Day 167…
I spent far longer than I intended in Springfield, Illinois, so I was only able to drive as far as Columbus, Ohio last night. I was vaguely hoping to get as far as Pittsburgh, but that’s another three hours from here. It is not much fun driving after dark. This post is coming from my hotel room early in the morning.
This road trip started out in the middle of the Democratic Convention and I am ending it up with the start of the Republican Convention. It certainly wasn’t planned that way, but they’ve been an interesting soundtrack for everything that I have been seeing as I loop around this quarter of the country.
For most of yesterday, I had the radio off. As the sun set, however, and I still had two hours of driving ahead of me, I had to turn it on. I needed the distraction.
National Public Radio’s coverage of both conventions has been pretty good and fairly balanced even considering their basic liberal slant. In between speakers, rather than listening to the hosts or the propaganda films, they cut to a discussion of what is being said. They did this with the Democrats, too. During these talking segments, they fact check and call out weaknesses and strengths pretty evenly. I periodically would drive out of range of one broadcast station and have to find it on a new one.
From what I heard last night, the GOP doesn’t really appear to have any sort of an agenda going forward into a possible 2nd term for the President. Just more greatness.
Heading into the convention, the President said that he was looking forward to a more “upbeat” event to contrast the Democrat’s predictions of doom if he wins again in theirs. Well, if this is the GOP’s idea of upbeat, I would hate to see what the opposite would be.
Many of the speakers tonight painted a picture of a dystopian post-apocalyptic America that would result if the President lost the election, that, I am sure, terrified his base no end.
Last week, the Democrats adjusted the delivery of their speeches to accommodate the new virtual medium. Michelle Obama, who gave possibly the most effective speech of the convention, spoke calmly but forcefully from what looked like her own home. She spoke as if she were talking to someone one on one. That style contrasted markedly with some of tonight’s speakers who, at least over the radio, seemed to be talking as if they were addressing a massive stadium full of people.
The Presidents’s son’s girlfriend, former Fox commentator Kimberly Guilfoyle went full out Nuremburg rally - imagining a bleak and dark future at the top of her lungs.
Things got even darker when the St. Louis couple who had waved their guns at protestors spoke about their fear that Democrats would destroy the suburbs and overwhelm good and peaceful neighborhoods with unimaginable violence. And take everyone’s guns away.
The night didn’t start off that way. It actually started with the Republicans defending two issues that Democrats have often levied against the current Administration: their poor handling of the virus and the President’s lack of empathy.
At the beginning, a nurse spoke in support of the President’s actions in combatting the virus. I am guessing that having somebody speak, who wasn’t a highly regarded health expert, was a calculated choice. She was a person just like us who happened to work in a hospital. That made her easier to relate to.
Following that, there was a taped segment with the President speaking to some essential workers in the White House. He asked them what they did and when they answered he told them that he loved people who do what they did. This, I am guessing, was meant to display his empathy for ordinary Americans.
From the tenor of the night’s narrative, it seems like the Republicans were hoping that the President was going to end up running against Senator Bernie Sanders. Lots of talk about socialism. It was an attempt by them to portray Joe Biden as a puppet of Sanders and the deranged progressive Left.
Still at the end of the night, what we were all left with was how great a job the President has done fighting COVID-19 (no mention of the 177,000 who’ve died, many of whom might still be alive with a better national response.) We were left with what a great job he did with the economy (despite the fact that he inherited a robust and healthy one from his predecessor, unlike the one his predecessor got from the second Mr. Bush, and then watched while it fell apart during the pandemic.) We were also left with multiple testimonials from friends who portrayed him as being as warm and as empathetic a person as you could ever want to know. (Like America’s Bill Cosby.)
Most of the language used throughout the evening seemed to be coded to appeal directly to his base. As an example, the Democrats so-called plans to destroy the suburbs, was really about ideas for affordable housing that would allow people to live better lives. The President’s base will hear that as people of color moving in next door and destroying their property values.
There didn’t seem to be much there tonight, that would appeal to the undecided voters. Senator Tim Scott from South Carolina finished out the night with a more balanced and decidedly un-hysterical keynote speech. Even he, though, needed a bit of fact checking. I would be shocked if the more moderate people, who are on the fence for some reason, made it past Kimberly Guilfoyle to actually hear it. She was that over the top.
Well there are three more days of this. Not sure how much more of it I’m going to be able to take.
With the long drive through Pennsylvania ahead of me today, I am starting out as early as I can. So, to balance out the collapse of our civilization as we know it (that the Republicans say will happen if they lose this November’s election), I will leave you with this: a collection of the ridiculous selfies I have taken this past week.
Even in crisis, there is a lot to see across this great country. I am really glad I took this trip.
And yes, I do miss Michael.
A lot.
And the cat.
Virtual relationships are only good for so long.
It’s time to go home.
DeForest, WI - August 21, 2020
Alexandria, MN - August 21, 2020
Fargo, ND - August 22, 2020
Fargo, ND - August 22, 2020
Fargo, ND - August 22, 2020
Jamestown, ND - August 22, 2020
Mitchell, SD - August 22, 2020
Mitchell, SD - August 22, 2020
Hannibal, MO - August 23, 2020
Hannibal, MO - August 23, 2020
Springfield, IL - August 24, 2020
Springfield, IL - August 24, 2020 (Lincoln’s home)
thank you for this road trip
through an America I’ve
yet to see
and the photos
the best!
Me...choose to sleep vs
expose my self to the RNC
keeping my dreams close to my soul
💕