From A Republicans’ Point Of View
It was a bad week for the Democrats. Their convention began with the resignation of its chairman, Cong. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, due to the release of thousands of e-mails and voice mails by WikiLeaks showing she had helped the Clinton campaign by rigging the system against Sen. Bernie Sanders. No sooner had Schultz resigned that she was rewarded with a part in the Clinton campaign. This incensed Sanders supporters, and even though the Vermont Senator tried to keep the peace among his followers, Hillary’s trustworthiness took another major hit.
This week, a Gallup Poll reported Clinton’s image was at its lowest level in 24 years. This was followed by a CNN poll yesterday (July 28th) claiming 68% say Hillary isn’t honest and trustworthy, her worst number on-record.
The Democrats presented speaker after speaker singing the praises of Mrs. Clinton, including her husband and daughter, as well as Barack and Michelle Obama, but the damage had been done, and hundreds of Sanders supporters walked out of the convention hall. The outside Sanders supporters were more vocal as they protested the departure of their candidate.
Regardless of how the Democrats and main street media tried to spin it, the e-mail incident alone cast a shadow of doubt over the Clinton campaign, both in the eyes of Democrats and Independents.
There were other trivial items which caught our attention, such as the absence of an American flag in the convention hall on the first day, or the green wall used to partition the audience from the podium (which was quickly changed to clear plastic to hide the wall), and the absence of law enforcement officers in the convention hall. There also seemed to be genuine contempt for law enforcement and the military.
One thing made perfectly clear by President Obama, he believes he has had a highly successful two terms in office, and is willing to pass the baton to Mrs. Clinton to perpetuate his legacy. There was no mention of the federal debt, an anemic gross domestic product, the real level of unemployment, the unrest in the Middle East, and the gridlock in the capitol.
Regardless of the rhetoric of the speakers, I only smelled fear in their voices. There was a fear of expressing patriotism, fear of Islamic extremists (which was never mentioned), and fear of offending the black community by promoting Black Lives Matter and the deaths of black victims to law enforcement.
The Democrat’s ultimate fear is Donald Trump as they desperately tried to brand him as a racist and narcissist, with questionable values, incapable of understanding foreign affairs, and unfit for office. This may play well for the Democratic base, but not in Poughkeepsie as Trump’s numbers in the polls continued to grow this week, passing Mrs. Clinton in the process. It’s a little known fact that Trump’s name was mentioned more during the Democratic convention than Mrs. Clinton’s, much more.
The Democrats will likely continue to misquote him and fabricate distortions of reality about him from now until the election. The media will try to manufacture stories such as his so-called connection to Russia over the e-mail flap. The press simply doesn’t know when he is kidding with his audience.
Will Hillary get a bump in the polls following the convention? We should find out some time next week. As to viewership, Neilsen reports 24 million watched Day 3, which is very close to the Republican convention which had 23.4 million viewers. The real test is Day 4 which we will learn in the next few days. If Mrs. Clinton receives no significant bump in the polls or viewership is mediocre, the game might be over.
Voters are now left with two distinctly different interpretations of America as represented by the candidates:
* The Republicans have selected a candidate with a strong business background, results oriented, law and order, concern for veterans; someone who has hired thousands of workers and conducted business on a global basis. Someone with considerable book and street smarts.
* The Democrats have selected a candidate with a tarnished image that is perceived as untrustworthy; someone who is accused of the deaths of four people in Benghazi, criticized by the State Department Inspector General report and the Congressional Benghazi report; someone with no material record of accomplishments, and asks people to elect her simply based on her gender. She is touted as the third term of Barack Obama and the only thing she has in her corner is the main street media who will do whatever she commands.
So it comes down to this: Are American voters satisfied with the last eight years or is it time to change?
Next up, the debates. Be sure to join us ringside. This will be fun.
Keep the Faith!