittingly or not.

The speech's verbatim reflected poorly on the brand-name honesty that revolves around the popular myth of Donald Trump. Mrs. Trump has also been put in a very awkward position as a victim of circumstance, even though she claimed she wrote the speech herself. Regardless of nitpicking by both parties, the fallout has wounded the credibility of Republicans in general.

All of these occurrences from the beginning set the tone for the rest of the convention. They demonstrated the sort of disorganization, haughtiness, and brazen rhetoric that has attracted criticism to the Republican Party and its presidential nominee throughout the campaigning cycle.

Now Democrats will have the opportunity to portray a better sense of unity this week. But their process can also go down hill just as swiftly as that which occurred in Cleveland. Bernie Sanders and his "revolution" may be waiting in the wings, and chaos could also be a highlight of their own convention.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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