I decided to go ahead and watch the convention coverage.
Well, to hear the speeches at the convention, you would never know these were Republicans. There was no talk about banning all abortions no matter what. There was no call for immigrants to self-deport. There was no call to eliminate Social Security and Medicare.
You would have thought this had morphed into the Democratic Convention. They talked about what was wrong with America -- things Republicans had created for the USA by their policies and their intransigence. Marco Rubio and Mitt Romney talked about the hopes and dreams of immigrants who fled to America -- almost as if they supported the Dream Act!
Of course, they don't believe in the Dream Act. Romney, talking about his family coming to America for a better life and escaping revolution and chaos in Mexico could have been talking about the immigrants Romney says should self-deport.
And women? Romney on the stage was all for women controlling their own destiny and having a say in what happens in this country. He never mentioned that he does not believe that a woman should have the ability to make choices about reproduction or about their own bodies.
Romney talked up the opportunity in America that everyone looks for, and bemoaned the loss of jobs in America. He blamed Obama for all that. Of course, Romney never mentioned that he engineered the loss of jobs in many companies he took over, off-shored the work, cut wages, fired people, took their pensions and health care, drove the companies into debt and bankruptcy while reaping huge profits. Mitt Romney oversaw the outsourcing of work as a Massachusetts governor.
Romney talked about the nation coming together after Barack Obama was elected president. And it did. The democrats came together. The Republicans came together and said they would deny Obama any victories, that their main goal was to make him a one-term president.
But Romney says we need jobs, lots of jobs! And Romney is a job creator -- in China, India, Malaysia and Singapore. Romney says no senior should fear retirement (he endorsed Ryan's plan to end Medicare and Social Security!). Romney says we will give people the education and skills for the jobs of tomorrow, but has also said he will eliminate the Department of Education.
Romney's convention speech was almost like a Democrat's speech. The Democrats have the message Americans want, and the Republicans evidently think they can use that message in a week of campaigning, and everyone will forget what they have been working for.
We can't forget, however. We mustn't forget.