Last night was the
culmination of 13 months of what can only be appropriately deemed a Trump tour
de force. We can now say Trump has been
marching inexorably toward the nomination as the Republican’s 2016 candidate
for President since June 2015. Last
night, Donald J. Trump, Jr. exulted in the dual honor of reading the results of
the New York Delegate distribution, and simultaneously putting his father over
the requisite 1,237 (of 2,472) Delegates that Party rules require in order for
a candidate to clinch the GOP Nomination.
There was more business to be handled, for sure, such as Convention
Chair Paul Ryan announcing the official tabulated results, but for all
practical purposes, it was over when Don, Jr. read the State of New York’s
Delegate designation.
The reality, of course, is
it ended long before that. It ended when
Trump cobbled together sufficient momentum to force his final two GOP Primary
competitors, Ted Cruz and John Kasich, to yield and shut down their respective
campaigns. A few diehards refused to
abandon the notion of Never Trump. This
is a concept, by the way, that I repeatedly suggested, quickly after it
emerged, had no shot at succeeding.
The Republican National
Convention Kicked off Monday. During the
afternoon session a few rogue Delegates attempted to launch an insurgency,
mainly to disrupt the proceedings, but with no real hope of actually executing
any kind of bloodless coup, politically speaking. Trump delegates, Convention Chair Ryan, and
Convention Whips made sure noting came of that wild hair.
Having dispensed with the
untoward impulses relatively early, the GOP seemed on the road to zeroing in on
how best and most fervently to bash Mr. Trump’s opponent in the November
Election, Hillary Clinton. However, the
highlight of Monday evening festivities was to be a featured appearance by
Melania Trump, who was tasked with the unenviable assignment of humanizing the
candidate, her husband. By most accounts,
her speech was successful, if not in providing any special anecdotes or
insights about her husband or his psyche, in casting her as and individual who
could proficiently calm her nerves long enough to read from a teleprompter
(Donald must be really proud) and convey how she transitioned from having been
an immigrant to becoming a citizen…the right way.
While the early feedback
noted that she did not accomplish Job 1, framing Donald in a softer light, she
did, as a non-politician, hold her own in front of God, a teleprompter, a
packed arena, and a television audience of tens of millions. Granted, her husband is the politician, not
her, so she should get points for completing the assignment without committing
any discernible faux pas. But wait,
before the Quicken Loans Arena could be cleared (Monday evening’s proceedings
did run long), a counter-theme emerged.
It appeared, in weaving her story of the evening, Mrs. Trump may have
appropriated substantial parts of several passages from a speech that Mrs.
Obama delivered during the 2008 Democratic Convention. There is much more that could be said about
this matter, but I suspect you’ve already seen or heard it. In the unlikely event you missed it see the
last link below.
Back to the subject at hand,
the title makes clear this post focuses on Donald Trump’s biggest victory to
date in his quest to become President of the United States. You may recall, the magic number GOP
candidates were aiming for and needed to become the Party’s nominee was 1,237. Here is a breakdown of the total Delegates won
by candidate:
1. Donald Trump – 1,725 (1,237 Required)
2. Ted Cruz – 475
3. John Kasich – 120
4. Marco Rubio – 114
5. Ben Carson – 7
6. Jeb Bush – 3
7. Rand Paul – 2
When one thinks back and
recalls that at one point the Republican field of candidates consisted of 17
candidates, it is certainly appropriate to appreciate that Donald Trump not
only survived the crucible of a rigorous campaign, he fundamentally
restructured the Republican Party. It
may not have a revolution, in Bernie Sanders parlance, but it certainly was a
revolt. That may sound extreme at first
glance, but think about it in big picture terms. In June of 2015, when he announced his
candidacy, Trump’s odds of winning the GOP Nomination were slim, possibly slim
and none. While it is conceivable that
Ben Carson, and or, Carly Fiorina had longer odds, being a Black Republican or
a woman (and like Trump, having no previous political experience) and all, virtually
every other candidate was high on the scale of political hierarchy that
includes Governors, former Governors, and Senators.
For a little perspective, here
is a list of Mr. Trump’s 16 vanquished rivals:
1. Jeb Bush (Former Governor of Florida)
2. Ben Carson (Retired Neurosurgeon)
3. Chris Christie (New Jersey Governor)
4. Ted Cruz (U.S. Senator, Texas)
5. Carly Fiorina (Former Business Executive)
6. Jim Gilmore (Former Virginia Governor)
7. Lindsey Graham (U.S. Senator, South Carolina)
8. Mike Huckabee (Former Governor of Arkansas)
9. Bobby Jindal (Former Governor of Louisiana)
10. John Kasich (Governor of Ohio)
11. George Pataki (Former Governor of New York)
12. Rand Paul (United States Senator, Kentucky)
13. Rick Perry (Former Governor, Texas)
14. Marco Rubio (U.S. Senator, Florida)
15. Rick Santorum (Former U.S. Senator, Pennsylvania)
16. Scott Walker (Governor of Wisconsin)
To go even further back down
memory lane, there were times in the early going when many, if not most folks,
thought Trump would never actually enter the race, and then a prevailing
sentiment was he never release a Financial Statement, and I’m sure almost
everyone knows he still has not released his taxes. This last point should not be
downplayed. Every candidate since
Richard Nixon has done so. By flouting
convention and refusing to do so, Mr. Trump is almost certainly setting a precedent
that others will surely follow in the future.
The Convention is halfway
over. Last night, Tiffany and Donald
Trump, Jr., (two of Trump’s children) along with Chris Christie and Ben Carson
spoke. From my vantage point, Tiffany
gave the speech folks anticipated Melania might have, and Don, Jr. spoke, both
about his father and about the political dynamics of the country. He may have been the star of the
evening. Christie assiduously prosecuted
Hillary Clinton for the vast array of Republican grievances, while Carson
ridiculed her links to Saul Alinsky…and his links to Lucifer, and therefore,
her links to Lucifer. You had to see it
to appreciate it, or to not appreciate it sufficiently.
Just for kicks, last night’s
speakers mentioned Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton a lot. However, it is worth noting that, according
to CNN, they mentioned Clinton more - Trump 61, Clinton 79. Nothing will unify the GOP like voicing
opposition to the Clintons. While we’re
at it, it is also interesting to note that 80 (3%) of the 2,472 Delegates to
the Convention are African American.
That’s more than at Romney’s Convention in 2012, so I suppose the GOP
can feel pretty good about itself on that score. It will be interesting to see if the
Democrats can match the GOP’s enthusiasm.
I’m confident they will exceed the level of diversity.
Tonight’s speakers will
include Newt Gingrich, his wife Calista, and Trump’s son Eric. The Party’s Vice Presidential Nominee Mike
Pence will also appear. Then of course,
Thursday will mark the piece de resistance, when Trump and Pence will
officially accept their Nominations.
Each day of the Convention has bee thematically labeled. The themes and days were paired, as follows:
·
Monday – Make
America Safe Again
·
Tuesday – Make
America Work Again
·
Wednesday – Make
America First Again
·
Thursday – Make
America One Again
Don’t worry about the themes
though. If last night was any
indication, adherence to it may be hit or miss.
I will certainly not suggest the Convention has been compelling TV.
The Party and Mr. Trump will
likely feel much better about last night’s session than the one Monday
night. It is unlikely Tuesday’s speakers
will have anything approaching the SNAFU emanating from Melania’s “borrowed”
comments,” which Trump and the Party denied, deflected, and/or took an
opportunity to dissemble when discussing (as is the Trump-world fact-free way). This brings me full circle back to the main
point…”Trump Towers Over the Never Trump Movement: Drops the Title 'Presumptive!”'
I’m done; holla back!
Find a new post
each Wednesday.
To subscribe,
click on Follow in the bottom right hand corner of my Home
Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in
the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.”
Subsequent
editions of “Break
It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.
Consult the links below for more
detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post:
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment