Posted on August 27, 2020

RNC: Pandering While the Midwest Burns

Gregory Hood, American Renaissance, August 26, 2020

It was a study in contrasts. While Kenosha, Wisconsin, burned, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo addressed the Republican National Convention from Israel. Black Lives Matter rioters smashed windows, looted, and set fires while the Republican National Convention began with a prayer for a black criminal. In Portland, antifa brawled with police. At the RNC, Rand Paul bragged about criminal justice reform. In 2016, Americans voted for a wall and an end to mass immigration. In 2020, President Trump hosted a naturalization ceremony right during the convention.

The RNC’s second night was a grab-bag of contradictory messages. With few exceptions, it was an RNC that would have been comfortable to Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, or George W. Bush. It may even have been worse.

The RNC gave non-whites special attention. “We pray for healing and comfort to Jacob Blake and his family,” said Norma Urrabazo at the beginning of the night. Mr. Blake of Kenosha was shot after he fought police, resisted arrest, and tried to flee, probably to escape an outstanding warrant for sexual assault. There was no recognition of the police or of the small businessmen whose lives have been destroyed in Kenosha; merely a nod towards “hurting communities.”

Kentucky attorney general Daniel Cameron, a black man, called Joe Biden a “backwards thinker.” He said Joe Biden didn’t do “criminal justice reform” or build an economy that worked, “especially for minorities.” He also invoked “Breonna Taylor” and “David Dorn” while claiming Republicans would “never turn a blind eye to unjust acts.” Police shot and killed Taylor while she was asleep after her boyfriend opened fire on them, and her case is a rallying cry for Black Lives Matter. David Dorn was a retired police captain killed during looting in St. Louis two months ago. Both were black. No one mentioned white victims, such as Cannon Hinnant.

Another speaker was Jeanette Núñez, a Never Trumper in 2016 who now heads “Latinos for Trump.” She warned against socialism and recalled her Cuban parents fleeing to the United States to escape the Castro regime. She has supported in-state tuition for illegal immigrants and in 2016 tweeted that Trump was a “conman” who supported the KKK.

Mike Pompeo defended President Trump’s “America First vision.” He criticized Iran, China, and “Russian aggression.” He praised the President for having “wiped out” ISIS. Finally, he credited President Trump for moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, “the rightful capital of the Jewish homeland.” When will we get a homeland?

Tiffany Trump said interesting things: “People must recognize that our thoughts, our opinions, and even the choice of who we are voting for may and are being manipulated and visibly coerced by the media and tech giants.” She also talked about the “misinformation system.” However, the President’s second daughter also praised “criminal justice reform,” and said America is “a country founded on ideas, not identity.” The GOP is behind the “proposition nation.”

Melania Trump spoke about her experience “as an immigrant and a very independent woman.” She recalled her travels in Africa, where she “experienced first-hand its warm people and their traditions.” She mentioned the slave trade and the need that we “never forget so that we can ensure that it never happens again.” (Is there a movement to start it up again?) “Our diverse and storied history is what makes our country strong,” she said, “and yet we still have so much to learn from one another.” She also praised her husband for “substantial investments in historically black colleges and universities.”

President Trump didn’t give a speech, but he did pardon Jon Ponder, a black man and a convicted bank robber who started a Christian nonprofit for prisoners. He and Acting Department of Homeland Security Chad Wolf also presided over a naturalization ceremony for five immigrants. None were white.

When President Trump won in 2016, he vowed that the “forgotten men and women of this country will be forgotten no longer,” but in 2020, he has forgotten whites: white victims of violence and whites whose homes and businesses have been destroyed. We are invisible. We don’t count.

Last night, a 17-year-old white man named Kyle Rittenhouse shot three men in Kenosha, killing two. We don’t know the facts, his background, or his intentions. Video evidence suggests that Mr. Rittenhouse was attacked. At this point, it seems that he fired in self-defense. While police around the country let all sorts of crimes go unpunished, the state has already charged Mr. Rittenhouse with first degree murder. It appears GoFundMe already took down a page to raise money for his defense. However, it still allows people to donate to rioters in Portland.

White advocates must not ignore this story, but I’m sure the RNC will. I believe Republicans assume whites will vote for them after all these riots. However, there’s no sign they will defend their constituents. They cynically assume there’s nowhere else for whites to go, and pander to groups that don’t support them.

I could understand if they were trying to expand their political coalition. Republicans can’t win without at least some non-whites, but last night felt like contempt for the white base. Conservatives and Republicans use identity politics just like Democrats. And just like Democrats, they leave out whites.