I probably watched in total about twenty minutes of the speeches that Donald Trump and J D Vance made in Milwaukee. And that was already enough. The rah, rah stuff with the crowd and Trump’s tendency to repeat the same points over and over again were too much for me to watch more than that. And that’s nothing against people who like that kind of thing.
I was watching Tucker Carlson’s speech and had a different problem. I like his talks. He works a theme very well. But the problem with his speech was that the crowd kept interrupting him so that he had to placate them with polite noise to shut them up. I found it too distracting to listen to a good talk that had to dodge around a hyperactive crowd.
So, my takeaway is I’m not a convention kind of guy. I’m guessing that the correct preparation for a political convention involves self-medicating with ethanol or some other recreational drug.
But that’s fine. The people who were there seemed to be having a good time. They had Kid Rock and Hulk Hogan and I’m sure a number of entertainers and celebrities to help them enjoy a party to celebrate that they don’t have Joe Biden as their nominee. And they also had a great story to reflect on with the miraculous escape from death that Donald Trump was gifted at that fateful rally in Butler PA. For once Republicans are the ones celebrating and the Democrats are in existential panic over how and with whom they are going to replace Joe Biden on the presidential ballot.
I’ve been watching a bunch of the Democrat talking heads and what they say is that Pelosi and Schumer and Obama have been hectoring Biden to drop out and let his delegates “vote their consciences.” And they keep telling each other that the pressure is so overwhelming that Biden has no choice but concede.
But they’ve been saying this for about a week. I’m not even sure, they’re sure. Maybe they’re just whistling past the graveyard. After all Joe’s a pretty stubborn old coot. And he knows he has them over a barrel. After all, in a month the delegates will declare him the nominee regardless of their personal feelings. At that point if the donors want to withhold funding, they are dooming the Democrats to certain defeat. So, I think they’ll hold their noses and send the checks.
Now, one friend of mine said that they could threaten to reveal some of Biden’s high crimes and misdemeanors if he doesn’t withdraw. And I guess they could. But if he called their bluff, would they present the nation with proof that Biden is a crook? I kind of doubt it. After all Biden probably has dirt on all of them too. And even if he doesn’t rat them out it would destroy the Democratic Party for a generation. All the whispers about influence peddling would be shown true. And raking up all that dirt would be sure to tar half of Washington.
I asked some friends whether they thought Biden would withdraw. They all said yes. They’re probably right. But I’m holding out hope that Joe will dig deep and hang on. Like an anchor I’m hoping he will drag the Democrat party down to the bottom this November.
Run, Joe, run!