GOP Rallies Against Hillary, Not So Much For Trump

By Lorin McLain

If Republicans are united by anything after the media circus that was the GOP convention, it’s for Hillary Clinton to go to prison – or be executed. Yes, the suggestion was actually cheered by hundreds of GOPrs, and was representative of the mayhem that unfolded over four days in Cleveland. If the event was emblematic of anything, it points to a historical turning point where political theater has devolved into blood sport.

So, let’s start with day one, when the last vestiges of the Never Trump campaign threw a Hail Mary to block convention rules, and free bound delegates to “vote their conscious.” The move could have opened the door to a contested convention and the possibility of someone other than Trump grabbing the nomination. Delegations from nine states submitted a demand for a roll call vote on convention rules, leading to chaos dominating the floor with cheers of “Roll call!” countered by chants of “Trump! Trump! Trump!” To quote Senator Mike Lee of Utah interviewed by C-Span during the melee, the proceedings had entered “uncharted territory.” Somehow, the whole effort was quashed after Womack returned and declared the official rules adopted based on a voice vote of “yeas” being louder than “nays.”

Then came a series of B-list speakers featuring Scott Baio, best known as “Chachi” from 70s sitcom “Happy Days,” and a snarling, fist-pounding Rudy Giuliani, warning all terrorists tuning in that America was coming to get them. All that was overshadowed by what would be the nation’s headline the next day, a speech delivered by model and aspiring first wife, Melania Trump. Apparently, about 13 percent of her speech was lifted almost word-for-word from one delivered by Michelle Obama in 2008. A Trump staffer fell on the sword two days later, admitting she used “some of the phrasing” from the speech that ended up in the final draft.

Day two was anti-climactic, or at least disappointing T.V. Nothing much happened other than the state-by-state roll call tallying up delegate votes to make the Don officially the GOP candidate. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and House Speaker Paul Ryan took turns at the podium slamming Hillary. The predictably rambling (and maybe high) Doctor Ben Carson offered a murky theory linking Clinton to Lucifer. Donald Junior reminisced about dear-old dad hanging dry wall with workers, and called him the “blue collar billionaire.”

Day three opened with Trump’s last primary opponent Ted Cruz speaking to his delegates. Just as it appeared “Lying Ted” might say something positive about his former rival, his voice trailed off under the noise of Trump’s private jet flying in right over him. Protests were finally heating up at this point. Bikers for Trump garnered the first media coverage, giving CNN’s Brooke Baldwin and her Go Pro a ride downtown past finger-flipping anti-Trumpers. “Lying Ted” got his revenge and proved to be the ultimate GOP party crasher during his prime time slot by refusing to endorse the nominee. Cruz left the stage in a hailstorm of boos and, in a later speech to delegates, slammed Trump for insulting and slandering his family.

On the fourth and final day, Donald Trump accepted his nomination on a very dark tone of doom and gloom. With his face, tie and stripes of American flags all blending in the same shade of red, the Don took a no-holds barred approach to rally attendees through fear tactics. Trump portrayed immigrants as invaders taking Americans’ jobs and threatening their safety, and accused the Obama administration of allowing terrorism to grow unchecked under the direction of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Defining the legacy of the former Senator from New York and first lady as one of “death, destruction, terrorism and weakness,” Trump accused Clinton of conspiring with corporate elites to shaft American workers through bad trade deals. Trump declared himself the “law and order candidate,” and promised: “I alone can fix” the nation’s problems.

To the casual observer, the RNC appeared anything but the love fest Trump proclaimed it was to reporters the next morning. Search engine analytics point to the contrary. Google reports a huge spike in searches for “3rd party candidate 2016” during the RNC – specifically at 1,150 percent, with the majority of searches coming from Missouri, Colorado and Michigan.