2024 Republican National Convention: Live Updates

Overall review of Vance’s speech:

On charisma, he gets very little. That’s not his thing. He’s not a showman. He’s not funny. He’s not engaging.

On disarming demeanor, he hit a home run. He had to introduce himself to America as something other than the right-wing madman of Democratic fever dreams (never mind that he’s really on the left edge of his own party). He did that very well. He came off as a Midwestern Dad, a guy who was lucky to be there, and a product of a family that was not well-off and kinda crazy in a way that a lot of Americans will identify with.

On being presidential, he will have to show that in the debates. Nothing in the speech came off as statesmanlike. He’s been in public office a year and a half. He’s not yet 40. He didn’t talk about having run anything or accomplished anything in public life.

On party unity, he had a real challenge: as a dissenter from most Republican voters and elected officials on a host of issues, and given the widespread reporting that Don Jr. and Eric want him in place as the hatchet man to conduct ideological purges, he had to offer an olive branch. It was offered, but not very convincingly. Vance has no experience pivoting from factional politics to coalition politics. He will need to work at showing that he grasps the difference.

Milwaukee — The Coast Guard is covering the sea and air. Almost like a little Navy.

I always thought “Don’t Stop” was too on the nose for a Clinton song in its insistence that yesterday was gone. A song about reinventing yourself daily so you could forget who you slept with last night.

Uh, the convention is now playing an instrumental version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop,” which for those of us old enough to remember 1992…

Vance talking about the power of connection to one’s homeland is, finally, a powerful moment. He’s invoking blood and soil in a positive way: the long line that we carry from our ancestors for our place and our home. He’s not, of course, acknowledging the idea that the Republican Party exists to represents ideas, even though it was founded as our first national party that actually stood for ideas and has been remarkably consistent in their defense for a century and a half. America is a propositional nation and a people and place. The GOP is a party for a people and for an idea. Vance gets half of that right. He seems unaware of the other half.

This speech has more endings than Return of the King.

Delighted to hear Vance make the argument that America is more than an idea, it’s a nation–an argument made in these pages for decades.

Seven generations laid down in a Kentuckian cemetery is a powerful visual. It avoids being a gross “blood and soil” line and instead embraces this land that is as permanent a home for one’s family as one can hope for this side of glory.

“That is a homeland, that is our homeland.” Eh, getting a little blood-and-soil for me. Also, the word homeland reminds me of the Department of Homeland Security, which is, er, not exactly popular or beloved at the moment.

Et tu Nancy?