Conservative "Reviews" of the 2016 Democratic Nationall

[pbrower2a]

Something strange happened on the last night of the Democratic National Convention.

After the GOP nominee lambasted the Democrats on Twitter for displaying what he viewed as too few American flags, there was a sea of waving flags as far as the eye could see when Hillary Clinton became the first woman to accept a major party's nomination on Thursday.

A small faction of protesters chanting "no more war" as General John Allen spoke were quickly drowned out by chants of "USA!" filling the Philadelphia arena. The most notable refrain from the RNC crowd last week: "Lock her up."
The evening also hammered home the stark tonal difference between the two conventions. After Trump painted America as a downcast country in need of a billionaire savior, night after night of all-star DNC speakers preached a sermon of American exceptionalism, with values that unify us all – talking points once exclusively owned by Republicans.


It was enough to give a lot of conservatives whiplash. Here are just a few of them praising the DNC and bemoaning the state of affairs in their own party.

Conservative writer Ron Fournier:

Quote:Well done, @realDonaldTrump. You made Democrats a party of sunny patriotism and values.
You sure @billclinton didn't ask you to run?
— Ron Fournier (@ron_fournier) July 29, 2016

National Review editor Jonah Goldberg:

Quote:Why this convention is better: It's about loving America. GOP convention was about loving Trump. If you didn't love Trump, it offered nada.
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahNRO) July 29, 2016

John Podhoretz, former Ronald Reagan speech writer and Commentary editor:

Quote:Take about five paragraphs out of that Obama speech and it could have been a Reagan speech. Trust me. I know.
— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) July 28, 2016

Fox News host Greg Gutfeld:

Quote:if repubs had championed their principles with specifics rather than embrace autocracy - they wouldn't have yielded this turf to dems.
— GregGutfeld (@greggutfeld) July 29, 2016

Conservative blogger Erick Erickson:

Quote:For Republicans who are not social conservatives, I have to imagine last night and tonight at the DNC are having an impact on them.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) July 29, 2016

Conservative Iowa radio host Steve Deace:

Quote:So most of conservative media and the GOP spent the week rooting for Russia, and now the Democrats get to rally around the flag.
Dreadful.
— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) July 29, 2016

Conservative Wisconsin radio host Charlie Sykes:

Quote:Snark aside: GOP needs to understand what is happening to them tonight…
— Charlie Sykes (@SykesCharlie) July 29, 2016

Quote:Do you know how old I am? Old enough to remember when speeches like this would've been given at GOP convention… Not Dem one. Brutal.
— Charlie Sykes (@SykesCharlie) July 29, 2016

Rich Galen, press secretary for Dick Cheney:

Quote:How can it be that I am standing at my kitchen counter sobbing because of the messages being driven at the DNC? Where has the GOP gone?
— Rich Galen (@richgalen) July 29, 2016

Conservative ops veteran Matt Mackowiak

Quote:This Democratic convention has been an unmitigated disaster for the GOP. Very well produced. Unifying. Patriotic. Bravo.#DNCinPHL
— Matt Mackowiak (@MattMackowiak) July 29, 2016

Amanda Carpenter, former spokeswoman for Sen. Ted Cruz:

Quote:I am sure hearing a lot more about God and faith at the DNC than the RNC.
— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) July 28, 2016

Conservative blogger AGConservative:

Quote:Still stunned. Feel like I'm in the twilight zone. Obama just defended America & conservative values from attacks by the Republican nominee.
— (((AG))) (@AG_Conservative) July 28, 2016

Commentary editor Noah Rothman:

Quote:Republicans could have stopped all this.
— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) July 29, 2016

Daily Caller Writer Jamie Weinstein:
Now an immigrant medal of honor winner? If the goal is to reach independents and conservatives uneasy w/ Trump, well done Democrats
— Jamie Weinstein (@Jamie_Weinstein) July 29, 2016


http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/co...er-for-gop

[Bob Butler 54]

I hope that is representative, not too cherry picked.  I guess the strongest conservative voice I've been hearing is Classic X'er, who is partisan enough seemingly to not be moved.  The above reviews seem to reflect people with ears open.  I'm not used to the notion of Republicans with ears open.

Yet, Trump really isn't that deeply tied to the classic conservative / Republican values.  He's something significantly different from the Reagan meme unraveling base.  This is part of Trump's attractiveness.  The Republicans are rejecting their establishment.  Trump has drifted farther away from the Republican norm to leave the Republican norm closer to the Democrats than himself.

I'm still waiting to see the polls from after the convention bounces.  It's almost time to start taking polls seriously.

[pbrower2a]

Maybe the Democrats have gone so far as to adopt what was best in the Republican Party, what the Republican Party gave up as it courted the stupidest and meanest people in America. Many of the members of the liberal party of the time are there because the Republican Party made choices that excluded them. In a week the Democrats may have redefined what it means to be a conservative.

Conservatives at one time defended the status quo, but they were also smart enough to recognize that the common man needed a stake in the status quo. They believed in equality of opportunity in education and in starting businesses. They fostered thrift instead of personal and public debt. They preferred that people save instead of borrow, and that if people actually did borrow such was for a tangible asset. They thought education and reason desirable even of those had the temper of morality.

Conservatives stood for old decencies and rejected demagoguery and scapegoating.

[Bob Butler 54]

(08-01-2016, 11:19 AM)X_4AD_84 Wrote: The Democrats have appropriated Morning in America and the Shining City on the Hill.

This is one of the signs of The Regeneracy. At least I hope so.

We can hope, maybe even change. We might even be stronger if we do it together.

Buzz. Reset. Have been watching too much political TV.

[MillsT_98]

Stronger together!