Tag Archives: ReTrumplican Party

In 2016, An “Historic” RNC Convention

Right, Left or Center, at least one aspect of this week’s Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio can certainly be agreed upon… it was a fascinating series of events.

At its most basic level, we can all be thankful that the convention was successful– there were no major acts of violence or dangerous disruption, and hopefully everyone that participated will have a safe a journey home.  Whether one agrees with the politics or not, all Americans can be proud that this year’s RNC was kept safe.

But of course, being safe and feeling safe are often two very different emotions.  As Elle Magazine’s Melissa Harris-Perry shares, the RNC didn’t

Every night this week in Cleveland, the energy has waned as the hour progressed. By the time media left the Arena at 11 p.m., the building was only half full. Tonight was different. Mr Trump’s speech brought delegates and their energy to a late night crescendo. Chants we heard all week increased in fervor, volume, intensity, and frequency—” Build that wall!” “Lock her Up!” “U-S-A!”

The police presence we experienced all week was more visible than ever.

It occurred to me 30 minutes into Mr. Trump’s speech that when he finished we would be facing the classic problem of large venue events, say, concerts for example: everyone was going to leave at the same time. This would be the first time all week when we would all be streaming out at ounce. Trump supporters, fearing immigrants and criminals and hoarse from chanting about walls and locks would be in tight quarters with the liberal media liars. Team Trump is stoked by the discourse of the speech.

Keep in mind, RNCers had just undergone a week of hotel induced sleeplessness, long meetings, late nights, and cocktail parties. Then, throw in the protestors we would all have to pass as we left the zone of the arena.

Suddenly I was viscerally afraid.

Compared to any other Republican National Convention in recent memory, and certainly in the 21st century, 2016 seemed one for the books in terms of blatant vitriol, at least the kind that was caught on camera.  It’s also true that Ms. Perry’s identity as an African-American woman proved to be much more the exception than the rule for this year’s RNC.  Per The Washington Post, of the 2,472 convention delegates in attendance, just 18 of those were African-American… an historic low not seen in nearly century.  And of course, this is against the backdrop of country which is more diverse than ever before.  All season long, the Trump organization and the GOP have boasted about the monumental “growth” of the party… more primary voters than ever before, and historic voter registration numbers.  That may be true, but it isn’t the same growth that is occurring in the rest of America.

Even the moments that could be considered true “brights spots” contained noticeable shade. Peter Thiel, Billionaire businessman and believed to be the first ever openly gay male to speak at a National GOP Convention gave a rousing speech showing himself proud to be gay and a Republican.  But in virtually the same breath, he also throws transgender Americans under the bus by undervaluing their most fundamental rights.  To his question, “who cares?” about bathrooms??  The same people which shared that room with him and worked tirelessly to repeal Pro-Equality legislation certainly do.  Indeed it must be nice to be a Billionaire who also happens to be gay.

But thanks to some careful, and historic planning by Fairness USA, some of Thiel’s hateful messaging was countered. The groundbreaking TV ad, which debuted on Fox News, allows the American public to finally see the Transgender equality issue from the other side.  In my opinion, this is the kind of history which is long overdue.

So as Texas Leftist predicted one year ago, RNC 2016 is now in the books, and Donald Trump has claimed his place as the Retrumplican…  err I mean Republican Party’s new leader.  Between you and me, the DNC 2016 can’t come fast enough.

RNC

The ABCs of the GOP: T is for TRUMP and friends

If you followed the blog closely during the height of our last Presidential race, you may recall my extensive series about the state of the Republican Party– The ABCs of the GOP.  The series was an attempt to catalog just how far party leaders have strayed from what they professed as their essential ideals for the country.  This was of course back in 2012, and when all with that election was said and done, President Obama had a decisive victory in part because of the many internal problems on the other side.

But after everything that Republicans went through in 2012, it doesn’t seem that the party has learned any valuable lessons.  Bolstered by huge victories in 2014 (co-sponsored by all those people that didn’t care enough to vote), it appears that the GOP is preparing to venture down the same rabbit holes which cemented its downfall 4 years ago.

And the guy leading the way to that rabbit hole??  It’s none other than Billionaire media harlot Donald Trump.  As one can imagine, Democrats are enjoying every minute of the chaos, even giving Republicans a new nickname.  Here’s more from Colin Campbell of Business Insider

The national Democratic Party released a new video Thursday that connects the entire Republican presidential field to the immigration remarks made by real-estate magnate Donald Trump.

The Democratic National Committee’s video is titled, “Retrumplican Party.”

The brief clip intersperses some of Trump’s most controversial comments with the other GOP candidates’ own statements against illegal immigration.

“Trump may be running for president,” the video concludes, “but his ideas are running the party.”

The video immediately spread like wildfire among political pundits, and “Retrumplican Party” started trending nation-wide on Twitter.

Of course we know that all Republican leaders do not agree with Donald Trump, and many of the more sensible ones have come out in direct opposition to his heinous comments.  But now for the third week in a row, the top message being conveyed from Republicans is directly from Donald Trump.

Only this week have we finally got a close second from 2016 front-runner Jeb Bush.  Mr. Bush, who was born to a life of exceptional privilege and is the son and brother of two presidents, thinks the rest of us should be working longer hours to help improve the United States economy.  Sheesh!!

But in any event, the point remains.  Once again, Republicans can’t seem to learn from their very recent past.  As long as the Party’s “big tent” is controlled by a ravenous coalition of Primary voters, it’s going to be difficult to ‘Dump the Trump’.  For the sake of our entire political system, let’ s hope that reason prevails this election cycle.

Retrumplicans