Friday, August 31, 2012

The Republican Convention: Another Nail on the GOP Coffin?

Yes, they built it! 
The Republican National Convention (RNC) is finally over. After watching as much of it as it was humanly possible without bursting a blood vessel, we have reached the conclusion that the Republican party no longer exists.


Some of us expressed our embarrassment for our country and its people and hoped the rest of the world was not watching. (Me included)

Nice fantasy. This was a train wreck worth watching regardless of the need to grit our teeth and remembering to breathe.


The GOP has, blatantly, become the party of cheaters. They changed the rules on the spot to disfranchise a segment of their own party that very vocally demanded to be heard on the floor. No such luck.

Ron Paul supporters thrown under the bus

Perhaps a lesson learned is that if this party can manipulate the voting laws in all states, they can easily devour their own without giving it a second thought.

The RNC convention was a parade of hopeful republican governors touting their own horn and mentioning Mitt Romney in passing.

Each political official that took the podium made it abundantly clear that they were there to promote themselves into a better position in 2016. The RNC was a mixture of bizarre rhetoric and self-importance.

Blaming President Obama for the ineptitude of a destructive Congress and the failure of the previous administration was the theme of the night. The speakers threw as much red meat and as many lies as possible to a base that seemed jaded and bored most of the time.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio 
Appealing to the Hispanic community was not a subtle event. Latino-descent governors paraded on the stage touting the grandiosity of a republican party that no longer exists.

Everyone of these governors recounted their humble beginnings - which are yet to be fact-checked for some and totally debunked for others  - and their experiences in leadership positions within the party and their own states. Unfortunately, they were the only Hispanics on attendance.

The audience cheered and applauded on cue when the Hispanics on parade praised the Republican party, or humbly stated their gratitude to a country that gave them great opportunities to succeed.  Overall, with very few exceptions, the enthusiasm was sorely lacking.

Mitt Romney did his best to connect with a Hispanic audience by hoping that those watching at home would identify with his Mexican-born father.

Unfortunately for Mitt Romney, no one is voting for his Mexican-born father.

The former governor also threw a morsel to the birthers. Perhaps it was a small offering to keep them from staying home on election day, but he would have fared better had he kept that doggy treat in his pocket instead.

As soon as it left his lips, the comment was plastered all over social media. "When the world needs someone to do the really big stuff, you need an American." - all that was missing here was the wink - This comment landed hard on those jaded on the stupidity of birtherism. Their disgust was expressed quite openly on Twitter and Facebook.

The GOP has no cause to wonder the reason they have 0 percent (0%) of the African-American vote, or, why the 'white base' is increasingly more democratic and embarrassed by a GOP association. Those who used to be proud Republicans no longer recognize this party as their own.

Mr. Romney also tried to connect with another segment of the population that is unlikely to vote for him: Women. Women of all ethnic backgrounds have been raked through the coals by the Republican Party over the past few years and, women, have very long memories.

Endorsing laws that disfranchise voters by virtue of their surname, ethnicity, and perceived political inclinations, has blown up in the faces of the GOP. These people are not likely voters for a party that represents oppression and control of personal freedoms, choices, and liberties.

There is no coming back from this. This party needs a major overhaul if it is ever to have any credibility as a viable option in a two-party system. Let alone in a system that would have more than two parties vying for attention and importance.

For a while we cringed as the minorities were both pandered and maligned with words of "opportunity" and "Welfare" - Social media exploded when the rapid-fire series of lies about President Obama and his policies begun.

The current GOP has not only offended the 'inconsequential' minorities but mortified the white population by attempting to appeal to racism, bigotry, and a hatred they do not possess. Some felt the need to state on social media: "They don't represent me." and "I am not like that." or, "I have nothing in common with these people."

They don't need to apologize or differentiate themselves from the fear-war-mongers. Actions have always spoken louder than words and ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientation, skin color, or religious beliefs are irrelevant to most people.

Muslim Symbol of Peace
Which brings us to the next segment, Mitt Romney persisted on instituting "Freedom of Religion" if he becomes president. The audience was not sure how to respond to that at times. They seemed torn trying to assimilate what that meant. Do they not have that now? Was Mitt Romney saying Mormonism has been maligned by the Evangelical audience? Was he addressing members of his church?

What about Muslims? will Mitt Romney protect them too? - From the way he was talking about going to war with the rest of the (Muslim) world, it did not seem that way.

There was a time - Sarah Palin's time - when throwing red meat to the audience was energizing to a base that horrified the vast majority of the country.  The audience last night did not seem to be responding well to what has become a smelly, odious, and rotten piece of meat. At times, it seemed the responses were forced and the audience had to be coached into having a reaction or paying attention.

Every good fisherman knows that they need to change the bait in order to attract the catch and appeal to a different variety.

Clint Eastwood talking to a chair
Clint Eastwood overshadowed Mitt Romney's speech. It was not a helpful stint for the hopeful presidential candidate's biggest introduction to the rest of the country.

On the bright side, the conversation about invisible President Obama is likely preferable to Mitt Romney's invisible tax returns

While there were some hopeful rising stars in the form of Susana Martinez of New Mexico and Ted Cruz, solicitor general of Texas, the overall feeling about the convention can be summarized as a failure of epic proportions. This convention was a public disintegration of a party that has lost its center and is hovering near the cliff of doom.

The contrast between the RNC convention and the DNC's next week will be sharp. The presidential debates will likely push the Republican candidate to the jagged edges of the cliff. If voters prevail, a new Congress of "Can Do" individuals will finalized the GOP demise as a political giant.

This coming November I will proudly cast my vote for President Obama again. I hope you'll join me.

Until next week - PEACE to all.

Fox News Latino: Opinion: Marco Rubio Speech Proves He Does Not Speak For Latinos
Politico: 0 percent of blacks for Mitt Romney
MSNBC Media: Poll results and questions asked.
TPM: Ron Paul Revolt Blows Up GOP's Unified Convention
The Huffington Post: CNN Camerawoman: Peanut Throwing Incident at Republican Convention 'A Wake Up Call
MSNBC - The Ed Show: Voter ID laws could disenfranchise 758,000 in Pennsylvania
YouTube: Two Former Republicans Tell Why They No Longer Support The Party
Republicans For Obama
The Palm Beach Post: GOP heaped praise on women, but will it win women's vote?



Photo Credits: MSNBC, ABC News,

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Great writeup woman!