Republicans have nominated the least popular presidential nominee in recent history — and it showed. Throughout the week, the biggest names on the convention schedule consciously avoided lavishing too much praise on the nominee himself, for fear of their own political futures.
House Speaker Paul Ryan mentioned Trump just twice in his address. Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, locked in a tough re-election race, mentioned the nominee just once. Ted Cruz, the second-place finisher in the primary, refused to endorse Trump at all, telling attendees instead to “vote your conscience.”
And these were the Republicans who showed up to speak. Many major party figures didn’t attend at all. Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake told the press he wasn’t attending because he had to mow his lawn. None of the Bushes showed up.
Rather than effusively praising Trump – a job left to group of scam artists who have attached themselves to Trump, indifferent to any long-term damage he does to the party or conservatism – the GOP pols focused on imploring members of their own party to support their own nominee. Traditionally, the convention is a time for the GOP to make its pitch to independents and disgruntled Democrats.
“If you are a conservative, a decision not to vote or to vote for a third-party candidate is a de facto vote for Hillary Clinton,” evangelical movement leader Jerry Falwell Jr. warned. His concern is not abstract: Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson has been picking up steam and is pulling over 10 percent in some polls.
The go-to method to rile up delegates and rally the Republican television audience was citing the threat of a Hillary Clinton victory. “In the end, this election comes down to just two names on the ballot, so let’s resolve here and now that Hillary Clinton will never become president of the United States of America,” vice presidential nominee Mike Pence told the audience.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich lamely countered Cruz’s advice to “vote your conscience,” by insisting that Trump was the obvious candidate by process of elimination. “Ted Cruz said you can vote your conscience for anyone who will uphold the Constitution. In this election, there is only one candidate who will uphold the Constitution,” Gingrich said. “So to paraphrase Ted Cruz, if you want to protect the Constitution of United States, the only possible candidate this fall is the Trump-Pence Republican ticket.”
This notable lack of enthusiasm from the party’s elder statesmen is a major break with how Republicans united behind their nominees in the past.
Take, for example, former House Speaker Dennis Hastert’s address before the 2004 convention that nominated George W. Bush, and compare it to Ryan’s.
In Ryan’s two scant mentions of Trump, he proclaimed that he would be standing next to “Vice President Mike Pence and President Donald Trump” at next year’s State of the Union address. He also told attendees that “only with Donald Trump and Mike Pence do we have a chance for a better way” — not describing what that way was, nor praising any of Trump’s policies, values, or character.
Hastert, by contrast, offered effuse praise for Bush, saying that “George W. Bush shares the hopeful vision of Lincoln and Reagan. He believes in peace through strength. He believes that the economy grows when the private sector grows, not when the government grows.” Hastert concluded his remarks by saying that “George W. Bush is a strong leader with the right vision for America.”
Ryan’s own address in 2012, when he was Mitt Romney’s vice presidential pick, is also instructive. In that speech, he specifically praised Romney’s character. “You see, some people can’t be dragged down by the usual cheap tactics, because their ability, character, and plain decency are so obvious – and ladies and gentlemen, that is Mitt Romney.”
Cruz’s non-endorsement this year also stands in contrast with his speech in 2012, where he implored voters to “Stand together with Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan. Restore the American love story.”
The reluctance to associate too closely with Trump is likely a result of the latter’s unpopularity even among traditional Republican voters and backers.
In an NBC poll taken in late June, a majority of conservative Republicans said they’d prefer someone else as the nominee. On Wednesday morning, the head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the big-business lobby traditionally allied to the Republicans, refused to throw his support behind either Trump or Clinton yet.
This is a change from 2012, when Republicans had little problem uniting their voters behind nominee Mitt Romney. By April 2012, around the time Romney secured the nomination, 9 in 10 conservative Republicans said they would support Romney.
To the extent that anybody outside Trump’s immediate family was effusive about the candidate, it was speakers who were more like The Donald himself — individuals skilled in running get-rich-quick schemes to nab some fame and fortune but who have essentially no policy ideas. They were happy to endorse Trump for short-term benefit, regardless of any long-term damage it does to the party or conservatism.
Take speaker Michelle Van Etten. The Republican National Committee marketed her as a small businesswoman who “employs over 100,000 people,” but in an interview on Monday, she admitted that she actually doesn’t have any employees. Van Etten peddles pseudoscientific health products that she claims will do everything from improve your basic health to fight cancer. “This company appears to be a pyramid scheme…a world class scam,” Britt Hermes, an expert on the scam nutritional supplements industry, told The Daily Beast.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and Governor Rick Scott are elected officials who praised Trump, but they both arguably belong in the scam-artist category as well.
Bondi, for instance, dropped an investigation into one of Trump’s for-profit colleges just days after the mogul wrote her campaign a $25,000 check.
Scott, who nabbed a primetime speech on Thursday, helmed hospital chain Columbia/HCA that committed some of the worst Medicare fraud in U.S. history — eventually being ordered to pay $840 million in penalties by the Department of Justice in 2000.
It wasn’t always this way. The GOP was once a party that worked much harder to address the concerns of ordinary people, was based on broad voter foundations and sustainable plans for the future, and unflinchingly supported its own presidential nominees. But for at least the next four months, it’s the party of Donald J. Trump.
A yes, the good old days back in 2004 when fine upstanding repubs like Dennis Hastert spoke at the convention……serial child molester that he is…..
That Iranian in Germany;MEK?Why would an Iranian besmirch Iran by associating it with terror?
Or just a “normal” nut?
Zaid,sorry,this is a laughable rant.Nobody likes any of the clowns you mention,from Flake to Gingrich,and even Pence is not up to snuff,asa the American voter has finally Trumped the party establishment,
And it is hillaryous to say the republican party of the last 40 years has been responsive to peoples wishes,it’s been a closed minded junta of zionist idiots who have championed every nation destroying trade steal,stupid war, and idiotic foreign policy disaster going.
And every Demoncrat too,that’s the rub,and why Donalld Trump will be our next POTUS.
We are voting smart man,not dumb party affiliation.
You are correct, and this is exactly the direction we need to move in.
This is exactly why I’m voting for Trump. The Republicans have spoken and the leaders are putting their own futures ahead of what the country wants. The article should be in should be titled “Leaders put their own Futures ahead of people of the United States of America”. All they care about is their own future, not anyone else’s. By nominating Trump, the country is saying they’re tired of politicians and tired of them putting themselves ahead of our country
Have you always been a liar, Zaid, of did you just start when you registered with the democrat party? Or maybe you took lessons in logic-twisting at some elite univesity and you’ve made it your practice to bend every event to the spliberal cause. Logic-twisting with liberals is as common as false religion in the koran.
“Traditionally, the convention is a time for the GOP to make its pitch to independents and disgruntled Democrats.”
Well, that was what Trump was up to, but to do that effectively, he had to go against the traditional Republican agenda (which was all about getting in bed with corporate Democrats to promote free trade deals), and he did a passable PR job during his speech:
This is a pretty good pitch; however, I’d instead say to Trump supporters, and Bernie supporters, support Jill Stein and the Green Party instead, they’re the only ones with a rational budget proposal that would actually work, and that’s because they’re the only ones who recognize that “rebuilding America” requires cutting the foreign military budget, and that “energy security” means clean renewable energy, not coal or fracking or controlling Middle Eastern oilfields with American troops.
The establishment Republicans and establishment Democrats are not worth making this pitch to, since they’re too far gone – either brainwashed corporate media-fed zombies, or cynical greedy con artists who live off Wall Street handouts.
While I am deeply worried for my country, I have not a fuck to give for these sad and alarmed Republicans (and I know Ziad Jilani doesn’t, either). To them I say: Chickens, home, roost.
They spent decades luring populist white Democrats to their party by exploiting racism and the “culture war” issues. Getting these middle class whites to support their anti-union, anti-safety net, corporate-welfare agenda. They cultivated and promoted hatred, with Limbaugh, Fox and various other rancid voices.
Well, their Southern Strategy (which wasn’t entirely Southern) worked for a good long while — magnificently. And the economic interests of middle-class and poor whites were ignored and defeated. This also drove the Democratic party so far to the right that FDR’s domestic policies could not be those of a successful national Democrat, who would not receive institutional party support.
Hatred is now ascendant, as Trump represents and exploits. He just also promises to oppose job-destroying “free trade” policies and says he won’t try to destroy Social Security. (Those should have been Democratic positions all these decades, but haven’t been.)
Now they reap what they sowed, but so do the rest of us. This white populist rage isn’t going anywhere any time soon, even if Trump loses. And it’s largely the fault of these hand-wringing Republicans — and a craven Democratic party.
” I have not a fuck to give for these sad and alarmed Republicans”
Well I guess that settles it then. None of us should care about half of the voters in our country because Mona has spoken and she speaks for all of us, eh?
What is the difference between saying that and fuck Asian people, they are too good at math?
Mona, is there one person on the planet you like who is not like you? Or is that a requirement to be your friend?
Half the voters in our country? Come on charlie, the establishment Republicans and establishment Democrats – taken together, I doubt they make up more than 10-20% of the voters in our country, realistically.
These two parties, they’re like the Wizard of Oz – a few people, putting on a big show, with nothing to back it up. And I agree with Mona on the point that the white populist rage that’s resulted is their fault. I don’t like it either.
Can it be diverted into Green Party support? Even white populist rage can give way to enlightened self-interest, hopefully. Worth a shot, in any case.
Can you point out incidents of recent white rage inspired by Trump?
All I’ve seen is BLM and illegal immigrant rage.
Are Americans in general angry?Of course,they should be,as the best candidate in years is character assassinated every day by the serial lying media.
And they’ve seen his totally corrupt shameless venal lying opponent having a fixed election and biased media coverage.
And now she chooses another idiot for TPP, warmongering and probable Russophobic bias.as she demonstrates her total unfitness for the POTUS.
She is a bubbleheaded moron.
Yes,white people can hate,but so can any color human,witness the recent executions of the cops,if that aint hate,what is?
Liberals are only liberal on what they approve of,they can outnazi any conservative,any day,but its a free country,so Ill give them a pass.(she can’t wait for that citizenchip,implanted mind control,though.That we can’t give a pass to)
Okay let’s try this again: Republican Leaders Begrudgingly Acquiesce to the demands of millions of voting constituents.
Let look at the convention itself. Traditional sponsors of the convention backed out. The RNC had to dig into its war chest to fund something that normally added to it. Normally people line up for a spot to appear on the stage and instead he had to scrape the bottom of the barrel for anyone to speak. The RNC had to play games to keep the floor and the delegates from splitting away. Worst of all they had to have Trump enforcers on the floor to try and keep order. Never before has the RNC had to do anything remotely like this. Gary Johnson is now reaping what the RNC has sowed.
It may very well be that these GOP politicians are avoiding Donald to preserve their own careers — but that’s assuming he loses. If he doesn’t, they’re going to be very sorry, because this fellow probably knows how to pay off his grudges.
It may very well be that Donald is the least popular GOP nominee in memory, but he is going up against a very unpopular Democrat. He has a very good chance of winning, especially if the campaign is so negative that it turns off ambivalent voters and drives down turnout. It’s hard to imagine Hillary providing much uplift, inspiration or hope to counter this; it may not be her style. She’s wooden, and that’s never good when there’s a fire raging.
— Salon, today
http://www.salon.com/2016/07/22/his_dark_materials_after_that_diabolical_masterful_performance_donald_trump_could_easily_end_up_president/
Unpopular with whom?I see a great groundswell of American support for Trump out there,as we finally have a guy who’ll put America first.
Yes,he is unpopular with propagandists,serial liars,and proponents of divide and conquer,but that is to expected,as their careers hang in the balance.:)
His obvious smarts and patriotism are refreshing after the comical shrub and diffident Obomba,and every one of his domestic and most of his foreign policy stuff are excellent(Iran crap excepted),so I see him winning big,as no one likes the media,and their corrupt framing of the Donald.
And every current event screams his astute take on the world.
But the MSM won’t acknowledge that.
Wow! I had no idea that The Intercept could come up with such a neocon article supporting the Bill Kristols, Mitt Romneys, and George Wills of the GOP, this is awesome insider Republican propaganda!
Jilani, you’re behind the curve here, this is an evolving GOP take over by the people who are shaken awake by the times of rot at the top of both Democratic and Republican Parties. The winds of change sweep those leaders to the margins of the hell they’ve built for not only the US, but also to the wider world in the financial, industrial, war machine of their making the past 40 years.
Maybe not so ironically, the admonition by Falwell that not voting or voting for a third party candidate instead of Trump, is as good as voting for Clinton, is the exact same scare tactic used by Clinton supporters warning that a vote for Jill Stein, or writing Sanders in or simply staying home–all of which I’m considering–is equal to a vote for Trump.
No matter from what side it comes, it’s fear-based bullying and intimidation, to which I’ll say simply, “Bite my ass!”
Let’s be clear Trump is the least popular candidate in Washington in recent history. That’s a good thing. These elected republican bozos just feel that Trump is wild card, which he is, and they have no ability to control him. He has no ties to lobbyists, no ties to party elites, no ties to the historical party families. Trump funds himself and has his own directive. His popularity is plenty clear with American voters across the country, but maybe they don’t matter anymore.
You are not getting the full opinion of former speaker Newt Gingrich. He has thrown enthusiastic support behind Trump in numerous interviews that I have heard.
“Republicans have nominated the least popular presidential nominee in recent history — and it showed.”
Thanks Captain Obvious.
“Republicans have nominated the least popular presidential nominee in recent history — and it showed.”
And the Democrats are about to do the same thing …
Thanks to Haim Saban.