Freedom of the press is not just important to democracy, it is democracy. ― Walter Cronkite

Today’s independent commentary deals with the second night of the Republican National Convention.

Night two of the Republican National Convention (RNC) is in the books. I don’t think it was as good as night one.

The theme was “Land of Opportunity.”

I can’t single out any great speeches. The speech by Abby Johnson who was formerly employed by Texas Planned Parenthood raised some eyebrows. Johnson is now pro-life. Some of Johnson’s comments are in dispute. Read the ABC News report HERE.

There were some things done by Trump and the Republicans that crossed the line between official duties and campaigning.

For his first stunt at the White House, Trump gave a full pardon to Jon Ponder, a convicted bank robber who founded Hope for Prisoners. Most people agree that Ponder deserved the pardon, but not be used as a political stunt.

In his second stunt, Trump held a naturalization ceremony in the White House that was televised during the Republican National Convention. Two Marines participated.

Former senior advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama Valerie Jarrett tweeted, “The Hatch Act is a law designed to separate politics from public service. Those lines are being erased tonight.”

Then we had Secretary of State Mike Pompeo give a speech from Jerusalem. Most people, me included, can’t remember when a current Secretary of State gave a speech at a political convention. Pompeo gave a terrible speech, but his participation crossed the line in my book. Just think what Republicans would have done if Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would have done the same.

One of the problems with breaking or bending the rules as Trump and the RNC have done is that many of their supporters are too dumb and ignorant to understand the rules of official duties and political campaigning. They think when people speak up they are doing it because they dislike Trump. I would bring it up if it was Abe Lincoln or Barack Obama doing it.

Possible Fact: I tweeted that if they only allowed one Trump to speak (the President) they could shorten the convention by one day.

Eric Trump spoke and I’ve decided that I like the Saturday Night Live Eric Trump better. Another child, Tiffany Trump (from a different mother), gave what some described as a “fiery” speech.

The evening closed with First Lady Melania Trump. She gave her convention speech from the White House Rose Garden, which also breaks some rules. There were several people there, most did not have on masks, and they were not socially distancing.

I like Melania, but her speeches are terrible and hard to understand. I wished I would have started closed captioning on my TV before she began.

There are two nights left. The RNC viewers for night one was less than the Democrats’ night one. That should piss off the Trumps.

The Associated Press has a story about night two HERE.
Reuters has a story about night two HERE.

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