Having written about the Democratic convention each day last week, I will write about the GOP this week. This is going to be hard to do as I get angry listening to what some of the speakers have to say. Of course I only watch the highlights (or lowlights). I can't possibly sit through these speeches in their entirety. I couldn't even do that with the Democrats either.
So the first night the GOP bring out their diversity starting lineup, Nikki Haley, Tim Scott and Hershel Walker. I would be interested who they have coming off the bench the next three days. From what I can see, they did very good jobs. I think Haley is eyeing for a 2024 run. So we may very well have two Indian women competing for the presidency in 4 years!
Trump had said that the Democratic convention was dark and his will be uplifting. Yet the picture the GOP painted if Biden wins is most very scary and dark. It was obvious they were trying to scare white people into voting against Biden. The St. Louis couple who pointed guns at protesters said so as much.
Donald Jr.'s speech could have been lifted from one of his dad's. It was full of lies and hyperbole. The greatest economy ever? The China virus? Beijing Biden? It was deflection of blame by using China just as his dad. His eyes looked watery. Does he have allergies or has he been crying? His girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle made Don Jr. look soft spoken. I think she was channeling Howard Dean. Wasn't she used to be married to Gavin Newsome? Talk about changing teams. This is more like changing planets!
There was no sympathy for the COVID victims. There was no taking responsibility for the pandemic response. In fact they tried to change history by saying how well they have done. I don't think any objective observer would buy this. This was all trying to play to the base and Trump himself. I understand Melania is speaking tonight. Who will she copy off this time? I am not sure I can stomach 3 more days of this but I will try.
A quick take on the second night of the GOP convention which I did not watch live, only the high or low lights:
ReplyDeleteMelania was the star of this night. She is the only one that I saw so far who showed empathy for those killed or impacted by COVID19. There is no truth to the rumor that she copyrighted her speech so that nobody in the future can plagiarize it. Of course, it may be the end of the world if someone uses that speech to praise Trump in a convention speech in the future!
Melania gave her speech in Rose Garden of the White House. Trump watched with an audience. Nobody there wore a mask that I can see. Great leadership as usual.
Pompeo gave a speech while on official business in Israel. This goes against ethics rules about the State Dept. officials engage in political activities. Pompeo claims that he acted as a private citizen. This is laughable since he is on an official mission in a foreign country. Besides, he himself had sent guidelines to people in his department telling them they cannot engage in political activities, even during private times. So he is acting against his own guidelines.
Not much there that I find interesting. More Trump children spoke last night. More appealing to the base and fear of white folks. Will see if anything new the last two nights.
I haven't had a chance to watch any of the clips from the convention. As much as I want to believe what Melania said, it all starts at home. If she doesn't see or recognize that the biggest bully is her husband, then I can't accept that her speech is sincere.
ReplyDeleteI heard that the Rose Garden has been changed. I have to take a look at some pictures to make a comparison.
I heard that Pompeo might be setting himself for a run at the Oval Office in 2024. I had never heard of him until he took the job so I have no idea what kind of candidate he would be. Would he get an endorsement from Trump?
-LBOAYM
Forget about the GOP convention. Something needs to be said about systemic racism in this country tonight. A few days after Kenosha police shot a man 7 times in the back, a 17 year old shot and killed 2 men and wounding a third amid the protests. This guy was a vigilante, carrying a rifle to the protests. After the shooting, he walked toward police tanks and cars with his hands up as if to surrender. No cop stopped him. How is it that the cops never considered him to be a suspect in the shooting? They just passed him, looking for some other suspects, I guess. Can you imagine a black man approaching the police with a shotgun in his hands and not get arrested or worse, shot?
ReplyDeleteThere was also another video showing cops talking to men with guns and tossing them water. Would you believe that if several black men with guns walk up to police cars, they would have a conversation with the cops and get free water? I think they would be told to drop their weapons or be shot. The cops who shot Jacob Blake said they thought he had a knife. So they shot him. But white guys obviously holding automatic weapons are not a threat at all? Would a Latino or a Muslim with automatic weapons be given water or shot at? The idea that there is no systemic racism in the country as a whole and police forces in particular is just a fallacy. These two videos are proofs.
The NBA players walk out on the games today. Three MLB games were also postponed. I don't know if any of these will bring about change but doing nothing is not acceptable at this time. Doc Rivers cried at a news conference last night. A Mets player cried today at a news conference after kneeling at the game. Every day I recognize the pain of the black people more and more.
I promised to write something about all 4 days of the GOP convention. Given what has happened in Kenosha and elsewhere I couldn't do it yesterday as scheduled. But I am fulfilling my promise now and this is my take on the final day of the convention.
ReplyDeleteTrump was more subdued in his speech than usual. This maybe because he was reading out of the teleprompter and did not ad lib as he usually does. His aides must have told him to be disciplined and not go off course. Some have criticized him for lack of energy here. But if he went off the cuff, people would have criticized him for that. So I am not going to call him sleepy Donald here.
As usual, it looked like Trump lives in a different planet than the rest of us. He thinks the pandemic is going great, that he did a great job protecting lives and that the economy is making a great comeback. He painted Biden as someone who, if elected, would end the American way of life completely. Not unexpected from a liar and someone who tends to like hyperbole.
The GOP is the party of Trump and nothing else now. I can understand people like Romney not getting invited but people like Rubio, Cruz, and Graham were out also. They had criticized Trump before and even though they have turned sycophants and kissed the emperor's butt, they are still on the fringe of the party. So the party of Reagan, Bush, and McCain is no more.
It is obvious that nobody in the GOP is willing to stand up to Trump now. This became obvious when the last night's event took place at the White House. Even some Republicans said that should not be done recently. But all those voices went silent as Trump used the people's house as his campaign tool anyway. No Republicans complained about it afterward. The whole GOP is now complicit in this president's changing the norm of this country.
So that is it for both conventions. Now it is up to the voters.
To me, it was more of a campaign convention than a party convention though I always thought that the conventions for both parties were propaganda anyways. I do wonder if the length of Trump's speech was unconventionally long or if it was average. I don't seem to recall other speeches, especially an incumbent's speech being as long.
ReplyDeleteI am intrigued to see if any of the people at Trump's speech will get Covid. The University of Michigan welcomed students back to campus this past week as well. We will see how well Ann Arbor does in a couple of weeks.
I am a little surprised that the above mentioned were not invited to speak. Did I see McConnell spoke?
I also wonder how these debates will work. Will they be in separate areas or in the same building?
I forgot to mention that over 1000 people watched Trump at the White House lawn and so yeah, good chance that someone will get infected. Most probably got tested before coming but that is still not a guarantee.
ReplyDeleteTrump's speech was over 70 minutes but that was actually shorter than his 2016 speech. The ratings, however, are much lower this year and Biden had a slightly higher rating. This must be upsetting to Trump, who likes to brag about ratings. Overall, both conventions had lower ratings.
I think the debates are scheduled to be in Cleveland, Miami and Nashville. So I think they will be in the same room. They will be apart on stage, I am sure. So they will speak without masks. But I wonder if Trump will walk in the building without mask and if Biden will challenge him on that.