RNC Off to Predictably Chaotic Start

The convention opened under the bungled announcement that largely unknown Governor of Indiana Mike Pence would be Trump's running mate. A former A.M. radio conservative talk show host, Pence had a 12-year stint in the House that culminated in a failed bid to become Speaker (losing 168-27 to Congressman John Boehner). He was facing long-shot odds at winning a second term to the governor's mansion in November, after several bungled attempts at enacting questionable policies like a bill he signed that would have made it legal for businesses to discriminate against gays and lesbians, a state-run news service and an effort to keep Syrian refugees accepted into the U.S. from entering his state.

Pence was one of three finalists floated by the Trump campaign, along with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, both of whom were former Presidential candidates themselves and tried very hard to secure the V.P. slot on the Trump ticket. In choosing Pence, many analysts supposed Trump had conceded his top choice and was giving in to pressure to pacify the base with a bona fide far-right conservative. However, I find it easier to believe that in keeping with tradition, Trump was looking for a loyal subject who would not go off-script under any circumstances. I imagine their meeting went something like this:

The first day of the actual convention was a disaster, in terms of planning and logistics. Speakers who should have been and even were scheduled to take stage in prime time were bumped, sometimes by Trump himself calling into the networks to talk about his speech, which wouldn't be given for three more days. In the end, the discovery that his wife Melania's speech had plagiarized Michelle Obama of all people, dominated the next two news cycles. The campaign took a day and a half to even put out a statement, coming up with a flimsy story and no staff shakeup in light of such an expensive unforced error.

Tuesday night's theme was supposedly Make America Work Again, but would have been more aptly titled, Why Hillary is Evil. The highlight may have been Donald Trump Jr's speech, or Gov. Christie finally getting to deliver his long-promised Prosecution of Hillary Clinton speech, though not in the role he had always envisioned. The low point was probably Ben Carson going off script to weirdly invoke Lucifer.

On Wednesday, all eyes were on Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who was scheduled to speak, though it was unknown whether he would give an endorsement. When it became clear that he would not, the crowd on the convention floor began to boo loudly, with the New York delegation shouting down Cruz with chants of We Want Trump and Endorse Trump. Finally, Trump peeked out of a hallway and stole Cruz's thunder, before joining his family in the VIP section for son Eric's speech (which may have been night three's highlight), where Florida A.G. Pam Bondi could be seen sitting just one row behind.

So far, it seems clear that Trump's strategy will focus entirely on why voters shouldn't vote for Hillary and almost not at all on why they should vote for him. That's a curious strategy, considering he's already got all of the blood-thirsty anti-Hillary voters in his camp and will need to secure moderate independents, which usually requires a heavy dose of here's specifically what I'll do if elected President.

Outside of gutting the 1st Amendment, building a silly, expensive and ineffective wall, killing the family members of terrorists, being a great negotiator, and banning Muslims from entering the country until we figure this out, there's been precious little policy in the entire campaign. Again, he's already appealed to those voters in spades. Perhaps when he takes the stage himself tonight, we'll see a pivot toward policy, though I wouldn't hold my breath.