Heading into
the Labor Day weekend with the Democrat and Republican national conventions
just ended, the American public will begin paying more attention to electoral
politics, as it traditionally does. However, the year 2020 is nothing like
years past, and it seems the convention results are more consequential this
time.
To
paraphrase Charles Dickens: It was the best of Conventions, it was the worst of
Conventions.
The latter
description applies to the Democratic National Convention, which occurred
mostly in cyberspace and on screen due to fears of Covid-19. In an empty
convention hall, speakers appeared mostly on screen, reading speeches that were
taped ahead of time. There were wall-to-wall celebrities and Democrat officials
who spewed hatred toward the current occupant of the White House and
multimillionaires who lamented their victimhood for being minority members talking
down to the public (people who bothered to tune in to watch) with pontification
and empty rhetoric. It was a disastrous convention for the Democrats because
their preoccupation with the politics of personal destruction toward President
Donald Trump, together with trendy “Elitism” has caused the party to be out of
touch and to completely overlook the two crucial issues facing today’s
Americans: violent riots in our cities and the dangers caused by China to the
USA and the world.
“It was the
best of Conventions” can be applied to the RNC, which carried out a skillfully
scaled back and hybrid mode of live and virtual sessions, adjusted due to crowd
size limits caused by the coronavirus pandemic. In contrast to the DNC, the Republican
National Convention emphasized a populist approach which featured everyday
Americans from many backgrounds sharing their personal tribulations and
triumphs. Some had faced challenging childhoods. Some were victims of recent
riots. Others had survived medical crises or financial setbacks or had been
freed from unjustly long imprisonment. There were substantial discussions about
fair trade and jobs with China, boosting defense while ending needless wars
around the globe, rebuilding the economy damaged by the current pandemic, all
centered around a common theme: American First. The Trump doctrine of
“Populism” and “Economic Nationalism” came through at this convention, which
made average Americans feel good about themselves and the GOP.
Joe Biden
got no customary post-convention bump in the polls, because the modern Democrat
party has changed for the worse, losing its populist base due to its current
focus on Elitism and Identity Politics. It has completely lost touch with
reality and many of its core constituents.
Meanwhile,
Donald Trump has realigned the GOP with his brand of Populism and Economic
Nationalism in dealing with real people and their problems. Whether in trade or
defense, in economic or social issues, America and its people always come first.
This new kind of GOP politics appeals to Americans, as shown in several
post-convention polling results, with a big bump for the Trump-Pence ticket.
Just as Ivanka Trump said, “Washington [DC] did not change Donald Trump; Donald
Trump changed Washington.” It appears that many voters will carry this
sentiment into the general election this November.
Pham Hieu
Liem
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