touted his
business acumen as an indicator he would be far superior than anyone else in
dealing with the economy, even though most economists from all political
perspectives have debunked Trump's economic plan, which would add about $30--35
trillion to the national debt, and would rival the recession of the last two
years of the George W. Bush presidency. The convention speakers didn't mention
anything about Trump's four bankruptcies, his proposal to give additional tax
breaks to millionaires and corporations, or lawsuits filed by individuals and
the state of New York against Trump for illegal business practices and for defrauding
students who enrolled in Trump University, which was neither accredited nor
gave college credits.
The speakers, facing TV audiences that varied from 20 to 30 million viewers,
praised Trump's philosophy that a livable wage of $15 an hour is too much for
businesses to survive, and that a low minimum wage is desirable. They didn't
mention that during the primary campaign Trump pushed for American-made
products while he outsourced much of his Trump-named products to countries
where 12-hour working days, unsafe work places, and low wages are common. To
thunderous applause, they did mention that Trump would curb the power of
unions, something that the candidate has already done with many of his
properties where workers don't have unions to protect them.
Conservatives emphasized that they, and they alone, are patriotic Americans. For those on the far-right of the political spectrum, being a patriot to conservatives means being willing to spend more than half of the nation's budget on defense and having the power to send youth to fight wars half a hemisphere away. It doesn't align with Dwight Eisenhower's philosophy that "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."
The conservative movement, represented by 2,472 delegates claimed they, and they alone, could be entrusted to defend the Constitution, although the part they know seems to be confined to nuzzling up to the NRA and the 2nd Amendment, and defending a non-existent right to own every kind of weapon short of a nuclear bomb, but were pleasantly secure within a gun-free zone that surrounded their convention.
They frequently declared they, and they alone, would be the ones best able to lower crime, disregarding numerous studies that show a decline in crime during the the Obama administration.
They also believe in creationism, question the theory of evolution, believe that merging religion and the state is acceptable, and Planned Parenthood isn't. They oppose abortion, even if it's to preserve a mother's life, and then devote millions of dollars to oppose programs that help low-income families.
Climate change is a liberal myth say a solid minority of delegates. Fracking is good and would make the U.S. energy-independent, they claim, skating around the facts that oil and gas corporations, which accept more than $20 billion in taxpayer subsidies a year, are exporting oil and natural gas. Fossil fuel is the past, present, and future, they claim, blindly ignoring the reality that there are more jobs in the renewable energy industry than in fossil fuels, and that most nations, especially those in the Middle East oil-exporting countries, are significantly increasing the use of solar and wind energy.
They believe in private schools, private retirement plans, and want to sell off public land. They want to "reign in" the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration, which they see as having too much regulatory power, apparently believing that oil and gas and food and pharmaceutical corporations will do what's best for the consumer and not what's best for the stockholders.
Throughout the convention, the delegates and speakers unleashed their venom on Hillary Rodham Clinton, Trump's Democratic opponent, calling her evil, corrupt, a liar, and someone who should be in prison. Many delegates compared her to Satan. Licking County (Ohio) Commissioner Duane Flowers said Clinton "should be hanging from a tree." Clinton, said Al Baldasaro, a senior Trump advisor and a delegate from New Hampshire, "should be put in the firing line and shot for treason." Their statements reflected the far-right demeanor that has been guiding the party.
Donald Trump, who can be charming, and who delivered a brilliant and presidential-like 76-minute final convention speech, seldom smiles, his demeanor noted by his lips, which are constantly frowning or sneering, reflecting his party's campaign strategy of bar-room profanity-laced anger rather than substance. He is the face of what the Republican party has become.
[Dr. Brasch, an award-winning journalist and university professor, has covered politics and government for more than four decades. His latest book is Fracking America: Sacrificing Health and the Environment for Short-Term Economic Benefit.]
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