Rather than sit through hours of the Republican convention, many viewers watched the event on C-SPAN, which allowed them to select the speakers they wanted to see and hear.
Opening night Monday in Cleveland featured two African-Americans—David Clarke, Jr., the Milwaukee County Sheriff and Darryl Glenn, a candidate for the U.S. Senate from Colorado.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to make something very clear: Blue lives Matter,” Clarke said, wasting no time chastising Black Lives Matter. “So many of the actions of the Occupy Movement and Black Lives Matter transcend peaceful protest and violates the code of conduct we rely on.”
After the crowd quieted down, Clarke, who earlier in the day on television had expressed his derision against the protesters, declaring they were anti-police, resumed by noting, “There is some good news out of Baltimore, Md., as Lt. Brian Rice was acquitted of all charges.”
Rice was the highest ranking officer in the Freddie Gray trial, which has thus far brought no convictions against the officers charged in his death.
Glenn was equally supportive of Donald Trump as he lambasted President Obama, calling him the “Divider-in-Chief.” He said that it was time, “Someone with a nice tan say, too, ‘All lives matter.’” He was cheered on by the crowd.
The roar reached a crescendo when he said that “Rev. Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson don’t speak for the Black community, and they don’t speak for me … and Hillary Clinton is unfit to be president. She deserves a bright orange jump suit.”
Tuesday, when Dr. Ben Carson addressed the convention, there were more attacks on Clinton and her supporters.
But the planned speeches against Clinton and her campaign may be muted by the rancor and turmoil brewing in the ranks of the GOP, and there was evidence of it on opening night.
At the crux of the rancor was a demand for a roll call on the convention rules, which was gaveled down, although it appeared from the noise the dissenters were the loudest. Even so, a roll call vote would not have changed the rules or “freed” the pledged delegates.
When Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a former candidate, declined to speak at the convention, he was among the most notable of the absentees. His absence added another ripple of discord to the already roiling convention. Things were momentarily quelled when Bob Dole was recognized and asked to stand, ably assisted by one of the few Blacks in attendance.
Tuesday morning, the airwaves bristled with reports that Melania Trump, during her speech, had plagiarized parts of Michelle Obama’s 2008 speech.
All in all, the GOP Convention is off to a rollicking start, and this excitement is just inside the arena. More later on the demonstrations on the outside.