Comparing the convention

The Republican National Convention and the Democratic National Convention are finally over. The battle over the presidency now begins in earnest. As I watched both conventions intermittently, I was struck by some differences. Many of these you won’t hear on network news.

According to the media, the RNC Convention was supposed to show a party in disarray. The never-Trump crowd was supposed to disrupt the proceedings. The reality was that except for an initial disagreement over adopting the rules early in the convention, it was orderly and met with enthusiasm from the delegates.

The DNC Convention started out in disarray and got worse. Their national chair, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, was forced to resign over disparaging emails sent to and among staffers about Bernie Sanders. Black Lives Matter protesters, and others repeatedly disrupted speakers.

A main theme of the RNC Convention was border security. Speaker after speaker supported the need for a border fence. At the DNC Convention the only fence to be found was a four mile chain link fence around the convention headquarters. Apparently the DNC is okay with illegals overrunning the border but must keep out of the convention the riff-raff they expect to vote for them.

Another theme at the RNC Convention was national security, with several knowledgeable speakers discussing the need to address the risks of radical terrorism. At the DNC Convention, there were 61 speakers the first day without one mention of ISIS.

Milwaukee County, Michigan Sheriff David Clarke, Jr. spoke to the RNC delegates emotionally and eloquently about the interaction and relationship of police officers with minorities. He spoke directly to his belief of the root cause of much of the strife between police and minorities. He was met with a strong reception and rousing support. Other speakers also showed support for law enforcement, also met enthusiastically.

Dallas County, Texas Sheriff Lupe Valdez spoke at the DNC Convention. She also spoke of the need for respect for law enforcement. She asked for a moment of silence for fallen officers. It was disrupted by Black Lives Matter protesters. It has also been reported by police officers in Philadelphia that they were not allowed on the convention floor.

One thing that was noticeable to me was the demeanor of the delegates at each convention. At the RNC Convention, nearly all the delegates conducted themselves with a sense of decorum. At the DNC Convention, that was far less evident. Sanders supporters seemed bent on using every available opportunity to disrupt the proceedings.

The children of the candidates also presented some differences. All of Trump’s children presented their speeches with poise and confidence. They presented themselves as real people rather than as billionaire’s privileged children. Chelsea Clinton Mezvinsky portrayed the attitude of an indulged child expecting her mother to get her due. At least that was my take. She seems to have learned her oration skills from her mother, and that is not a compliment.

There were protesters outside each convention. At the RNC, a handful, reportedly less than 50, were present. At the DNC, a large number of Sanders supporters and Black Lives Matter people protested. They were much more vocal and reportedly numbered from 100 to almost 1,000 daily. Of course, these protesters were cleverly omitted from any news footage.

One interesting thing, Trump managed to take media coverage away from the DNC Convention with his comments about asking Putin if he has Hillary’s emails.

Both candidates seem to have gotten a post-convention bounce. Trump saw favorable polls using normal polling practices. In order to show Hillary with a bounce, it took two things. The first was Trump walking into a “gotcha” trap laid by Clinton shill George Stephanopoulos. Maybe he will learn from it. The other thing was that pollsters, starting with Reuters, changed their polling by eliminating “undecided” from the candidate choices. Others followed suit. So let me think. Apparently Trump can lead in polls on his own merits, but polls have to be manipulated for Clinton to get a bounce.

Turnout at the bus tour she embarked on immediately after the convention was extremely low, reportedly a few hundred total. At this point, one thing is clear. Hillary Clinton cannot win this election on her own merits. She and her media shills are mounting an all-out attack on Trump. In my opinion it is the only way she can win.

That means it is Trump’s election to lose. He needs to stay out of the mainstream media and push the message that got him this far.

Tom Riggins’ column appears every other Friday. He may be reached at news@lahontanvalleynews.com.