OPINION:
Cleveland versus Philadelphia. So many predicted a cataclysmic disaster for the Republicans during their convention. Yet, it ended up being an organized, well-run event showcasing the reformation of the Republican Party and propelling Donald Trump to the biggest post-convention bounce for either party since 2000.
In the meantime, no one muttered a word about the potential of the Democratic convention turning into a hot cauldron of painfully funny incompetence, corruption and chaos. And then Monday we learned the “D” in DNC really stands for Donner.
For those of us tired of the lies and subterfuge of the left, it was an awesome start.
The Democrats began their dance with Kafka by firing their party chairwoman the day before their convention began. Only after, of course, her collusion against the Sanders campaign was exposed by the WikiLeaks hacking of the DNC email.
A hacking, by the way, which really didn’t need to be nearly as bad as it was. We’ve learned U.S. officials warned the DNC of an intrusion into their system months before the party acted to rectify the situation. According to CNN, “The DNC breach occurred around the same time as breaches of U.S. government systems at the State Department and the White House. Analysts from the National Security Agency found signatures in those breaches that led them to suspect there were other intrusions outside the government, including at the DNC.”
Hillary Clinton’s campaign/DNC spin? The Russians hacked into their emails to help Donald Trump. A spin obviously meant to give their lapdogs in the media something other to write about then the implications of the depth of the Democratic Party’s incompetence and corruption.
Here’s what we do know: The FBI is saying the intrusion into the DNC system happened around the same time President Obama’s White House computer system was hacked — which was in the fall of 2014, and continued until the DNC finally removed the hackers from the network in June of 2016.
But it’s all a Trump plot. Got it.
Perhaps the Russians are behind the DNC hacking. It would be worth considering the fact that it’s the Obama/Clinton/Kerry disaster of the past seven-and-a-half years that ushered in a new Cold War between the United States and Russia, including cyber-intrusions into every part of our government, ranging from the Office of Personnel Management to the White House itself.
Mrs. Clinton pointing a crooked finger at Mr. Trump for this disaster is the equivalent of blaming a YouTube video for the Benghazi massacre, a gay hate crime for the Orlando terrorist atrocity, and workplace violence for the Fort Hood terrorist attack.
Political conventions matter. After a primary season, both parties view the multi-day event as the official beginning of the presidential campaign season; the conventions serve as the calling card of the nominee and a statement to the American people about what they stand for and the nature of the leadership.
For the Republicans, there was some drama, but the quelling of the effort by a few to disrupt was courtesy of the diligence and organizing of the Trump team. As a result, the American people were treated to a convention reflective of the respect they deserve, replete with honesty and straight talk about what is happening to our country.
Mr. Trump’s success at the Republican convention translated to the biggest post-convention bounce for either party since 2000. He emerged ahead of Mrs. Clinton in a CNN poll 44 percent to 39 percent. More significantly, his support among independents skyrocketed: “Pre-convention, independents split 34 precent Clinton to 31 percent Trump, with sizable numbers behind Johnson (22 percent) and Stein (10 percent). Now, 46 percent say they back Trump, 28 percent Clinton, 15 percent Johnson and 4 percent Stein,” reported the network, referring to Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein.
Appearance, unity and messaging are all important. Democrats have a disaster with the first two, and when it comes to messaging, they have another serious problem: Americans already know what the liberals stand for. Further, the lineup of speakers, including the Obamas, Elizabeth Warren, Bill Clinton, and a variety of “Saturday Night Live” comedians, while adored by the party faithful, do not offer any revelation to the voter.
We know they all want the Obama agenda to continue; we know they all think it’s a fabulous thing they’ve done to us. But the problem for the Democrats is they’re still trying to bring along their own base. Conventions are a time when you’ve presumably won your base through the primary season and are now reaching out to enlarge your support.
We see from the polls Mr. Trump did exactly that.
Americans notice things like no American flags on the DNC convention stage. It might be small to some people, but it’s a statement. The Democrats think so because someone made a deliberate decision to eliminate the image of the Stars and Stripes. After criticism mounted, they added them the second night. What sort of people need to be proded into including the American flag at a convention for the presidency?
In scores of speeches the first night there was not one mention of the global terrorist army wreaking havoc in the world, or other challenges we face. Mr. Trump tweeted, “Why aren’t the Democrats speaking about ISIS, bad trade deals, broken borders, police and law and order. The Republican Convention was great.”
Indeed.
Recently, Hillary said if elected she’d put Bill Clinton in charge of the economy and during Sunday’s “60 Minutes” interview, she said as president she’d be calling Mr. Obama for his advice.
In other words, even Hillary doesn’t think she can be president. It’s the one thing we can trust her on.
• Tammy Bruce, author and Fox News contributor, is a radio talk show host.
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