Which way, Republican man? The Republican National Convention (RNC) has been taking place this week in Milwaukee, with four nights of raucous politicking and pandering – as has the norm for pretty much every political convention since the turn …  | By Mike Coté on July 19, 2024 | Which way, Republican man?
The Republican National Convention (RNC) has been taking place this week in Milwaukee, with four nights of raucous politicking and pandering – as has the norm for pretty much every political convention since the turn of the 21st century. What is abnormal about this RNC is far more interesting, however. It is taking place just days after the attempted assassination of the party's nominee and the former President of the United States, Donald Trump. (If you want to see what I've written about that attempt, I had a rapid reaction piece out the following day.) There have been relatively few such unsuccessful attempts in modern history, none occurring so close to such an event. That makes this RNC unique. As does the status of the opponent, incumbent President Joe Biden, who has been facing something like an internal coup since his debate debacle in June and his follow-on age-related gaffes. The pressure has been on for the President to drop out in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris, if not toss it to an open convention with a nomination fight the likes of which we haven't seen in a very long time. This would truly be a historic occasion. And yet, this piece is about neither of those epochal issues. Instead, it is about something quite a bit more parochial and inside-baseball: the future of the Republican Party as a vessel for American conservatism. For those who care about the ideological movement that has been the defining feature of the political right in this country since the end of the Second World War, as I do, this may be the convention's most fascinating and telling aspect. | | | |
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