Free Republic

Fear is a powerful instinct. Fear is so potent, and the innate drive to protect one’s self from harm is so overpowering, that it can override almost every other instinct, including those related to intellect and judgment. Which is why Donald Trump desperately wants to frighten you. The obvious problem with the Republican presidential nominee’s convention speech last night is that it was less a speech and more a series of strung together scary falsehoods. [Snip] Trump wants you to be afraid of criminals. And immigrants. And Democrats. And refugees. And government regulations. And quite possibly the monster that could...

Donald Trump needed to give the speech of his life–he did that, and much more. He laid out an inspiring American Manifesto for our troubled times. And he did it his way. Not surprisingly, from start to finish, it is muscular and bold, leavened only by appeals to racial harmony and pledges of compassion for all. It offers a prominent nod to Bernie Sanders’ supporters in a bid to get some to jump the Democratic ship.

Chants of “All Lives Matter!” filled the arena at the Republican National Convention Thursday — a not-so-subtle jab at the Black Lives Matter movement that calls attention to police violence against African-Americans. Leading the chant was a pastor from South Carolina — Mark Burns, who is black. He said Donald Trump won’t “pander” to one race. […] The “All Lives Matter” chant is often used by conservatives to counter the Black Lives Matter movement, which was started after a spate of incidents in which police officers shot and killed unarmed African-Americans. …

Leader of Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV) Geert Wilders attended an LGBT event as part of the Republican National Convention programme in Cleveland, Ohio, Wednesday. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GJC17c2sfk

Republicans in the convention hall Tuesday night cheered as the former neurosurgeon speculated about a Democratic-Satanic alliance. It took Ben Carson just a few short minutes to move away from the teleprompter and toward the devil at the Quickens Loans Arena Tuesday. About half an hour after New Jersey Governor and fellow Trump primary victim Chris Christie staged a mock witch trial for Hillary Clinton, Carson strolled to the podium, beaming from ear to ear. "I'm not politically correct," Carson announced. "And I hate political correctness." From there, he abandoned his prepared remarks to talk about Saul Alinsky, the Democratic...

Ohio Gov. John Kasich on Tuesday defended his decision not to attend the Republican National Convention in his home state. Kasich, a former Republican presidential candidate himself, has refused to endorse Donald Trump or attend the convention. But he did speak across town in an interview with the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on the second day of the convention in Cleveland. "That's not where I think I need to be in terms of what I have stood for throughout the presidential campaign," Kasich said when asked why he wouldn't just "give in" and attend the nominating event. During the...

Several staffers for the Republican National Convention in Cleveland are reportedly being quarantined after falling ill from the norovirus. Nearly a dozen California Republican staffers are being quarantined an hour outside of Cleveland in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus, according to Stat News. The GOP staffers displayed symptoms of norovirus, but health officials are still running tests to confirm the cause of their illness. “We’ve got about 11 who have been sick over the last few days, and we’ve been out there every day and working with them to eliminate the spread [between] the resort and...

Sheriff David Clarke: American safety has been shattered Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke Jr. brought the crowd at the Republican National Convention to its feet Monday night, declaring "Blue Lives Matter" to wild applause. “We simply cannot be great if we do not feel safe in our homes, on our streets and in our communities,” Clarke said during his convention speech. “Donald Trump understands that what can make our nation safe again is a recommitment to a system of justice in which no government official — not even those who have fought their way to the marble and granite halls...

Hillary Clinton on Monday night railed against Donald Trump and his vice presidential pick, saying the two Republicans would hurt education in America. Speaking at an American Federation of Teachers event in Minneapolis at the same time as the first night of the Republican National Convention, Clinton knocked Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, for previously saying that the Department of Education "can be largely eliminated." "Donald Trump would leave our most vulnerable students to fend for themselves," Clinton said. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee also took aim at his running mate, Mike Pence, saying the Indiana governor is "one...

CLEVELAND -- Events are conspiring to turn the November election into a referendum on law and order in a way not seen since 1968, when Richard Nixon promised in a campaign ad that "We. Shall. Have. Order." Democrats have created an opening for Donald Trump to ride it into the White House.

CLEVELAND — Braced for uncertainty and struggling for unity, Republicans opened their convention to nominate Donald Trump for president on Monday as dissident delegates pursued one last chance to deny him and the nation reeled from yet another outburst of violence. A day after a deadly ambush of police in Louisiana, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus welcomed delegates to the convention hall with a brief acknowledgement of the “troubling times” swirling outside. The chairman called for a moment of silence out of respect for “genuine heroes” in law enforcement. “Our nation grieves when we see these awful killings,” he...

Bob Dole, the 1996 GOP presidential nominee, said he's disappointed in Jeb Bush for sitting out the Republican National Convention. Dole, who initially endorsed Bush for president before the former Florida governor dropped out, said he should unite behind the party and support presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Malik Shabazz, the former New Black Panther leader, told FOX News on Saturday – There will be violence in ClevelandShabazz told Mike Tobin there is no way Cleveland will get through this convention without some kind of violence. Malik Shabazz: "From what I know many of the groups on the left, mainly the white left, and others, I know for a fact that there’s going to be the blocking of highways and there’s going to be arrests and there’s going to be some things. I hear, that’s going to go on next week. It’s highly likely there’s going to be...

Anti-Donald Trump delegates are hoping to stir up trouble for the RNC and wreak havoc on the Republican National Convention next week, The Washington Post reports . A group of delegates opposed to their party's presumptive nominee is plotting a variety of ways to upend the convention as the nation's focus turns to Cleveland on Monday. One Louisiana delegate told the Post that some are preparing to bog down the convention with procedural maneuvers. Others hope to force a roll call vote, a move that would drag out proceedings and give a spotlight to any delegates hoping to embarrass Trump...

I was excited when I first heard that Peter Thiel was going to be a speaker at the Republican National Convention.  While everyone naturally focuses on what Trump and Pence will have to say, Thiel, often labeled an “eccentric billionaire,” could help rebrand the Trump-era GOP. Like Trump, Thiel is flamboyant and loves shaking things up.  Andrew Styles of Heat Street: Thiel, who is also a Trump delegate to the convention, is an interesting choice. In some ways, Thiel’s support for Trump makes a lot of sense. Both are billionaires who like to disrupt the sh*t out of the status...

The Never Trump agitators have been defeated, but they say they’re not going away. Republicans who failed to change party rules here this week and stop Donald Trump from winning the party’s presidential nomination are threatening to cause chaos on the floor of the national convention next week. Bruised by the way party leaders handled debate on a series of proposed rule changes, leaders of anti-Trump groups vowed Friday to find ways to draw at least some political blood when the party meeting begins Monday. The options are limited, and attempts to cause trouble at political conventions are usually quickly...

A prominent New York rabbi who converted Ivanka Trump to Judaism has backed out of delivering the opening prayer at the GOP convention after critics slammed him for appearing to endorse her father. Haskel Lookstein — former head of the elite Ramaz School and the former rabbi of Kehilath Jeshurun, a tony Modern Orthodox synagogue on the Upper East Side — said he backed out because his planned invocation had become too “political.”

(Full title):Black Delegate Rips Movement to Unbind Delegates: I'm Only As Good As My Word And Ask The Same Of You After the RNC Rules Committee decided to vote down a measure to unbind delegates using the "conscience clause" via a voice vote, a delegate made a plea for unity. Conversely, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) made an impassioned plea for delegates to vote their conscience. "I think our elections are important," Lee said to the committee. "They are essential and fundamental. Delegates traditionally have been considered honorbound to follow the decision of their state and they overwhelmingly have done so....

Tim Tebow, the celebrated pro-life football player, won’t speak at the Republican convention after all. He says early news reports that he would be speaking at the convention which will nominate Donald Trump for president are “a rumor.”

The amendment to unbind delegates and allow them to vote "their conscience" has been soundly defeated in the RNC Rules Committee