Tag Archive: Republican National Convention

30 minutes of grief, then a pivot from Biden to Harris

The new 2024 election optics

We are big supporters of President Joe Biden. There have been many posts here outlining his accomplishments and tremendous successes, including:

–strengthening America’s economy and creating a record number of jobs;

–leadership and respect around the world, as well as expanding NATO;

–protecting the rights of women and minorities;

–successfully placing hundreds of federal judges on the bench, including U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson;

–forgiving over one hundred billions of dollars in student loans (despite Republican efforts to stop it); and more.

Likewise, we have laid out the reasons why President Biden deserved Democratic support for his presidential re-election efforts, such as the fact that he is the incumbent president who decided to seek another term, and that he won the 2024 primaries (with over 14 million Democratic votes) very handily.

But reality has taken a different turn. Whether events of the past few weeks are fair or not, President Biden has announced that he will no longer seek the nomination for president in 2024. Instead, Biden has fully endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the job.

Normally, we would want to spend days grieving over and processing what happened. However, with the 2024 elections just 105 days away, and the Democratic National Convention (where the presidential and vice presidential candidates are formally nominated) only 27 days from now, there is no time for that. Instead, we grieved for about half an hour, and then pivoted to Vice President Harris.

Trump’s COVID recklessness is killing his campaign

Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign theme

Since the beginning of this year, as has been well-documented, Donald Trump has downplayed, ignored, and lied about the Coronavirus pandemic. He and fellow Republicans then flaunted the basic precautions that virtually every health expert agrees are necessary in order to curtail the spread of the virus, especially mask wearing and social distancing. Trump and the Republicans even mocked Joe Biden for strictly following these COVID precautions. Instead, Trump and his partisans continued to gather maskless in crowds at political events, such as Trump’s Tulsa, Oklahoma rally, the Republican National Convention, and, most recently, the reception for Trump’s U.S. Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett.

Now, these chickens have come home to roost. According to the latest polls, Trump’s failed COVID response is killing his brand, and his presidential campaign. After attending Trump’s Tulsa rally, former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain died of Coronavirus. Then the Barrett reception, held at the White House and featuring Republicans hugging, backslapping and close-talking, turned out to be the “super spreader” event that got many Republicans sick with COVID. The list of prominent Republicans who have now come down with the virus, many of whom attended the Barrett event, includes Donald and Melania Trump, former New Jersey Governor (and Trump presidential debate coach) Chris Christie, Republican U.S. Senators Mike Lee, Thom Tillis and Ron Johnson, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnerny, Trump advisors Kellyanne Conway, Hope Hicks and Stephen Miller, Notre Dame University President Rev. John Jenkins, Pastor Greg Laurie, and more. This is in addition to numerous Secret Service agents, White House staffers, and even housekeepers, all of whom are being put at great risk by Trump and his fellow Republicans. Indeed, as if to symbolize the political train wreck that Trump’s campaign has become, his campaign manager Bill Stepien (of Chris Christie/Bridgegate infamy), as well as Republican National Committee Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel, also have contracted COVID and are not fully able to do their jobs. Stepien is the replacement for Brad Parscale, who was recently arrested and placed on suicide watch after threatening his wife, apparently connected with criminal campaign fraud and theft allegations. Now, Attorney General William Barr, and even military leaders at the Pentagon, are quarantining after being exposed to COVID. At this moment, no one seems to be in charge of either the Trump reelection campaign or the country.

Democrats hit Trump and Republicans hard at National Convention

Former President Barack Obama, one of the key speakers at the Democratic convention.

The 2020 Democratic National Convention has ended, and it was a skillfully run, hard-hitting success During their mostly virtual event, the Democrats covered several important bases, including party unity (for example, by featuring Bernie Sanders strongly supporting the Joe BidenKamala Harris presidential ticket) and party appeal, by having prominent Republicans such as John KasichChristine Todd Whitman and others speak in support of Biden and against the reelection of Donald Trump. The Democratic convention also highlighted some stars and several stunning speeches:

Get ready for the Democratic National Convention with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris

Joe Biden with his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, at the 2012 Democratic National Convention

The Democratic Party is holding its 2020 National Convention from August 17-20 , and the big news is that Biden has chosen U.S. Senator Kamala Harris as his vice presidential running mate. Although based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the convention will actually take place at various locations and landmarks around the country, because Democrats are serious about public health, specifically, not spreading COVID. Thus, for example, the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee will be used for broadcasting and production. Essentially, the convention will be coordinated and directed from Milwaukee. However, there will only be a few hundred personnel on site, comporting with state and local requirements regarding public gatherings. Accordingly, when Joe Biden is formally offered and accepts the Democratic Party’s nomination for president at the convention, he will do so from a location in his home state of Delaware. Other scheduled speakers, including, presumably, Kamala Harris, will also appear from various remote locations.

Democrats take patriotism back from the Republicans

Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama at the 2016 Democratic National Convention

Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama at the 2016 Democratic National Convention

Beginning in 1980 and throughout his presidency, Ronald Reagan appropriated the idea of patriotism and America and planted it firmly with the Republican Party. This week, however, at their national convention and with a big boost from Donald Trump, the Democratic Party and their presidential nominee Hillary Clinton took patriotism back.

Raucous unity at the Democratic National Convention

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders at recent unity event in New Hampshire

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders at recent unity event in New Hampshire

The diverse, outspoken and sometimes raucous Democratic Party was on full display on Day 1 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania yesterday. This is the party whose unity is likened to “herding cats.” On the other hand, the outbursts from some delegates at the convention hardly spelled doom and gloom, as some chattering heads on the cable TV news networks intimated. Rather, if you caught the unfiltered convention proceedings via live stream or C-SPAN, you saw a political party reach a noisy state of unity, as only the Democrats can do.

Welcome to the Trump Republican National Convention train wreck

Ill-fated Trump/Pence "TP" logo.

Ill-fated Trump/Pence “TP” logo.

On Monday, several of Donald Trump‘s campaign staffers were involved in a minor car accident in New York City. That was nothing compared to the train wreck that is the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Cleveland, Ohio, and the events of the previous days. Here are some of the many things that have gone wrong for the Trump campaign and the Republican Party in just the past week:

Republicans pummeled by two hurricanes

President George W. Bush's "Brownie" moment, Sept. 2, 2005

President George W. Bush’s “Brownie” moment, Sept. 2, 2005

The anniversaries of Hurricane Katrina (landfall in Louisiana August 29, 2005) and Hurricane (Superstorm) Sandy (landfall in New Jersey August 29, 2012) represent a perfect storm that continues to damage the Republican Party. Katrina showed President George W. Bush‘s detachment, and the criminally negligent incompetence behind his administration’s hands-off conservative Republican governing philosophy (“Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.”) Sandy is said to have helped President Barack Obama win and the Democrats do well in the 2012 elections, but that’s only true if one rejects the Republicans’ “government is bad” frame and accepts the Democrats’ “good government” philosophy. Apparently, many Americans have done just that.