STATESIDE STORIES: TRUMP TRIUMPHS AT OHIO CONVENTION; NEXT THE DEM CONVENTION
By Mary Foran
It was practically a foregone conclusion: Donald Trump was formally nominated as the Republican U.S. Presidential Candidate at the recent Republican Convention in Cleveland, Ohio.
According to a New York Times article by Michael D. Shear and Matt Flegenheimer on Tuesday, July 19th, 2016, the deed was done with fanfare and aplomb. The delegates from the State of New York gave Trump the over-the-top majority of votes, bringing in Governor Mike Pence along for the ride as Trump’s pick for his vice-presidential running-mate.
A slight hitch came when Melania Trump, wife of the Presidential nominee, gave a short speech at the convention which caused some controversy because it seemed that her words echoed very closely the words used by Michelle Obama at the 2008 Democratic Convention. Trump denied that his wife had plagerized Mrs. Obama’s speech, but critics made detrimental comparisons anyway.
The Convention’s motto on Tuesday was “make America work again” referring to Trump’s promises for job growth and economic prosperity.
According to some polls taken recently, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are neck-in-neck for the race to the White House in the November election.
Clinton has chosen Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, who is on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as her running mate.
Here’s a little background on Mike Pence: he was born Michael Richard Pence on June 7th, 1959, in Columbus, Indiana. He is an attorney and politician who has been serving as the 50th Governor of Indiana since 2013. Now a Republican, he was in the United States House of Representatives for Indiana’s 2nd and 6th congressional districts from 2001 to 2013. He was chairman of the House Republican Conference from 2009 to 2011. Pence considers himself a conservative and has supported the Tea Party movement. He was named Trump’s vice-presidential choice on July 15th, 2016.
Pence was one of six children of an Irish Catholic Democratic family. Both sets of grandparents came to the U.S.A. as immigrants from Ireland through New York’s Ellis Island.
Pence began a career in conservative talk radio after leaving the Indiana Policy Review Foundation in 1994. He hosted the Mike Pence Show based at WRCR-FM in Rushville. The show was syndicated by Network Indiana and aired on 18 stations throughout the state, including WIBC in Indianapolis. From 1995 to 1999, Pence also hosted a weekend political talk show out of Indianapolis.
Pence was brought up Catholic but as an adult became more of a “born-again” Christian conservative. During his time in Congress, Pence voted against the “No Child Left Behind Act” and he “voted to eliminate funding for climate change education programs” and to “prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions.” (source: Wikipedia.)
The F.B.I. has brought no charges against HIlary Clinton concerning her use of emails during her stint as Secretary of State, which some still consider highly negligent, and others, criminal. Her ratings with the public trust has been damaged by the scandal, as with her handling of the Benghazi crisis in which the American Ambassador was killed along with others.
Trump is running on his record as a successful businessman, while Hillary Clinton is running on her Obama Administration experience and her understanding of women’s issues, the environment. health care and the economy.
Trump’s grown children spoke in praise of their father at the Republican Convention, and were greeted with cheers and applause from the delegates. Dr. Ben Carson and Speaker Paul Ryan, as well as Governor Chris Christie spoke on his behalf, among others.
Next on the political agenda is the Democratic Convention which is being held this Monday, 25 July, and will last through the 28th of the month.
Then the debates between the nominees will start, which are sure to fire up the electorate, some of whom are still wondering which of the two contenders for the U.S. Presidency they will finally decide to vote for!
In whose hands will a new Supreme Court Justice Appointee be? And will Obama’s Health Care plans be repealed? Will taxes go up or down? Will the National Debt be addressed? There is a lot riding on the outcome of the 2016 Presidential election, and some are not satisfied with either candidate…!
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