With the Republican and Democratic conventions in the rear view mirror, the future of American politics is bleak. From the dark, pessimistic view of the future at the RNC, to the massive protests outside of the DNC, the American political process is tearing itself apart at the seams. We as a people are about to enter one of the most divisive, vitriolic, and cutthroat elections in American history, and we need look no further for evidence than these two conventions.
The Republican National Convention
After a heated primary full of anger, despair, and personal attacks, the Republican Party had its candidate. The defeated foe was given a speaking spot at the convention, and used his time to deliver a rousing speech that culminated in a non-endorsement of the victor. Yes, in 1976, Ronald Reagan refused to endorse Gerald Ford, and Ford got walloped by Carter in the general. In 2016, the Republican National Convention contained plenty of somber reminders of 1976, a time in which the Republican Party couldn’t bring itself to unite behind its candidate.
But Senator Cruz’s non-endorsement does not nearly cover the entirety of the drama in Cleveland. In addition to this political thorn in Trump’s side, there was an attempted delegate revolt and a plagiarism scandal earlier in the week. And while these conventions are traditionally star-studded events, Trump had nothing but C-list celebrities to distract from the chaos.
Near the end of the convention, during Donald Trump’s acceptance speech, it seemed as though the Party was beginning to unite behind its candidate. But it was uniting behind a bleak image of the future of America. Trump’s advisors tend to compare him to Ronald Reagan, but his acceptance speech was quite the opposite of an inspiring battle cry for a brighter America. In contrast to Reagan’s “Morning in America” theme, Trump described an America heading into its darkest night. And the audience ate it up.
His speech, filled with dog whistles and xenophobic nationalism, portrays a view of an America in decline, and the RNC eagerly accepted this pessimistic view. His detractors, hopelessly opposed to his handling of almost every major issue so far, refuse to support him come hell or high water. His convention, littered with scandals and a group of celebrities who belong on “Where Are They Now,” was disjointed and underwhelming at best.
If this convention has anything to say about the future of the election according to Republicans, it is that the future is dark, the support for Trump is minimal, and the only way to win this election is by slandering Hillary Clinton until the cows come home.
The Democratic National Convention
As the Democratic Convention began in Wells Fargo Convention Center, a large-scale protest coalesced in the streets of Philadelphia. Inside the arena, Bernie supporters and Hillary supporters shouted each other down. A moment of silence for police officers gunned down by violent criminals was selfishly interrupted with chants of “Black Lives Matter.”
If the Republican convention was a throwback to the disunity of a party in 1976, the Democratic convention set a new standard. Just before the convention began, documents were leaked showing a widespread conspiracy within the DNC to give the election to Clinton. The chair of the DNC, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, was forced to step down in shame.
But this did not satiate the appetite for revenge held by “Bernie or Bust” fans. They did nearly everything in their power to prevent the party from coalescing around their candidate - including booing Bernie himself when he endorsed his opponent on stage.
The DNC responded in kind, doing everything in their power to silence and stifle the disunion in the audience. Lights were shut off above sections of the audience who were disrupted the convention. Pro-Bernie signs were stripped from the hands of delegates, and replaced with Clinton campaign signs. The DNC even established counter-chants, leading to chants of “no more war” being stifled by banshee screams of “USA.”
The Republican National Convention was a display of fear, dog whistles, and a stark reminder of our dark past. The Democratic National Convention, on the other hand, was a new low.
What it All Means
The Democratic National Committee did everything in their power to force unity upon their party, through the same centralized methods of actions they wish to force upon the country.
The Republican National Committee, on the other hand, utilized a decentralized approach to the election, much like they wish to do with the government. However, this has allowed the party to shirk its responsibilities in selecting a worthwhile nominee, and has turned a once great party into a body of reactionism and hate.
The violence in the streets we have seen over the past year is likely to continue, as protests against Trump continue. Neither party has proposed a real solution to any of the chaos, instead choosing to tear each other down with petty attacks and vitriol.
If these conventions have anything to say about the upcoming election and the future of our country, we should be afraid: afraid of tyranny, afraid of disunity, and afraid of the stripping away of our Constitutional rights by either a liberal hack or an egotistical fascist.
