We all know there’s a thin line between love and hate, but in a needlessly hyper-partisan era, in which all sides are stoking political, economic and racial fears, there’s a much thinner line between hatred and violence. Which is why everyone just needs to chill.
One of Trump’s advisers on veteran issues argued this week that Hillary Clinton should be “put in the firing line and shot for treason”. The marine corps veteran, Al Baldasaro, has served five terms in the New Hampshire state House of Representatives. He’s now under investigation by the secret service for potentially threatening the next president of the United States of America.
He’s not just a lone case, though. A West Virginia Republican called for Hillary to be hanged publicly. Then there’s the awkward sanctioning of spankings of Ms Clinton. And the trend goes beyond just B-listers like Scott Baio: it includes Republican governors.
“If she were any more on the inside she’d be in prison,” Governor Scott Walker said. “Let me be clear: a vote for anyone other than Donald Trump in November is a vote for Hillary Clinton.”
The prevailing theme of this convention isn’t pro-Trump. It’s anti-Clinton. “Hillary for Prison” posters, shirts and stickers abound. Earlier I witnessed a “Trump v Tramp” sign. It’s a shame party leaders don’t denounce this kind of hate early and often.
The bulk of contemporary Republicans don’t publicly acknowledge things like their own party members degrading Muslims. And they often stay silent while violence is evoked. Silence gives them a pass. Or so they think.
The problem is Republican leaders have led from behind since Obama was elected. Now they’ve put themselves in the awkward spot of being stuck between the rabid, angry and blood-thirsty base they created for themselves and sensibility.
While a majority of the delegates here in Cleveland are kind-hearted and friendly, many speakers and some attendees seem to have bloodlust. Much to Trump’s eternal narcissistic shame, this convention is far from one of his usual rallies; it’s a Republican-sponsored Hunger Games, and Hillary Clinton is the target.
Republican leaders are sitting on an explosive political base of their own creation and they need to defuse it, if they even can at this point, before it explodes in their faces.
It needn’t be this way. The Grand Ol’ Party of old – the one I grew up with, the party my grandpa and dad called their home – captured the White House with pride under Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan and even Abraham Lincoln. Yet today, party leaders don’t seem to be able to look their party’s nominee in the face. Instead of positive remarks for Donald Trump, we hear a skewering of Hillary Clinton instead.
Take House speaker Paul Ryan. While he gushed and offered glowing praise for Mike Pence, that came in stark contrast to the near-prime time speech he gave railing against Hillary Clinton.
It is clear that, when you can’t unite around something you love, you will unite around hate. And that is exactly the state of the Republican party today: hatred for Clinton is the glue that is keeping this ship afloat. For now.
