Notice I didn’t say it was the Republican Party’s turn. The national convention scheduled to begin this coming Monday will not include any of the following former and present Republican leaders:
Anyone representing the extended families of George H.W. Bush, 41st President of the United States, George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States, or Jeb Bush, the 43rd Governor of Florida.
Gen. Colin Powell, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and 65th U. S. Secretary of State.
Sen. Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts, current U. S. Senator from the state of Utah, and Republican nominee for President in 2012.
Anyone representing the family of Sen. John McCain, former U. S. Senator from the state of Arizona and Republican nominee for President in 2008.
Instead, what we will be watching is the newly fashioned Trump Almighty Convention. Anyone disagreeing with any matter of substance ever put forward by President Trump will not be allowed to speak.
Contrast the narrowness of this approach with the diversity of voices who spoke at the Democratic Convention this past week. Those included
Former President Jimmy Carter
Former President Bill Clinton
Former President Barack Obama
Former First Lady and Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton
Former First Lady, Michelle Obama
All of the candidates who ran against and eventually conceded to Joe Biden
Voices from people of the widest possible spectrum of ages, colors, races, ethnic backgrounds, genders and sexual orientations, creeds, and policy perspectives.
We can expect the Trump Almighty Convention to emphasize the following themes:
If you encourage the United States to be the best country it can be, then you must hate America and should therefore leave it.
If you are willing to accept a tiny bit of fraud by a handful of people in order to make it possible for millions of people to vote by mail during a pandemic, then Donald Trump should be allowed to declare Joe Biden illegitimate if he wins in November.
If you believe in a better trained, more professional system of law enforcement, then you must hate police and love criminals.
If you wear a mask out of consideration for other people to avoid spreading COVID-19, then you are a coward and probably also a Communist.
Those who wave large American flags are more patriotic than soldiers, nurses, doctors, teachers, postal workers, grocers, and other frontline workers who serve their country quietly and selflessly every day, risking their lives during a dangerous pandemic.
Spirited Reasoners can expect their TV screens to be filled with lots of red, white, and blue this coming week. But it will be the Trump Almighty Convention’s true colors that ultimately shine through.