Rob Bernosky of San Benito County was a delegate to the Republican National Convention, held in Cleveland this past week. He called the event “high energy, positive, and busy,” but “most of all, it was highly organized chaos.” Here is his report from his trip:
The convention occurs for two reasons. First, for the Republican Party to choose their nominees for president and vice president of the United States. Second, to sell the candidates to the American people. The sub-activities behind those goals is where the organized chaos occurs.
Being in Cleveland felt like being an ant in an anthill. Every person is a member of a specific group that has an explicit role to play. The importance of each group shifts through the week. All activity centers around the floor of the convention, which is what most people see on television.
The most important group, initially, are the delegates. There are 2,472 of us, of which 172 are from California. We are the largest delegation and therefore put right in front. Only delegates get to choose the eventual nominee, and we are all equal with one vote. Republicans do not have “super delegates.”
There are committee and floor votes prior to the nomination that are contentious and news-making. They involve trying to change rules so other others can be nominated. That process should not be viewed negatively, as if there are others that have support from a lot of delegates, then they should be considered. If there are not enough votes to change the rules, they do not get changed.
One of the most prickly parts of the convention was the desire of some delegates to have Senator Ted Cruz be our nominee. A small but powerful minority were loud, but ultimately, they could not convince enough other delegates to switch their votes. Donald Trump, in a truly gracious move, allowed Mr. Cruz to address the delegates and the nation in the most coveted time slot for maximum exposure. Sadly, Mr. Cruz chose to sling mud at Trump, in what had become Donald Trump’s house. We booed Mr. Cruz off the stage. Trump showed his battle-waging skills by making himself visible towards the end of his speech to draw attention away from Mr. Cruz.
I am glad that we did show our dissatisfaction with the Senator from Texas. Mr. Cruz continued his bad behavior the next morning by holding another meeting broadcast on national TV and said that he could not support someone who insulted him and his family. If Mr. Cruz cannot take personal attacks, he cannot handle being president of the United States. Being president guarantees always being under attack, and the president cannot lead the nation on personal vendettas. We had that with Nixon and Obama using the IRS as their attack dogs against people they did not like.
The delegates’ work being mostly done; the speech makers rise in importance. They are there to sell the nation on our nominee’s agenda. The first day was “Make America Safe Again,” followed by “Make America Work Again,” then “Make America First Again,” and finally “Make America One Again.” Ninety percent of being at the convention is listening to speeches each day on those themes by prominent Americans. The speakers are important because they represent who the nominee wants to be associated with, and confirm that the speakers want to be associated with the nominee.
For every delegate, there is an alternate delegate that can assume the responsibilities of a delegate. That had a real possibility for us, because the Norovirus came into our camp. It only affected staffers, which was unfortunate for them, but fortunate for delegates. If early precautions had not been taken, it could have prevented delegates from participating. Situations like that are why alternate delegates are so important. They act as the backup voter for the nominee.
Transportation for the largest delegation at the convention, including alternate delegates, guests, and staff, required 11 buses. Each had two armed Secret Service agents aboard and numerous escort vehicles that made sure we never had to stop and no one could become in between us. On occasion, a law enforcement drone would show up.
The convention floor is the anthill of all anthills, and is in constant movement. Celebrities like Willie Robertson, Stephen Colbert and Jesse Waters roam the floor for selfies with the delegates. The media is everywhere, with their microphones, cameras, and notepads, interviewing on the floor regardless of who is speaking.
Our delegation decided to let alternate delegates enjoy some of the hoopla by switching badges with them throughout the week. We moved up to the visitors’ gallery and they moved to the convention floor. I even got some children on the floor, which is a big attention-getter from the media and gave the kids a thrill to have the cameras focused on them.
Of course, any empty seat makes the nominee’s convention look bad on TV, so another important role is that of the floor whips. These are individuals that make sure delegates are in their seats, or alternates are brought down to fill them. The floor whips also keep the delegates revved up. California was, without question, the loudest, most visible, and most energized out of the 50 states and the territories.
Donald Trump’s acceptance speech on Thursday night was fantastic. I think that he wakes up every morning and truly thinks to himself, “What am I going to do great today?” I believe that great to him means building things, hiring people, creating commerce, and helping people. Because Trump actually does these things, he gets greatly offended when people attack him. Containing being offended might make the difference of whether he wins or not in November.
The only disappointment for the week was watching the news each morning and having the mainstream media report falsely that the convention was low-energy, chaotic (in a negative way), and that Republicans were divided. So far from the truth. Most Republicans actually like the process; it ensures that it is not the party elite choosing the nominees.
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