Republican National Convention in Cleveland - Day Three

by Ben Harris

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Posted onWednesday, July 20th 2016

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Quicken Loans Arena

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Something that has been on my mind all week is the utter lack of minority representation at the convention. Inside the security perimeter, most black people that you see are working here. I check everyone's credentials to see what their role here is. Of all the ones that I've seen, one hand would be enough to count all of the non-white delegates here.

White people are an enormous majority here. Seeing a hispanic or black speaker on stage seems entirely incongruous with the messages and platform of Donald Trump of the Republican party itself. It seems self-defeating for anyone who is not white to be a Republican.

Black guy quotes Martin Luther King Jr.'s I have a dream speech to limited applause from the white delegates on the floor.

This is an excerpt of some notes that I made while watching the convention.

• If you're tired of brokenness elect Donald Trump.
• Conservative leadership is working in States with Republican governors? In Wisconsin? Fact check
• Claims that our economy is in the toilet are unfounded
• The whole premise of America coming back or becoming great again is flawed. What is it coming back from? When was it great? Whom was it great for?
• Apart from race relations, things are relatively good, compared with what Obama inherited when he took office in '08.
• Freedom means no one can tell me what I do with my body. Freedom means no one can tell me whom I marry.
• Education, healthcare, marriage dictated out of Washington by hildawg? Nope, that's what Republicans want to do.
• Brexit mentioned -> cheer -> profound victory for uneducated populace
• Build a wall -> cheer
• Admitting Isis terrorists as refugees? Has that happened before?
• Freedom will lift people out of dependency to the dignity of work? Wat
• Rep founded to defeat slavery? True, but the party has since done a 180...
• Abe Lincoln
• That's our legacy although the media will never share it? Because that's not how the modern Republican party is
• Cruz is all over the place. Didn't endorse Trump. Booed off the stage.

Tonight was Republican Vice Presidential nominee Mike Pence's first appearance on the stage of the convention. He seems fully aware of how boring he is, making a point to mention it to the audience. It's interesting to see him finally joining the Trump train. Especially in contrast to his endorsement of Ted Cruz around the primaries.

Another interesting day at the Republican National Convention.

Bonus video

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