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| "The eye of an asian elephant at Elephant Nature Park, Thailand", photograph by Alexander Klink (2008) From Wikimedia Commons, Licence (CC BY 3.0) |
As the US Republican Party's convention in advance of the November elections takes place in Tampa, Florida, I am following this second day of events through the government broadcaster C-Span's livestream.
6:41 p.m. EDT (UTC-4:00) C-Span lady says the Convention is officially in recess until 7:15 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
6:43 p.m. Philosophical West African lady telephoning in from New York State: Have civilized dialogue, not violent language. Mitt Romney and Barack Obama still have to work together after the election, no matter what happens.
6:56 p.m. Smarmy besuited young male individual waving "MITT" sign behind NBC news anchor Chuck Todd during his interview. We get it already, we really do.
7:02 p.m. Pale Texan delegate who has apparently not needed to be shielded from the sun for a while wearing cowboy hat is really incongruous. And he is at least one individual on Earth's green and blue sphere who would like to see former President G.W. Bush at the convention; still says he thinks it's tactically better for him to be absent. Is this the southern passive-aggression I've heard about?
7:04 p.m. A Hispanic lady who is for Romney-Ryan has been discovered!
7:07 p.m. Earlier at the convention: Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney were determined to be the nominees, which — as many a Twitter jokester commented — is an unforeseen contingency that threatens to capsize this Republican electoral season.
Convention begins again.
7:14 p.m. House Speaker John Boehner is first to speak. His spoken rhythm and timbre are partly Foghorn Leghorn, and his words very populistic. He imparts an anecdote about how a 'couple of guys are walkin' into a bar,' deeply perturbed about exorbitant Medicare costs, etc., uses the word 'dontcha,' doesn't use 'g's at end of verbs. I admire the high esteem of the Republican Party for its constituency and that constituency's intellectual capacities.
"President Romney — boy, I like the sound of that." Compared to this, a Lassie film script is James Joyce. 'Freedom.' Last words: "God bless you!"
7:21 p.m. Reince Priebus. Exorbitant levels of condescension here.
About the presidential candidate: "Romney doesn't ask for accolades. He asks," [feeble, creepy voice] "'How can I help?'" If there's one thing that characterizes Gov. Mitt Romney, it's that he's really humble.
Now on to the subject of the nominated vice president: "Guys, let me tell you 'bout my friend Paul Ryan. [. . .] He's my buddy," etc.
"If Obama gets four more years, it may be too late." "We're living on borrowed time." Sounds like life insurance commercial where picture of tottering old grandparent who just wants to secure his children's fiscal futures before he is summarily executed by a Death Panel, fades ominously to black and white.
Priebus picks up Obama's quotation about businesses — "You didn't build that." Whereas, declaims Priebus in an awkward, needy, shouting voice, "We're the party that celebrates success!"
7:32 p.m. Very kitschy musical interlude. A chanteur in a black jacket, red tie, tan slacks and black beret sits on stool, intoning "I'm proud to be an American", with 'angelic' women's choir 'woo'-ing in background. The loudest and lastest notes are consistently the most off-key, as far as I can tell. He shouts (over the loud background music) "We built it!" before he leaves the stage.
7:39 p.m. Black woman appears!!! "Our failures make us better", she says in a video introduction; we have the personal responsibility for our finances, etc., and the government shouldn't interfere. Whether this ideal of non-interference only applies to luxuries like emergency room health care paid for by the taxpayer, food stamps for the poor, incomes for the elderly and the disabled, etc., she doesn't say. She is Mia Love, the mayor of Saratoga Springs in Utah and a candidate for Congress, and daughter of two Haitian immigrants who 'arrived in this country with $10.' President Obama, she says, is 'pitting us against each other' based on 'income levels, gender, and social status.' Republican policies and philosophies on those three points are not divisive or aggressive at all.
7:45 p.m. The actress Janine Turner, from Cliffhanger and so on, appears with brightly blonde hair. She is a self-declared constitutionalist and just manages to grapple all the syllables, calls out different states' names to weak cheers from the delegations.
"The government didn't build it! [. . .] God, and the American people, built it!" she says, thereby implying that God financed the construction of America's highways and bridges and schools.
This seems like an airheaded and unserious speech. It's also pandering, but so was every other speech.
"Barack Obama will destroy us!" she says, evidently confusing Democratic presidents for the Kraken.
"God Bless America!" she concludes, girlishly, "Thank you very much!"
7:55 p.m. Sher Valenzuela, candidate for Lieutenant-Governorship of Delaware. She does have a lovely mezzosoprano voice. Has an autistic son, prognosis at birth not good as far as learning abilities were concerned, but he is now at the University of Delaware. Started a small business; her husband had been in the Army and apparently fiddled with upholstery there? He's also Mexican-American, so no xenophobia here. They now have a 50,000 sq ft factory. Maybe I'm biased, but she seems the nicest and most genuine person here. 'We're taking work away from Chinese and Mexican workers and bringing it back to Delaware!' — Take that, extended relations of Mr. Valenzuela. Why is she not at the Democratic convention? Democrats have ideas about fixing society, but not about fixing the economy, she says; they don't sufficiently trust entrepreneurs. Seems to truly like Romney, so a rare and precious specimen. I think she has a lot of disillusionment waiting in her future.
8:05 p.m. The Oakridge Boys intone "Amazing Grace" to restore godfearingness to America. The sound mixing sounds a little off, so the bass voice is an awkward detached growl. Also off-key and slightly yowly, and they waver as if they were crossing a wobbly plank whenever a line reaches its end.
6:08 p.m. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, Republican Conference vice chairman. She begins by defying President Obama and starting a chant, "We built it."
6:12 p.m. Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire. "Live free or die," she says, in a croaky voice evidently recovering from bronchitis. Husband pilot in Iraq, named Joe, unemployed after tour of duty. He started his own business. She and her husband borrowed money with no guarantee of success, an option open to Americans of all social and economic backgrounds. Obama is seeking to bind and strangle small businesses with a murderous numchuks and ligatures of red tape. Obamacare is a "success tax"!!! It also discourages small business growth based on the following anecdote. Restaurant owner whom she met couldn't open up second restaurant because of medical care payments of employees; now those hypothetical jobs are uncreated and presumably the owner is weeping tragedically. "President Obama has never even run a lemonade stand." (How does she know? Do Hawaiian children or children of Kenyan fathers not have lemonade stands?) "And you know what, it shows!"
6:20 p.m. Jack Gilchrist. "Hudson, New Hampshire businessman. Appeared in Mitt Romney Ad" Perspective of the small businessman. "I blame no one else for the challenges we face." "'Leave, fall, or get out of the way.'" Now that's Christian. Bronx-y/New Jersey accent? He says "Leaduh."
6:23 p.m. Ohio governor John Kasich. Something about the Black-Eyed Peas. We need "strength and power" again, and "rebuild the country." I wasn't aware that there had just been a disaster. He has been in office since 2011, had a billion-dollar budget deficit. He says, for the sake of a hyperbolic comparison, that toddlers have piggy-banks with sums greater than 89 cents. So, given the deficit, his state government cut state spending. For example, the elderly were forced to stay at home instead of entering nursing homes, much I believe to the convenience and enjoyment of themselves and of their caretakers. "We still protect the environment," but "don't overregulate," he says. Now his state has excellent job creation. He mentions Spain, France, Italy and Greece, thereby establishing himself as a cosmopolitan financial expert by comparison to the rest of these speakers. 'President Obama has doubled the national debt.' etc.
6:34 p.m. "If you've been successful, you didn't get there on your own." Excellent quote . . . from President Barack Obama. The commercial argues that Obama was saying that the government did the rest of the work — whereas Obama was probably saying that you should give credit to your colleagues, management, and employees, too, and to the consumers.
6:35 p.m. Mary Fallin, Governor of Oklahoma, begins by quoting Ronald Reagan. "Adventuresome" ain't a word, but she uses it anyway. She also says, "That dog won't hunt!" thereby adding herself to the long list of would-be Twainian Huckleberryesque repositories of the United Statesian vernacular at this convention. I never realized before she mentioned it that oil company executives are in the business of helpfully powering our cars, homes, etc. It's practically a humanitarian mission.
To continue the flow of vernacular: "Gosh," "Preh-zident."
"Mitt Romney believes in the power of the people!" Communist!
6:43 p.m. The film footage of Obama saying "You didn't build that," etc., is repeated. 'Success is not when you knock people down and climb the ladder; it's when you build people up,' says Bob Sakata, ordinary American who was inveigled into appearing in the commercial.
6:45 p.m. Gov. Bob McDonnell from Virginia, who seems to resemble former New York Times editor in chief Bill Keller. The American dream. 'Washington today has a surplus of rhetoric, and a deficit of leadership and results.' Mentions trillion-dollar deficit, as Gov. Kasich did, and similarly does not mention Bush administration-era spending. EPA = Employment Prevention Agency?
[Pause while I go off and do something else.]
Ew. He mentions Mitt Romney et al. working together with Scott Walker (the governor of Wisconsin), etc. to solve America's financial problems once Romney is elected. I don't think McDonnell followed the budgeting of Wisconsin's Republican government very closely.
6:54 p.m. Bev Gray, mother of two children, night owl. "Richmond, Virginia Small Business Owner." Half-paralyzed and trembly with stage-fright. Had tough time setting up her business. Without knowing her personally, her problems still sound very upper middle class. If she had grown up being imprisoned, battered, born on the streets, forced into prostitution, fostered, raised by drug addicts, brainwashed by a fanatic religious community, sent off to war and returned limbless, etc., she might come closer to the kind of American hard-luck experience which is a real impediment to socioeconomic health.
6:57 p.m. Obama's speech repeated again in video. Joseph Dutra, of Kimmie Candy Company, also proclaims himself an annoyed small businessman.
6:58 p.m. I'm glad someone thinks that Scott Walker is likeable, as proven by the loud cheers of the convention crowd. I saw him earlier and was hoping that a hurricane gust would swoop upon him and transport him to Cuba; no such luck. I'm ignoring him.
7:05 p.m. Music. Then, Brian Sandoval, Governor of Nevada. Hispanic! A Bible-quoting one. Father: aviation technician. Mother: legal secretary who became a teacher. Thus: born of poor but honest parents. Worked his way through law school. 'Became a state legislator, gaming regulator, an attorney of my state' due to his love of public service. No. 1 and 3 kind of make sense, but no. 2 . . . "Thou shalt adjudicate unto the edifices of dice and games of chance" is not in any Testament I've read so far. Barack Obama is (in Sarah Palin's words) not hopey-changey enough for him, so he wants to take over. Government regulation 'is a drag on business confidence.' It sounds as if there are businessmen walking around gloomily, dragging their heads and sighing, "If only the president had a little faith in me, I could have enough self-esteem to make lots of money. But so far it's so discouraging!"
7:14 p.m. Phil Archuletta, another anxious ordinary citizen timidly addressing the convention centre with spurts of confidence and gesticulation, represents Hispanic business owners. He is from New Mexico. His business was torpedoed by a Democrat-introduced legislative procedural thingy which I don't understand and wasn't explained. His accent is sort of charming.
7:17 p.m. President Obama once callously said that unemployment is a "bump in the road" to economic recovery! "I am an American — not a bump in the road," say people in yet another video. Someone call the EPA! Paper has been strewn onto a desert as a metaphor!
7:19 p.m. Rick Santorum. I will be taking another little break. He has a 93-year-old mother. That is the nice thing about him, aside from his kernel of humanity.
[Break for Nutella bread and mug of tea with at least a teaspoon of sugar to help the medicine go down.]
Now discussing his
"God bless America. And thank you."
Yes — thank you, Jeebus. His speech is done.
7:34 p.m. Ted Cruz of Texas, hoping to be elected to Senate, speaks. Liberty, free, free, freedom, Founding Fathers, freedom, Constitution, framers, God, rights, restrained government power.
I think he's mentioning the Alamo, which (you know) didn't turn out so well. Nazis! That was an unexpected mention.
Further historical references:
1. Dr. Martin Luther King, "'be judged not by the colour of our skin, but by the content of our character,'"
2. Reagan, "restored mo(u?)rning in America" "stood up against the repressive evil of Communism and said, "Mr Gorbachov: tear down this wall",
If I'm keeping his family history straight, his father had $100 sewn into his underwear when he entered the United States. Fifty-five years ago, he was a "penniless teenager." (Depending on the state of his underwear, he was in fact in possession of 10,000 pennies, but still.) Either way, Mr. Cruz tells of his father, "No tenía nada. Pero tenía corazón!"
This doesn't beat Mia Love's story at 7:39 p.m., though, given her parents' $10.
Praises Obama but says his economic policy is "perilous indeed." More and more spending characterizes the current government. *Cough*Bush deficit*cough*!!! Besides he's telling Hispanics that they 'aren't welcome here,' for example by passing a law that policemen, etc., can pull people over and demand to see identification of they seem like suspects for illegal immigration. Oh, wait. That was the Republican state government of Arizona.
Obama is also responsible for taking away the independence of people by trying to help them. Shocking!
7:47 p.m. Artur Davis, former Democratic congressman from Alabama. He seems young and confused. He is also African-American, so added to white people's references to Martin Luther King Jr. earlier in the conference, it is proven that there is no racism any more.
Obama likes Hollywood too much! he announces. Too saintly from a distance but too human up close! The magpie principle of political selection will not stand! All that glisters is not gold! ("Our politics is," eh?) Now he is reaching out to the poor, forlorn, wandering souls of 2008 Obama voters who are feebly wondering . . . did Obama really turn out as we had hoped upon a wishing-star? Is he being mean about America and its inequality? (i.e. betraying our soldiers?)
I thought the idea that Obama had taken away the work requirement for welfare recipients had been disproven.
And Obama hasn't reached out to the Republicans enough (never mind that they've been passing all the laws for at least the past two years . . .).
I think the crux of Davis's change of party is that his personal ambitions are running away with him a little.
7:56 p.m. Governor Nikki Haley, South Carolina. Parents also immigrants. Her parents also built their business. Unemployment, education, poverty are problems.
"The only things that could stop you were the limits you placed on yourselves." No, sorry. Whoever thinks we can do as we like on a globe with 6 billion other people is deluded.
Obama is hypothetically "refus[ing] to protect our borders from illegal immigration."
And now she's saying that if we need photo ID on planes, we definitely need photo ID to vote. Disingenuous!
She's mentioning Boeing. The Dreamliner apparently created 1,000 new jobs in North Carolina. Obama's evil government then sued Boeing! "It was shameful, and not worthy of the promise of America." North Carolina fought back (legally) and, "guess what: we won!" Whatever the project was was finished by 6,000
She likes Mitt Romney . . . 's ideas.
"Ann Romney makes all women proud," says Nikki Haley. This woman says, not from anything I've heard about her.
8:07 p.m. From Puerto Rico, Lucé Vela Fortuño: "I am the proud mother of 20" ?! "-year-old triplets" — oh. The wife of Luis Fortuño, governor of the Caribbean territory.
8:11 p.m. Ann Romney enters the stage to long and enthusiastic cheering. "This is gonna be so exciting!!!" she says, like a cheerleader. Then immediately mentions that the hurricane has made landfall.
She is not going to talk about politics. (She's just a girl!!!) But about her heart. This sounds like storytime for a fourth-grader, in her hushed voice and accelerated, excited sentences. "Tonight, I'm gonna talk to you about love." Her love for Mitt Romney. Echhh. And her love for her children.
Now, it's a teenager writing in her diary and sprinkling hearts and flowers all over her writing. 'If you listen carefully, you'll hear the women sigh just a little bit louder.' "I love you women!!!" she yells out to the audience, leaving no doubt what her demographic is here.
Now, it's a high school valedictorian speech. "You are the best of America. You are the hope of America. There would not be an America without you." Gasoline and grocery bills used to be free??? - Everything has become harder. *slightly louder sigh*
Now she's introducing us to her crush. Mittsie. "[. . .] he made me laugh." Yes — yes, he does, in so many uncomfortable ways.
Her grandfather was a Welsh coal miner. She has roots! grassroots! He moved to Michigan — Michigan!!! Eeeee. (Loud cheering from convention.)
"We got married and lived in a basement apartment!" Begin of the ascent from the slums. "Those were the best days. Then, our first son came along." Awkward.
= Five sons and over a dozen grandchildren.
Mitt "still makes me laugh." Oh, dear.
They don't have a storybook marriage. Multiple sclerosis and breast cancer, among other things, were a challenge.
He helps people in church. But his values of success are being attacked. )c: He was advantaged by two loving parents, etc., but "he was not handed his success." [Chant of "Let's go, Mitt."] He worked his way through graduate studies! The true "privilege" is helping others!!! And Mitt Romney is simply too modest to expatiate upon the good he does; that is why we don't know about it. Private equity corporation = 'small firm which grew' OR a 'dream'; AND a provider of university scholarships.
"You can trust Mitt!"
Condoleezza Rice is clapping in a standing ovation. As long as she isn't invading Iraq, I guess I can't complain.
8:32 p.m. Video to introduce Gov. Chris Christie, of New Jersey, which is known for corruption so the paeans here seem insultingly obvious fibs.
8:37 p.m. He also likes women — maternal women who are married to his father, and maybe also other women. His father was hardworking and the "first in his family to earn a college degree." "Mom also came from nothing": a single mother.
"We have been paralyzed by our desire to be loved," says Gov. Christie. Obama should have the courage to be unpopular and "take on the tough issues." Like Bush. It really worked for him. . . . Worst advice ever.
"Our ideas are right for America; and their ideas have failed America." The Republicans are apparently an information service about unsustainable federal budgets, while Democrats try to obfuscate and imagine that all is fine.
What was Bush thinking about when he cut taxes for the upper class? Definitely not of the grandchildren.
Teachers "teach because they love children." They don't need nasty tangible rewards like proper pay and benefits, and bargaining through unions! Democrats are nasty: "They believe in teachers' unions. We believe in teachers!" And the Republicans are telling teachers the Truth. "The power of ideas," i.e. imagining that one has a good salary and acceptable working conditions, is paramount.
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| Vaccinum myrtillus L. (bush?), in A. Masclef: Atlas des plantes de France. 1891 via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) |
Some "wonder whether America's greatness is over." [Runs off weeping and distraught, for box of tissues.] But "we have never been the victims of destiny! We have always been the masters of our own."
9:00 p.m. Music: Three Doors Down, performing a combination of (as far as I can tell) one or two much more famous songs by other persons. The chord progression is Beatles, I think.
9:03 p.m. Reince Priebus is back, introduces Sammy Rodriguez of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference President. He plugs Red Cross donation website, prays against Hurricane Isaac.
'American needs a fresh outpouring of God's holy spirit.' A suggestion which sounds medically painful for God.
"God over man and man over government" — to support this oracular statement there must be a hierarchical pyramid graph which God doodled somewhere on the Bible but which, being a godless non-American heathen, I've never seen.
Convention returns at 7 p.m. tomorrow. Regarding the live blog, we shall see.
I watched the convention via online stream at: http://www.c-span.org/RNC/Live/.
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