In our time, there have been several transformational elections: John F. Kennedy over Richard Nixon in 1960, Ronald Reagan’s victory over President Jimmy Carter in 1980, Barack Obama’s triumph in 2008, and Donald Trump’s shocking victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016. These were the ones in our era that significantly changed the direction of the country.
However, this election cycle may outclass them all, starting with the fact that the Democrat and Republican candidates have been firmly established for many months. President Joe Biden made it clear early on that he would run for a second term, and former President Donald Trump never got over being defeated in 2020 and clearly was going to run again. No one was going to challenge either of these men in the primaries, given the political weight that was on their side.
The two men were running fairly close until June 27th. That was when the political axis began to turn. The one and only debate between the two presidential candidates was devastating for Biden. His dementia was on full display, and it shocked the American people. Shortly after, a steady train of politicians and ex-politicians (e.g., former President Obama) pressed Biden to drop out of the presidential race.
Then, on Saturday, July 13th, during a fairly routine rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a young man attempted to kill Donald Trump. By what seemed divine providence, Trump turned just at the moment the assassin fired, and it hit Trump’s right ear. As I noted in last week’s article, his response of punching his fist in the air and shouting, ‘Fight,’ is legendary. Out of courtesy, there was some dialing down of Trump hatred on most of the yak yak talk shows, but the real impact was on the Republican Party.
Just two days after Trump’s escape from death was the start of the Republican Party National Convention at Milwaukee. I had the opportunity to talk to two delegates who attended the event personally, and they confirmed everything I had seen and read from the media sources.
Pennsylvania Rep Jill Cooper of Allegheny County shares an office in Harrisburg with our local Rep Jamie Flick. He connected me to Rep Cooper, who talked for almost half an hour about the event. This was her fourth convention, and she noted it was totally different from the other three. When I asked about her first impression, Rep Cooper stated, “The energy was off the clouds.”
The standard structure for both parties at these conventions is to spend the first couple of days getting everyone on the same page for the party’s platform. Then comes the speeches of the important people, followed by the actual vote for the presidential candidate and running mate, ending with the presidential candidate giving the final word eloquently.
What excited Rep Cooper was that the script in Milwaukee was completely different from the norm. Donald Trump showed up on the first day to the great comfort and encouragement of the gallery. She noted every day was exciting and beautifully choreographed with a different theme each day (Make America Wealthy Once Again…Safe Once Again… Strong Once Again…Great Once Again). The speakers were not just the ‘who’s who’ people of the Republican Party but also regular folks as well, and all were inspiring.
This also impressed Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who also spoke to me about her impressions of the event. Her highlight moment was the recognition of the thirteen service members who lost their lives in the chaotic exit from Afghanistan on August 30, 2021. As a combat veteran herself deployed three times, she was greatly moved by the testimonies of the Gold Star relatives sharing their suffering from the Afghanistan debacle.
Garrity was especially impressed by the unity that everyone showed. In the past, there were always some divisions, be it among the candidates’ priorities or the party’s platform. But not so in Milwaukee this year. Everyone was locked solid on Donald Trump as their candidate and agreed on the party’s initiatives. Treasurer Garrity also told me that she found Donald Trump more humble than she had ever seen him before. Yes, he talked too long (he always talks too long!), but the words were pearls to those who were listening.
And then came yet another surprise one week later. President Biden, who had been adamant that he was not dropping out, suddenly decided on Sunday, July 21st, to do so and recommended Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate in November.
In the space of 25 days, we had a decisive debate, an attempted assassination, a legendary party convention, and a president who stepped down from his campaign for another term. I am almost positive that our country has never seen such a cascade of historic events leading up to a presidential election. And there is more drama to come when the Democratic Party gathers in Chicago on August 19th to the 22nd to select a new president and vice president candidate.
If you have not registered to vote, do so right away. There are only 14 weeks to the election, and you don’t want to miss your opportunity to be part of history.
