That’s what the little boy said when he saw a pile of horse manure under the Christmas tree. The manure, in this case, was the afternoon session of the GOP Convention, with its totally unnecessary strong arm tactics from the Chair. All the dissidents wanted was a vote on the Rules. They may or may not have had the votes, but it was foolish to deny it to them. This was the only chance any of them had to have a personal involvement in the proceedings. For the next three and a half days they’ll be mere props in an orchestrated bit of television theater. They’ve spent thousands of, mostly, their own money to come thousands of miles, in some cases. They’re pissed off. This is not the way to unity.
Trump seems graceless in victory, one of his many unappealing qualities. It reminded me of his gratuitous slander of Rafael Cruz on the eve of winning the nomination in Indiana. It is the mark of an insecure man, which describes Trump to a T. He resembles Nixon in a number of ways. Nixon was not a good man, or a very good President.
But, behold, a pony! Sen. Barrasso of Wyoming, co-chair of Platform, gave a very brief description of his committee’s work product. The only specific item I recall him mentioning was, — ta da! — the Transfer of Public Lands. Wyoming is near the top of the list of States who very much want their land. Barrasso is one of the smartest and most respected men in the Senate, and part of its leadership. He’s dedicated to doing right by his State, and he knows that TPL would be a boon to the Wyoming economy, which is suffering right now with the coal industry. If the loon Trump manages to get elected, and the R’s keep the Senate, we could see a major push in Congress for TPL next year. It could even happen. Glory be.
I gather from Alaska friends in Cleveland that one of Cruz’s Alaska Co-chairs, Judy Norton-Eledge, who served on Platform, may have played an important role, along with Marti Halvorson of Wyoming, in getting TPL adopted. If so, mega congrats to Judy, who I’ve only talked to on the phone, but have been impressed with. Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska is slated for a speaking slot. He’s a fool if he doesn’t talk about the importance of TPL to Alaska and the other western States.
Republican Congressman Zinke from Montana doesn’t like TPL. He’s a fool. He may be thinking of running against Tester for the Senate in 2018. If he doesn’t turn around on TPL, he’ll be challenged in the primary, on that issue. Zinke is a bad ass former Navy Seal, and new to politics. Maybe he can learn.
Tonight I’m having a beer in honor of Cheniere Energy, and it visionary founder, who I believe is Lebanese-American. One of their tankers is unloading its cargo of LNG in the Middle East. That’s right, because of fracking, we’re exporting hydrocarbons to the greatest oil and gas region in the world. That, my friends, is America for you.
I don’t like Trump, but that doesn’t mean he’s wrong, and he’s mainly right. I don’t like saying that, but it’s true. Apparently the only change demanded by the Trump forces at Platform related to the deletion of a section promising lethal aid to Ukraine. This was the neocon section of the Platform, and it’s out. Eat your heart out, Bill Kristol. Trump doesn’t want to confront Vladimir Putin in his own back yard. So, yes, it’s scary to think about him in power, but at least he doesn’t want to piss off the second most powerful military in the world.
Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit said that on his drive home from Kansas he noticed a lot of apparent good will being exchanged by a lot of black and white Americans to each other. That’s heartening. Right after the Dallas shooting I was being checked out by a young black girl, working in some store. I paid her and gave her my brightest and friendliest smile, and thanked her. She gave me a great big smile back. We all need to do a lot more of that.
reaganproject.com 