(NOT
IN) CLEVELAND – So Gov. Bruce Rauner and Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., who allegedly
are the two prominent Republican political officials from Illinois, are among
the politicos who couldn’t be bothered to show up for the Republican National
Convention that began Monday on the shores of Lake Erie.
 |
| RAUNER: Keeping his distance from Cleveland |
Both
are among the many GOP types who want to keep some distance between themselves
and likely Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
OF
COURSE, I doubt their presence is being missed at all this week, with many of
the Trump types who will formally pick him to be the GOP candidate who takes on
Democrat Hillary Clinton viewing them suspiciously.
Rauner,
after all, is the guy who has shown himself to be incapable of crushing
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, while Kirk is the guy whom
they only begrudgingly voted for in 2010 and certainly aren’t going to get all
worked up over this year.
He
is, after all, the guy who was branded by none other than Trump himself as a “loser,”
as though if he’d only accept the love of Trump he’d have a chance of beating
Democrat Tammy Duckworth come Nov. 8.
It
is clear from reports emanating from Cleveland that this year’s presidential
nominating convention is nothing like previous versions – which usually amount
to over-glorified pep rallies in which political operatives gather together,
get all worked up, then go back home to try to spread that sense of energy to
the masses to get them to vote.
INSTEAD,
THIS IS purely about Trump. It is about feeding his massive ego and making him
feel like he’s staging an event that will go into the history books. Even
though I expect that whatever does come out of Cleveland this week will be
little remembered and long-forgotten.
There’s
no way any event that features actor Scott Baio as one of its prominent faces
bears any resemblance to an event that dictates serious public policy.
 |
| KIRK: Not likely missed on shores of Lake Erie |
Heck,
I’d take this event more seriously if Trump had arranged for Scott’s cousin,
Jimmy Baio, to be the big-name speaker. Since the 1970s television show “Soap” (where
Jimmy played the smart-alecked son of Jessica and Chester Tate) was probably
more intriguing than any of the shows that featured Scott.
Or
does anyone really think that highly of “Charles in Charge” or the later years
of “Happy Days” that featured Scott Baio as a prominent player?
BUT
HAVING PSEUDO-celebrities show up probably is totally in line with the kind of
presidency that Trump would give us – should the electorate actually go so far
as to give him a majority of the vote come Election Day.
Lots
of glitz and glamour, with the likelihood that the actual duties of governing
being relegated to fairly anonymous geeky-types hired by a president who thinks
of himself as more a CEO-type who barks general orders and is quick to shift
the blame away from himself whenever anything goes wrong.
It’s
no wonder the serious governing types don’t feel compelled to be on hand for
the nominating convention, which usually would offer them a chance to be seen
by government-geek types and draw attention to themselves.
Rauner
is passing on the chance to be viewed as a national figure; likely because he
knows he can only come across as looking foolish in this environment. Better
that he spend his week finding events across Illinois to travel to – such as his Monday appearance in Taylorville where he addressed the issue of restrictions on the sale of addictive bath salts. Better that than being seen near Trump.
AS
FOR THOSE people who are in Cleveland this week, I hope they feel like they’re
accomplishing something significant – other than being in the presence of
Stephen Colbert, the entertainer who plays the part of a political commentator which
means that Cleveland is probably the perfect place for him to spend a week in
search of a cheap laugh.
Nobody
else gains much. I don’t feel like I would be missing much by not being in Cleveland
this week. For the Indians are in Kansas City playing the Royals, so skipping
out on Baio’s speech or the comments of any of the many Trump family members
who will speak grandly about dear ol’ daddy is not an option.
 |
| This week is all about Trump; nobody else |
As
for playing hooky (delegates get free admission, thanks to AT&T) to see the
Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame? My brother actually went there once, and claimed
the overall experience was one of the biggest let-downs of his life. Too much
about Cleveland trying to claim a cultural significance for itself, and not
enough about the music itself.
Which
could be appropo for the convention itself – lots of fluff detracting from the
serious detail of people trying to show why they’d actually be qualified enough
to justify our voting for them come Election Day!
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