The RNC: Reflections and Highlights

Some thoughts on the Republican Convention:

I might be a bit premature here. Only three of the four-day Republican National Convention in Milwaukee has come and gone. The last day may be the most significant, with the long-awaited speech by Donald Trump to cap it off. I have watched most of the first three days and I hope to do the same tomorrow.

There are at least four main reasons why I am deeply interested in all this. First, I am an American. Second, I am a Wisconsin boy. Third, what happens in the US will impact the rest of the world, for good or ill – including Australia. Fourth, all people – certainly all Christians – should take an interest in politics. Even if we don’t, politics will take an interest in us.

Let me start with a few general thoughts. A lot of hoopla and the like is par for the course. But it is the content that I have been paying close attention to here.

Of interest, the Secret Service head Kimberly Cheatle was spotted and confronted by a few politicians at the Convention. You recall her: the one who oversaw the absolute debacle of trying to defend Trump in Pennsylvania. She is the one who said the reason no agents were on the roof of the building where the gunman was had to do with the fact that there was a slight slope to it!

Good grief. I must have posted 20 different hilarious – yet sad – memes about this on the social media so far. And she is the one who insists that DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) must take priority, and she demands 30 per cent of agents be women. But in this case DEI nearly led to DIE. We do not need 30 per cent women – we need 100 per cent men and women who are competent and fully qualified to undertake this vitally important job.

One obvious thing I have noticed is this: just how many biblical passages have there been quoted so far this week? And how many prayers have been offered so far? The question is, will we hear any Bible verses being quoted or any heartfelt prayers being uttered at the DNC next month in Chicago? Not likely.

Also, it was not expected nor required that Trump show up before Thursday, but he was there all three nights, listening intently to the speeches and talks. He came in more subdued and sombre – as most people might be after nearly being murdered. He has ditched his previously written speech, and will offer a brand-new one tomorrow.

As to the mood of the Convention, it is VERY upbeat and positive. There is a tremendous sense of joy, hope and unity. Indeed, the Republicans are fully united behind Trump. The Democrats are fully united behind Biden – but united in wanting to get rid of him!

But their replacement options are very bleak indeed – especially the cackling Kamala. Wow, she is even worse than Biden. Of interest, just hours before we were told Biden has Covid again, he announced that he might step down if doctors said he had medical issues to deal with. Hmm…

And a last general thought: Melania said this about her seeming absence from the Convention: “I don’t need to attend every rally because unlike Jill & Joe, Donald can take care of himself. I don’t have to hold his hand everywhere he goes. Also, I’m still a mother, my young son just got out of High School. I choose to mother him… not Donald.”

But some specific highlights of the Convention. Each day the RNC has its own main theme:
Monday: “Make America Wealthy Once Again.”
Tuesday: “Make America Safe Once Again.”
Wednesday: “Make America Strong Once Again.”
Thursday: “Make America Great Once Again.”

There have been so many terrific, powerful and moving speeches that have been heard so far. All I can do is present some quotes from a few of them. First, some of the well-known leaders:

J. D. Vance, the Ohio senator and VP pick, shared some stories of his past, made famous in his book and the film, Hillbilly Elegy. Many things stood out, but a highlight was when he spoke about, and pointed to, his mother who was in the audience. The former heroin addict is now “ten years clean and sober,” and the J. D. story is an incredible one of redemption, and it is an American success story.

The Florida governor Ron DeSantis gave a rousing speech. His great success in Florida can again be replicated in the nation with Trump and Vance in charge. One of his memorable lines was this: “Our enemies do not confine their designs to between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM. We need a commander in chief who can lead 24 hours a day and seven days a week. America cannot afford four more years of a weekend at Bernie’s presidency.”

And he said this about what DEI really means: “Division, exclusion and indoctrination.” Yep, that pretty much sums up what the Democrats are all about. Let me share one more quote:

We stand for fiscal sanity, for low taxes, and for reduced debt. We seek to reclaim the constitutional government as envisioned by our founding fathers by bringing the administrative state to heal once and for all. We believe that you must be a citizen in order to vote, and that photo ID should be required before casting a ballot. We stand for strong borders and believe that our nation must have a shared civic culture and we oppose any immigration that stands apart or in contrast to our American values.

The Texas Senator Ted Cruz also highlighted the need for a safer America:

But the numbers don’t show us the true price that our country is paying. Every day Americans are dying. Murdered, assaulted, raped by illegal immigrants that the Democrats have released. Teenage girls and boys wearing colored wristbands are being sold into a life of sex slavery. This is evil and it’s wrong, and it is happening every damn day. Think of Kate Steinle. She was 32 walking with her father on a San Francisco pier when a bullet tore through her heart. The man who fired that gun, he’d been deported five times. Every damn day. Think of Laken Riley. Just 22 years old, a nursing student with dreams of healing others. She went for a jog and never came home, her life taken by someone who should have never been here. Every damn day….

And then we had the governor of Arkansas Sarah Huckabee Sanders. This is one of her remarks:

I was insulted as a guest at the White House Correspondence Dinner. My family was denied service and kicked out of a restaurant. And a parent at my 3-year-old son’s preschool spit on my car. And in those moments, it was President Trump who defended me. And when an MSNBC host, the author of several books on empowering women, said I was unfit to be a mother. And another MSNBC host said I was vile, not even human, and that I should be choked. MSNBC again did nothing but our president pulled me aside, looked me in the eye and said, “Sarah, you’re smart, you’re beautiful, you’re tough, and they attack you because you’re good at your job. Never let them stop fighting.” Thank you, Mr. President. That’s the Donald Trump that I know. And that’s the Donald J. Trump I will always respect. The Left doesn’t care about empowering women. Biden and Harris can’t even tell you what a woman is. They only care about empowering themselves.

The former Governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley reminded us of the contrast in foreign policy between Trump and Biden.

Think about it. When Barack Obama was president, Vladimir Putin invaded Crimea. With Joe Biden as president, Putin invaded all of Ukraine. But when Donald Trump was President, Putin did nothing. No invasions, no invasions, no wars. That was no accident. Putin didn’t attack Ukraine because he knew Donald Trump was tough. A strong president doesn’t start wars. A strong president prevents wars. Then look at the Middle East. Every problem in that part of the world can be laid at the feet of Iran. The dictator to chant death to America are the bankrollers and weapons suppliers for Hamas and Hezbollah. They’re behind the barbaric massacres and the hostage taking. Once again, compare Trump and Biden. Trump got us out of the insane Iran nuclear deal.

I quite like what entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy said:

And our message to Gen Z is this, you’re going to be the generation that actually saves this country. You want to be a rebel? You want to be a hippie? You want to stick it to the man? Show up on your college campus and try calling yourself a conservative. Say you want to get married, have kids, teach them to believe in God and pledge allegiance to their country, because you know what? Fear has been infectious in this country, but courage can be contagious too. That too is what it means to be an American.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said this at the start of her speech:

Leadership has consequences. It matters who’s in the White House. I’ve been a governor under both President Trump and Biden. People ask me the biggest difference, I tell them President Trump honored the Constitution. He let me do my job. And he let me keep my people free. 

But in many ways the very best and most moving talks came from “everyday Americans”: ordinary Joes and Josephines. Whether they had lost a son or daughter thanks to Biden’s completely botched 2021 pullout of Afghanistan, or lost loved ones because of his wide-open borders with at least 11 1/2 million illegals pouring in during his past 3 1/2 years in office, they had tragic stories to tell.

Take for example Anne Fundner from California. Her young son Weston lost his life to fentanyl–laced pills. Chinese drug ingredients which are manufactured in Mexico and brought into America by drug couriers and others – thanks to the no-walls policy of sleepy Joe – were directly behind this and so many of these deaths.

Weston was a church goer who loved life. Sadly a bad choice due to peer pressure took his life. Their lives were forever shattered after this. She was in tears when she said she holds Biden, Harris, Newsom and other Democrats responsible for this. Please watch this VERY moving video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITZRv-p4DLI

Consider this really powerful message from Madeline Brame whose son, a war veteran, was killed in NYC because of weak-on-crime policies. She said that she does not want anyone else to go through what she has. She said she will use the voice God gave her to be a voice for the voiceless in America. ‘We need justice and accountability’ she shouted. And she asked, “Who else in here is sick and tired of being sick and tired?” Please watch her powerful story here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm1L4afHWOM   

And listen to Michael Morin whose sister Rachel (a mother of five) was raped and murdered by an illegal immigrant, who had previously killed a woman in El Salvador. Trump called him and offered his condolences, but not Biden – nor Harris, who is supposed to be in charge of the border. He said that the family is getting through all this because of their “faith in Jesus Christ.” He quoted from the New Testament and said that he prays for her murderer and hopes that he will find Christ. See the amazing talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOB5u5S19C4

There is much more that can be said about the first three days. Having the head of the powerful Teamsters Union speak there – the first time in 121 years – was in itself quite remarkable. As in Australia, in America the conservative parties are becoming the parties of the worker, of the blue collar class, while leftist parties are tending to serve only the elites. They prefer the chardonnay-sipping lifestyle of the inner cities, and have so little in common with ordinary people in the suburbs and in rural areas. A real change is taking place in these major parties.

But stay tuned, I may pen another piece tomorrow after the RNC comes to an end. And once again, keep praying for all of this. Politics cannot save, and Trump is not the Messiah. But some politicians, parties and policies are clearly better than others – and that certainly matters.

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