The Day After: Republican National Convention Edition

Time to move this mess to Philadelphia

It is now official. Donald J. Trump is the official Republican Party nominee to be President of the United States. I never thought this would happen. Even today I am filled with confusion and apprehension. The ascension of the New York businessman, and reality television star, to being one of two assumed choices for President is a story for the history books. For four days in Cleveland Ohio, the country got to witness what the Trump Republican Party was all about. Last night, for over an hour, candidate Trump had the attention of the nation all to himself. No more debates with ten or more people. No more primaries or states needing to hold a caucus. No more wrong media analysis. The GOP of 2016 has been solidified, and now onward goes the campaign for victory on November 8th.

The 2016 Republican Party National Convention was feared by many, and hoped by some, to be one of chaos and fighting. There was an expectation of political fisticuffs in the convention hall, and real violence from protesters who had descended on Cleveland. The Never Trump movement had one more chance to derail the nomination. Stories of the 1976 Republican Convention, and the Ronald Reagan supporters trying to block Gerald Ford's nomination by changing the rules at the last minute, were being linked to what may go on in Cleveland. The Cleveland police were requesting help from other cities. Public officials wanted to suspend the right to open carry firearms. The nominee himself was promising an exciting and non-traditional list of speakers. I for one was not looking forward to the violence and hate, but was intrigued by what a showman like Donald Trump could pull off. The 2016 RNC was going to be unlike anything we have ever seen in American politics.

The reality is that the 2016 Republican National Convention was a bit of a letdown. Thankfully we did not have any horrible violence in the streets of Cleveland. The protests were typical for any political event. Flag burning, yelling, and being drunk while political, typical protester stuff. Inside the convention halls, nothing much happened. The Never Trumpers tried, and failed. They failed in a spectacularly quick manner. The speakers were nothing to be that excited about. Typical Fox News republicans like Rudy Giuliani, Newt Gingrich, and Chris Christie did the same tired act they have been doing for years. An endless parade of actors and sports figures most of us have forgotten about would take the stage and yell about how horrible President Obama and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton are as Americans. Vice Presidential nominee Mike Pence put a lot of America to sleep. Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made their expected speeches, and both men were not welcomed with open arms. The Trump children were the only speakers that garnered any bipartisan praise. Possible First Lady Melania Trump stirred up some non-news by possibly plagiarizing a 2008 Michelle Obama speech. It was a dumb story kept alive by an underwhelming convention. 

Then there is Texas Senator Ted Cruz. The 2016 Presidential Primary contest was one of the most personal, and drawn out, contests in American history. Senator Cruz and Mr. Trump were both trying to run as outsiders, and Mr. Trump came out as the eventual winner. To the surprise of no one, Trump used personal insults and general bullying to gain voters. Florida Senator Marco Rubio tried to use Trump's tactics against the New York blowhard. Rubio was out of the race a few weeks later. Senator Cruz and his family were prime targets for Trump. It was ugly. By giving Senator Cruz a Wednesday speaker slot at the convention, many Republicans thought the Texas Senator would move past the primary, and endorse Trump to show party unity.

That did not happen. Senator Cruz instead used his time to take a passive aggressive swipe at his own party's Presidential nominee. Why show up and do this? Marco Rubio and John Kasich, who both have ambitions in four years, were smart enough to stay away and not take a chance at ending their national aspirations. The only reason I can see Ted Cruz going this route is that the man must be crazy. He has an irrational want to be the GOP's next Ronald Reagan, and maybe his speech was supposed to start an inter party revolution like Reagan's 1976 convention speech. The thing that the Texas Senator seems to forget is that the Gipper did not try to undermine the nominee, Reagan endorsed Ford and worked to try and get the incumbent President reelected in 1976. Cruz has tried to undermine his party and has used shady tactics in every campaign the man has ever run in. He attacks Republican and Democrats alike. The only reason Cruz could last as long as he did in the 2016 primaries is by being shady and because the Republican party on the national level is a mess. By allowing so many people to run in the primaries, Reince Preibus doomed any hope of a moderate Republican from emerging. Ted Cruz, and Donald Trump, should have been done in January, but incompetence at the RNC allowed their fringe campaigns to survive. By not supporting Trump, Senator Cruz has given up any chance of ever being the Republican Party's Presidential nominee. He is not a smart man who has shown everyone that the only thing that matters to Ted Cruz is Ted Cruz's own political ambition. The end of Senator Cruz's Presidential dreams is one good thing to come out of the Republican National Convention.

Finally, late last night, Donald Trump ended his speech and officially became the flag bearer for all Republicans this November. I for one was really looking forward to seeing the Trump acceptance speech It was going to be unlike any political speech in my lifetime. Unfortunately is more of the same from Trump, just louder and longer. I went to bed feeling a bit let down. It was boringly typical Donald Trump. America is a hellhole of crime. Illegal immigration, pointless war, and free trade have led us down a dark path. Hillary Clinton is incompetent, a crook, and dangerous to all Americans. President Obama has failed for almost eight years. The only thing that can save Lady Liberty is the awesomeness of Donald Trump. There was no actual solutions to these problems, just the awesomeness of Donald Trump is the only cure needed. Oh, and for the first time ever a Republican Presidential nominee said we should be nice to the LGBTQ community, and he was applauded. That was weird.

The balloons dropped, confetti fell, and my brain is still trying to accept that Donald J. Trump is on the ballot as the Republican candidate for President of the United States. The entire Republican National Convention felt like a big letdown. No grand solutions, only problems. The action on the convention floor did not seem to be well planned. Most of the speakers did not embrace their nominee. Many people gave rambling, or over the top, speeches that only incited the fringe of the right wing. Conspiracy theories were being given more time than actually trying to court new voters. From my perspective it seems like the RNC has given up on the Presidential race and is going to rely on Democratic Party incompetence in the down ticket races so the GOP can hold onto everything below the executive office. That is probably the party's best path forward. Donald Trump's new Republican Party had its star shine bright, and dim with the four days in Cleveland. 

RD 

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. We are looking for people to talk about the 2016 election from their local point of view. Have something to say? Come write for SeedSing.