BLUSTER’S LAST STAND

 

According to the Washington Post, there has been a rash of patients seeking therapy for “Trump anxiety”. Omnipotentblog hasn’t sought counseling yet but I’ve been struggling with a judgmental attitude towards his supporters. Last weekend some guy was revving his open-piped Harley in front of the 7-11. “Trump supporter,” I sneered. As I walked inside, there was another biker at the counter with one of those lame club jackets. Another loser Trump supporter, I thought. Then the “BIKERS FOR CHRIST” member chirped at the clerk, “Thank you, ma’am! Have a good night!” God is funny.

 

There is a real chance of a contested convention and many are realizing the Republican Party is getting groin kicked regardless of what happens. The only question is what would be worse, having party insiders give the nomination to somebody else and alienating his supporters or having Trump as its brand and alienating everybody but the KKK and white construction workers. Of course, there are millions in the “blow it all up” coalition and presumably, some are good people who are just tired of an unresponsive and corrupt political class. And yet, Trump talks of riots if he doesn’t get the nomination. Given the anger and violence at some of his rallies, there might be.

 

Would this mean the demise of the party? Christopher Baylor, professor at Holy Cross says no. Baylor documents several periods of political party “realignments” in history. During those times, it was not individual candidates or the grass roots that drove change but organized interest groups. Groups like CIO and Americans for Democratic Action pushed Democrats to embrace civil rights legislation and force out the southern Dixiecrats. In the Republican Party, it was groups like the Christian Coalition who moved the GOP from being the party of mainline Protestantism to a more socially conservative evangelicalism. Baylor notes that Trump has alienated most of the natural Republican constituencies who could nudge the party in one direction or another. Free marketeers, Obamacare haters, anti-tax crusaders, interventionist neocons, he’s insulted them all. Also, though much has been made about his strong evangelical support (He loves “Two Corinthians”, you know.), most who actually attend church can’t stand him. Besides immigration hardliners, who’s left?

 

Marred by riots over the Vietnam War, the ’68 Democratic convention was contested. Tear gas canisters and “stink bombs” passed each other in the air. The Yippies nominated “Pigasus the Pig” for President. 119 police and 100 protesters were injured. It was said that America voted for Nixon that night. Nixon was reelected but in 1976, America chose Jimmy Carter. Thus illustrates the political cycle: One party is “dead”. The other shoots itself in the foot. The dead rise again.  

 

PIGASUS THE PIG

 

In another fiasco that threatened to destroy the Democrat party, the 1924 Democratic convention resulted in a record 103 ballots. D.W. Griffith’s silent movie “The Birth of a Nation” had resurrected the KKK and they exercised enormous influence over the convention. Other elements within the party like urban Catholics were turned off by the Klan. Tension between the groups produced episodic violence and conflict during the convention. When an anti-Klan plank was narrowly defeated, tens of thousands of Klansman in full regalia and party delegates celebrated in a field in New Jersey. Illuminated by burning crosses, they gave speeches promoting lynching and intimidation. Some believe this 1924 “Klanbake” was so distasteful it gave the presidency to Republican Calvin Coolidge. Did it destroy the Democrats? No. FDR became president in 1932 and continued the progressive agenda with a vengeance.

 

 

The Democrats have had 11 contested conventions total. In eight of those, the eventual nominee was not the leader on the first ballot. Only four conventions had ten or fewer ballots. Four times, these conventions produced the general election winner. It is noteworthy that two of these produced two of the worst presidents in history, James Buchanan and Franklin Pierce.

 

The Republicans have also had 11 contested conventions total. In seven of those, the ultimate nominee was not the leader on the first vote. Ten of the conventions were ten ballots or under with the highest being 36 ballots in 1880. James Garfield did not lead a single ballot until the final one. Three conventions had only a single ballot. Of these 11 conventions, seven produced the winning candidate for the presidency including Abraham Lincoln.

 

It’s true there have been few contested conventions in the modern era, the last being the 1976 Republican convention. But they are not some sort of strange, exotic animal. They are a staple of democratic republics. The idea is to prevent exactly what is happening now: One man has developed a passionate and loyal following and a group of 16 others split the rest. If a candidate doesn’t convince a majority to side with him, why should the minority be given the reigns?

 

One of the most important elements in the constitution is its checks and balances. Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist Paper # 51, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary”. What has not been discussed as much, however, is the idea that the constitution is a check on the people themselves. America is not a democracy but a Republic. We choose people from our communities to represent us and are forced to trust them. If they violate that trust, we throw the bums out.

 

During the bloody French Revolution, a popular phrase was “Vox populi Vox dei”. The voice of the people is the voice of God. One of the earliest mentions of this phrase is actually attributed to Alcuin in in 798 A.D. Addressing Charlemagne, he stated:

 

And those people should not be listened to who keep saying the voice of the people is the voice of God, since the riotousness of the crowd is always very close to madness.^[

 

There are times when whole groups of people, indeed whole nations just go mad. There is no reasoning with an angry mob. Yes, there may be riots in Cleveland. We may even lose the election. But there is only one thing to do: The reasonable among us must sharpen the pitchforks and prepare for battle. When the inmates run the asylum, nothing good comes.