The Commentariat -- July 20, 2016
GOP Convention & Presidential Race
Alexander Burns & Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "... the gap between Mr. Trump and the party he now aims to lead yawned as wide as ever across the convention. At times, the only unifying appeals -- the only themes truly capable of rallying the Republican Party, even briefly -- were ominous denunciations of Hillary Clinton.... In the roll call vote that began the night, formally marking Mr. Trump's capture of the Republican nomination, 721 delegates cast their votes for candidates other than Mr. Trump -- the most significant expression of party dissent since 1976, when Republicans had a contested convention.... For the second consecutive night, long stretches of the program were desultory, and the convention floor emptied out well before the speeches ended." (See Adam Nagourney's illustration below.) -- CW ...
He's a Regular Guy -- He Hangs with Mobsters! He didn't hide out behind a desk in an executive suite. He spent his career with regular Americans. He hung out with the guys at construction sites ... pouring concrete and hanging sheetrock. -- Donald Trump, Jr., on his humble sheetrocker Dad
Maybe Junior shouldn't have mentioned the concrete-pouring inasmuch as Donald Sr. got that done only because he let mobsters do the work. -- Constant Weader
... Philip Rucker, et al., of the Washington Post: "The convention's second-day program was choreographed to promote party unity under the banner, 'Make America Work Again,' but there were sparse references to economic policies. Instead, convention viewers were served scattered messages, underscoring the party's discomfort with Donald Trump.... The case for Trump is increasingly being framed as little more than an opportunity to fend off [Hillary] Clinton...." -- CW ...
...Jonathan Freedland of the Guardian: "We now know how Donald Trump will take on Hillary Clinton this autumn -- by framing her as a criminal who should be sent not to the White House, but to jail. Trump had already signalled as much via the two-word label he likes to hang around the neck of his Democratic opponent: Crooked Hillary. But the Republican convention in Cleveland, which on Tuesday formally nominated Trump as its presidential candidate, has given colour and shape to that strategy. Now we know how it will look and sound." --safari
... Unable to eschew the spotlight, Donald Trump beamed himself into the convention via the Jumbotron:
Michael Shear & Matt Flegenheimer of the New York Times: Donald Trump "formally took control of the Republican Party on Tuesday as delegates to the convention here officially chose him as their nominee.... The State of New York cast its delegates for Mr. Trump just after 7 p.m. Tuesday, giving him the majority of delegates and crushing, once and for all, the panicked efforts of the 'Never Trump' movement inside the Republican Party establishment." -- CW ...
... Karen Tumulty, et al., of the Washington Post: "Trump's clinching votes were cast by his own son, Donald Trump Jr., who spoke for the New York delegation. 'It is my honor to be able to throw Donald Trump over the top in the delegate count tonight,' he said. 'Congratulations, Dad, we love you!'... At about 8:10 p.m., after Alaska's votes had been sorted out, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (Wisc.) announced the official results. Trump, he said, 'has been selected as the Republican Party nominee for president of the United States.' Shortly afterward, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence was named the Republican Party's vice-presidential nominee...." ...
... A Chip off the Old Blockhead, Junior "throws Dad over the top":
... The Post has live updates here. This is the lede to the entry at 9:55 pm ET: "New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie briefly tried to turn the Republican National Convention into a courtroom as he delivered a scathing attack on Hillary Clinton's record as secretary of state. The former prosecutor ... argue[d] that Clinton had failed badly in her handling of Libya, China, Syria, Iran and other places across the globe. He enlisted the participation of the crowd, repeatedly asking them: 'Guilty or not guilty?' 'Guilty!' the audience screamed back. They also broke into chants of 'Lock her up! Lock her up!' several times." -- CW ...
... David Smith of the Guardian: Christie created "a mood of mob justice." -- CW ...
Trump convention planners are doing something wrong. This is a primetime shot of the hall. Empty. pic.twitter.com/q2vXXLjQSw
— adam nagourney (@adamnagourney) July 20, 2016
... Charles Pierce: "The [Trump] campaign was inevitable. The ground has been prepared for it for almost five decades. The ground was prepared when the Republican Party married itself to the flotsam of American apartheid. The ground was prepared when the Republican Party married itself to a politicized form of American Protestantism.... The ground was prepared when the Republican Party divorced itself from the proudest elements of its historical identity..., most critically, the party's dedication to some form of racial equality that was its founding purpose in the first place.... Sooner or later, as Mary Shelley warned the world, the monster always breaks the chains." -- CW
Donald's Coalition. Brad Reed of Raw Story: "You can live stream the Republican National Convention on the RNC's official YouTube page, but you can't chat about it live anymore.... The Republicans have now disabled the live chat window on the page after it got overrun by anti-Semitic Trump supporters. As former Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle gave a speech promoting inroads that Republicans have made with Jewish voters, as well as ripping the Democrats for allegedly being more hostile to Israel, Trump's alt-right followers flooded the page with anti-Semitic vitriol." --safari (Also linked yesterday.) ...
Not-Ready-for-Prime-Time-Players Get Caught Plagiarizing Rival. Hilarity Ensues. Louis Nelson of Politico: "Trump campaign does damage control after Melania plagiarism charges." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... CW: Make that "damage control." The campaign put out several conflicting stories; e.g., Melania said she wrote the speech; the campaign said she didn't. Corey Lewandowski -- still being paid by the Trump campaign but also working for CNN -- shadowboxed with rival & current campaign mismanager Paul Manafort. Manafort, for his part, mounted a baldly ludicrous defense: "This is once again an example of when a woman threatens Hillary Clinton, how she seeks out to demean her and take her down." That is, when numerous reporters & some Republicans, including the RNC chair, point out that Mrs. Trump copied Mrs. Obama's speech, somehow Hillary Clinton masterminded the whole thing. Wow! Hillary would be a powerful president! Here's another funny defense: "Manafort said the similarities between the two speeches were limited to just three sections and 'fragments of words.'" Fragments of words? Like Michelle said "family" & Melania said "fam"? Or what? ...
... ** Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "The possibility that Ms. Trump's remarks had been plagiarized cast a cloud over the second day of the Republican National Convention and laid bare lingering tensions within the party surrounding the nomination of Donald J. Trump, whose campaign continues to be plagued by stumbles and infighting despite several reboots. The disarray was evident as Mr. Trump's campaign and senior Republicans offered conflicting explanations for the similarities in the speeches, with some officials conceding that the passages were lifted and demanding accountability, and others arguing that nothing untoward had occurred. Among Mr. Trump's aides, there was a palpable sense of frustration that Ms. Trump's speech, which they considered a highlight of the evening, had become a cause for embarrassment." CW: This is a straight news report. ...
... ** It Was Melania's Fault. Maggie Haberman & Michael Barbaro: The Trump campaign hired two former George W. Bush "speechwriters, Matthew Scully and John McConnell, [to write Melania Trump's speech. They] sent Ms. Trump a draft last month.... Ms. Trump ... began tearing it apart, leaving a small fraction of the original. Her quiet plan to wrest the speech away and make it her own [CW: or rather, Michelle Obama's] set in motion the most embarrassing moment of the convention.... It was, by all accounts, an entirely preventable blunder.... [It] reinforces dominant themes of Mr. Trump's campaign...: a deliberately bare-bones campaign structure, a slapdash style and a reliance on the instincts of the candidate over the judgments of experienced political experts, like Mr. Scully and Mr. McConnell." CW: It seems Melania & a ballet-dancer friend did "research for the speech" by reviewing [make that copying & pasting] "previous convention speeches delivered by candidates' spouses." ...
... Rebecca Traister of New York: "... the words that came out of [Melania's] mouth were empty, meaningless. If she had really paid attention to Michelle's speech from 2008, what she should have taken from it was a lesson about the power of narrative specificity: Michelle told detailed, intimate stories of her life as a young person and her life as a wife and mother, details that shed light on her life, her personality, the nature of her relationship with her husband." -- CW ...
... The Speech That Keeps on Giving. David Frum in the Atlantic: "The incident throws a harpoon into the heart of the Trump campaign's racial politics. Trump's message: Non-white people are ripping off hard-working white Americans who play by the rules. 'They' cheat; 'we' lose. Could there be a sharper reversal of that racialized complaint than Melania Trump in her designer dress stealing Michelle Obama's heartfelt words?" And ..."In 2008, Michelle Obama summed up the values that she had learned from her parents and that she and Barack Obama now tried to instill in their children: work hard; tell the truth; keep your promises; treat others with dignity and respect. Donald Trump epically does not tell the truth, does not keep his promises, and does not treat others with dignity and respect. A plagiarized speech (and the failure to detect the plagiarism) pretty strongly confirms that the Trumps do not much care about hard work, either." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Akhilleus: As with another seemingly innocuous blunder years ago when a group of clowns were nabbed trying to break into a room at the Watergate Hotel, the Plagiarized Speech could have long-lasting--and historic--ramifications. At least we hope so. ...
... Callum Borchers of the Washington Post: "... whoever wrote/copy-pasted Trump's speech figured the journalists covering the convention wouldn't notice. That turned out to be true. But the aide responsible for the speech didn't account for the out-of-work reporter [31-year-old Jarrett Hill, who was watching] in an L.A. Starbucks" and tweeted out reports of the plagiarism. -- CW
Robert Draper, in the New York Times Magazine, on how Trump whittled down his vice-presidential list -- with a lot of help from potential candidates who begged off. -- CW
The Amazing Donaldo. He Don't Need No Stinkin' Money! Jay Newton-Small of Time reports: "On a bright sunny Tuesday morning, the Trump Leadership Council gathered at FirstEnergy Stadium for their second official meeting. The group of 40 CEOs and top executives had flown to Cleveland to attend the Republican National Convention and meet with the nominee presumptive, billionaire businessman Donald Trump...and Trump never showed..., [underlining] to at least a few council members that he doesn't view meeting with them as a priority." -- Akhilleus (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
Other News & Views
** MEANWHILE, in Today's Other Train Wreck. John Koblin & Jim Rutenberg of the New York Times: Roger "Ailes and 21st Century Fox, Fox News's parent company, are in the advanced stages of discussions that would lead to his departure as chairman, Susan Estrich, one of Mr. Ailes's lawyers, said in an interview on Tuesday.... Rupert Murdoch, who was on vacation with his wife, Jerry Hall, on the French Riviera, had been in constant telephone contact with his sons, James and Lachlan, on the matter, according to a person familiar with the discussions." -- CW ...
... Gabriel Sherman of New York: "As a chorus of prominent Fox News women have gone public defending Roger Ailes against the wave of sexual-harassment allegations sparked by former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson's lawsuit, the network's biggest star, Megyn Kelly, has been conspicuously silent.... According to two sources briefed on parent company 21st Century Fox's outside probe of the Fox News executive..., Kelly has told investigators that Ailes made unwanted sexual advances toward her about ten years ago when she was a young correspondent at Fox. Kelly, according to the sources, has described her harassment by Ailes in detail." -- CW (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Roxanna Hegeman of the Washington Post: "The American Civil Liberties Union filed a class-action lawsuit Tuesday seeking to block a two-tiered election system that would require Kansas election officials to throw out thousands of votes in state and local races from people who registered at motor vehicle offices or used a federal form without providing documents proving U.S. citizenship.... The rule, sought by Secretary of State Kris Kobach, would remain in effect through Nov. 8, the date of the general election. If that action is allowed to stand, thousands of Kansas voters will be denied their right to vote in state and local elections in a year when all 165 seats of the Kansas Legislature are up for election, the ACLU argued." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Akhilleus: All the hoopla surrounding the Daily Donaldo foibles conveniently draws attention from the fact that Republicans have been winding up their election rigging machine once again. Who needs money if you can screw with voters and deny them the chance to vote against your guy? Or in the case of Kansas, all your guys.
Way Beyond the Beltway
Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. -- John, Baron Acton ...
... Worser & Worser. Ceylan Yeginsu of the New York Times: "The Turkish authorities extended their purge of state institutions on Tuesday, suspending more than 15,000 employees of the education ministry for suspected links to a failed military coup last week. Shortly after the suspensions were announced, the High Education Board ordered the resignation of more than 1,500 deans from universities across the country and revoked the licenses of 21,000 teachers, Turkish officials said." -- CW
News Lede
New York Times: "If one were to count up the number of times any American -- or maybe anyone anywhere -- laughed in the last half-century, the person responsible for more of those laughs than anyone else might well be Garry Marshall, who died on Tuesday in Burbank, Calif. He was 81.... It would be difficult to overstate Mr. Marshall's effect on American entertainment. His work in network television and Hollywood movies fattened the archive of romantic, family and buddy comedies and consistently found the sweet spot in the middle of the mainstream." -- CW
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Reader Comments (19)
Trump Jr's speech was ugly as hell, but also effective, if you like that kind of speech (I'll avoid the Godwin connection). It also contained a bit of plagiarism according to this:
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/07/19/3800113/donald-trump-jrs-speech-also-plagiarized/
Christie was also effective. I won't be surprised if video shows pitchforks and torches being passed out.
Maybe it is just the one word, but am I wrong is seeing more than that in common between the two Reuters headlines at the top of the page?
"Trump would seek new law to purge (Obama appointed? hired?) government officials"
and
"Erdogan targets more than 50,000 in purge"
THE GOP CONVENTION: Day Two
ALL about Hillary: She has been raised to such a height, we visualize her swinging from a star from high above. She is responsible for all the BAD things that have happened not only in this country but in the world. She is such a powerful creature that, given the presidency, will slash and burn her way through in order to ruin our country, our world, and cause monumental disasters. And according to our nutty knife wielding surgeon , Ben Carson, she's connected to Saul Alinsky who loves Lucifer therefore Hillary is the devil in the blue dress.
And then we had court proceedings by the rotund, rapacious Rat fucker Chris Christi whose babble about Hillary being guilty (again about everything rotten in the states of...) rousing the crowd to shout in unison, "Guilty!" and "Lock her up" over and over.
It gave me chills!
All the pundits praised Don junior's speech––wow, they said, now that was impressive! And he isn't even a politician!
Oh yeah????
My favorite little gem of the evening beside the sparkle of Tiffany's twinkle was a sign that some guy was holding up:
TRUMP DIGS COAL
@Ken: Not wrong at all.
Jon Stewart spits out about you know who.
http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/stephen_colbert_brings_jon_stewart_out_retirement_make_sense_trump_20160719
A Huff Post listing says "Source says Melania Trump's claims that she graduated from college are false". Maybe Melania is Trump's perfect mate.
http://www.aol.com/article/2016/07/19/source-says-melania-trumps-claims-that-she-graduated-from-colle/21434920/
Found myself watching way more than I intended and following some of the NYTimes liveblog —came away wondering, WHO devised the stage craft? WHY did the same speaker who reappeared several times need to be re-introduced a second, third, etc. time? I think Mitch McConnell was introduced three times with the same 'thrilling' words within minutes by that irritatingly, happy-happy 'customer service' robotic voiceover that you can't get past on the phone until you Press 1, Press 2, Press 3, or Press 4 to Return to the original menu...
WHY in the world were some of these speakers chosen? Umm, some not especially compelling stories...yeah, you Mr. Small Business, you Ms. Winery Success because of the incredible Trump family (when was last time you found a bottle of Trump wine at your local store or as a selection on a restaurant wine list? Couldn't follow Ms. Soap-Opera-Actress-WHO?-turned-Avocado-Farmer.
The evening lacked an energy, there were empty seats (plenty of them), WHY do delegates wear stupid hats (costumes)? I'm talking to you guy with the huge fuzzy elephant hat on your head ...to you in the vests and jackets covered with political pins from top to bottom, back to front, to you (the dancing queens in the aisles) Nah! you don't have the moves anymore. Besides what was so foot-tapping compelling about some of the worst background music EVAH that got you out of your seat? These people are representatives doing serious business?
Others appeared to stay in their seats, they didn't clap, never smiled.
And, no, thanks Marie...I won't be watching (again) the Trump Jumbotron clip you linked at the top of today's post...it was enough seeing it 'live' last night. Yesterday, you wrote an amusing after the election scenario with the once illustrious candidate "now quietly resting in an undisclosed place." — seemed to me, someone had already added some meds to his Diet Coke. (Oh, perhaps this was the new Presidential Trump?) By comparison, even zombie Paul Ryan's delivery was more exciting...snooooooze!
GOP sees loss already? Forget 2016 — the 2020 Election Just Kicked Off " Just when you thought things couldn't be scarier with Trump. According to MSNBC the ones to watch for 2020 include: Ryan, Joni Ernst, and OMG this guy:
"My dad just last year applied for and got a concealed carry permit for the first time in his life. He said someone has to protect us if ISIS comes here to cut our heads off," (Tom) Cotton told the group.
I try not to watch too much of the RNC putsch rally but it strikes me that all the silliness with the hats and buttons and screaming mimis and banners about locking up Hillary is in line with plenty of other fanatics whose lives revolve around singular pursuits and who gather now and then to commune with each other over their common interests. The difference is that comic book fans and trekkers gather to share stories about beloved fictional characters and fantasy universes. RNC delegates gather to share ideas for how to imprison or exterminate their enemies and take over the country.
Oh, and for a group of guv'mint hatin', so-called "individualists", that shot of awed lemmings looking up adoringly at a scowling Donald on the Jumbotron reminds me of nothing so much as the famous Big Brother spot for Apple that ran way back in 1984, even down to the authoritarian rhetoric, the talk of victorious ideology, of beating the pests, working for a single cause, prevailing by burying their enemies.
And could that be Hillary running in with the hammer?
And if you do watch that Apple spot, here's what Donald, er, Big Brother, is saying:
"Today, we celebrate the first glorious anniversary of the Information Purification Directives. We have created, for the first time in all history, a garden of pure ideology—where each worker may bloom, secure from the pests purveying contradictory truths. Our Unification of Thoughts is more powerful a weapon than any fleet or army on earth. We are one people, with one will, one resolve, one cause. Our enemies shall talk themselves to death, and we will bury them with their own confusion. We shall prevail!"
From Wikipedia
Sound familiar? Information purification? Contradictory truths? Pests? Burying enemies?
All it lacks is the stern face on the screen bragging about how amazing and incredible and yuuuuge it will be.
Donald "Sheetrock" Trump hanging out at construction sites? If he was, it was to deliver envelopes stuffed with cash. Hanging drywall? He must have had the butler hold it up so he could hammer in a couple of nails.
Reg'lar guy Donnie, eh? Hangin' with the help. Such bullshit. He was probably down in the trailer with Vinnie and Tony, catching up on the latest mob gossip.
Where do they go from here?
Last time around, the haters bored in that mooslim guy who wasn't even born here and who was also, heavens!, BLACK! Holeeeee shit.
So, black, Muslim, not born in America. What do they do for a haters' encore? Oh, how 'bout Lucifer? Sure.
Can't prove Hillary Clinton is either Muslim or born in Kenya, and it would be hard to prove that she's black, so the next step down is to make her best buds with the devil. Hill and Luci, BFFs.
Every year, every month, every week, these people have to amp up the hatred and fear. But now they're at Lucifer. Where will they go next? Is there a black/Mexican Lucifer who is also Muslim and maybe from another planet and who hates guns and duck call thingies and loves gays and pesky women who can be buddies with the next Democrat to run for president?
Where next, schmoes?
Today we get a preview of 2020, with the High Ayatollah Cruz speaking. I think we're more likely to find a synagogue in Medina than for Cruz to endorse Trump. but this has been a strange week.
Cruz is certain to be back in the ring in 2020 and we'll probably have Rubio as well. This barring a total catastrophe in which Trump doesn't crash and burn in November. Cruz being Cruz he might challenge a sitting president as Reagan did in 1976. Rubio won't be in Cleveland but the Cruz speech will be revealing.
Not that anyone needs reminding here, but it seems incredible that we've made it all the way to the convention, steps away from the long haul of the presidential election, with one of our country's two major political parties having proposed ZERO concrete policy proposals to upright our apocalyptic "sinking ship" they so decry. For years we've been hearing about how Wonder Wonk Paul Ryan is days away from unveiling his Obamacare replacement, or tax reform, or welfare reform, and all we've got so far is a few abstracts with more asterisks than actual ideas. Our Republican-led Senate is one of the least productive in the history of the country. The uncompromising post-policy party has made obstructionism the ONLY official party policy. So severe, that bipartisan efforts are denounced as treason, effectively quashing or squeezing out anyone interested in actually running a democratic government.
And now, lo and behold, the post-party policy has nominated an ignoramus as their Chief Stooge, a "leader" who knows nothing about actual governance. Not only is he completely ignorant about crafting national and foreign policy, Republican leaders themselves have come out and said as much, while simultaneously supporting his nomination as their party's leader. Trump, being completely void of concrete ideas about how to make America great for white people again, has used his great brain to craft a favorite go to response in the face of spineless journalists' questions: (drum roll...) "We'll look into that."
To add the cherry on top of this putrid cheese fest, we're getting reports that Cricso Christie and Mafia Don are already planning on "purging" anyone that doesn't pledge allegiance to The Wave of incoming ignorance and prejudice as a final, futile, slay the dragon attempt at arresting and reversing all of the progress made during Obama's eight years running the government.
Despite putting forth zero policy papers and being an authoritarian zealot, I'm seriously worried Donald's shameless tactics of the "criminalization" of Hillary, day after day, month after month, are going to stain her so bad that voters will need barf bags, rather than nose clips, when going to the voting booths.
Can God abide a woman president? Discuss.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/07/20/god-might-not-want-a-woman-to-be-president-some-religious-conservatives-say/?hpid=hp_rhp-more-top-stories_no-name%3Ahomepage%2Fstory
I don't have time to put it up top, but here's another Republican lawmaker and Trump advisor for veteran affairs revealing his fascist undersides. Notice these fascists aren't Joe Sixpack from the boonies, but integrated cogs in the political machine. This one claims that Hillary should be put in a firing line and executed. How will the press spin these stories as bothsiderism? They just won't discuss it. Scary shit.
http://www.rawstory.com/2016/07/nh-lawmaker-and-trump-adviser-hillary-clinton-should-be-put-in-the-firing-line-and-shot/
@Safari: said lawmaker, Al Baldasaro, actually is from the boonies aka that Live Free or Die state. A real piece of work he is. Huff Post has more, too.
To paraphrase the late, great Irish playwright Brendan Behan, with regard to the current GOP convention: "If Jesus Christ had to walk among you, he'd climb back up on his comfortable fookin' cross."
As if the entire personal character, world view and behavior of Trump hasn't been a huge shit stain on the country, I shudder to imagine the outcome of the classified security briefings. Those genies, unleashed, can't be returned to the bottle. The country would be much safer if all briefings were presented in written form.