The absurd and embarrassing suspension of the GOP convention

I agree with everything John of Powerline says in his entry about the suspension of the Republican National Convention because of the hurricane in Louisiana. It’s absurd. There is no connection between the two events. There is nothing that the delegates can do about the hurricane. Correctly describing the quasi-cancellation of the GOP gathering as the Oprah-ization of American politics, John suggests that, instead of continuing to run scared from the specter of Katrina, the Republicans ought to use the convention to pinpoint the media lies about Katrina.

But, hey, Powerline wanted McCain to be the nominee, and this is exactly the kind of liberal move one would expect from McCain, right?

I would go further and say that by McCain’s reasoning, even without the hurricane, the convention should have been cancelled. After all, we’re in a war, aren’t we? Americans and Iraqis are being killed in Iraq. Lots of Iraqis—our allies and clients—are still being slaughtered by suicide bombers. The same is going on in Afghanistan. How can Republicans hold a celebratory convention when our allies are being killed? Indeed, by McCain’s reasoning, since “we’re all children of God” (his justification for legalizing 12 million illegal aliens), how can Republicans hold a celebratory convention so long as anyone is suffering anywhere in the world?

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Paul K. writes:

The suspension of today’s activities at the RNC Convention means that President Bush will not be speaking there. How can that not be a good thing?

As of this moment, it appears that Gustav will not be the “Storm of the Century!” as the ridiculous Mayor Nagin described it two days ago, and the convention will be able to proceed.

N. writes:

Looking at the larger picture, the U.S. just had two weeks of Olympics on TV, followed by one week of Triumph of the One in Denver. Who the heck is watching TV on Labor Day, and wants to see more politics? People who stayed home are doing other things, people who went somewhere are fighting traffic.

Yes, the cancellation of a day of the Republican convention is another example of Oprahization, but it is also a bit of merciful relief; the biggest news story for now is a hurricane that is turning out to be weaker than expected.

LA replies:

“Who the heck is watching TV on Labor Day, and wants to see more politics?”

I agree. What strikes me as insane is having back to back conventions, something that has never happened before. Not to mention starting a convention on a holiday.

Also, there has never been a convention this late. The conventions have always been in July and August, followed by a bit of rest for everyone, with the general election campaign then starting on Labor day.

So maybe this is the GOP’s punishment for punishing the public by having its convention immediately after the Democratic convention and giving us no respite.

Terry Morris writes:

You write:

Indeed, by McCain’s reasoning, since “we’re all children of God” (his justification for legalizing 12 million illegal aliens), how can Republicans hold a celebratory convention so long as anyone is suffering anywhere in the world?

Why don’t we shut the entire government down on this basis? After all, hasn’t it been said many times over that we’re “celebrating democracy” by our very act(s) of engaging the democratic process?

Furthermore, all blogging should cease. By blogging in free America we’re celebrating the free exchange of ideas that our celebration of democracy provides us; all the while people are suffering all over the world. Shameful!

LA replies:

For that matter, shouldn’t all productive, life enhancing, enjoyable activity cease, so long as there is suffering anywhere in the world? Why should some people be enjoying life, while others are in misery?

Joseph C. writes:

Cancelling the convention for a hurricane 1200 miles away is hardly evidence of a man running a campaign to win.

Adela G. writes:

You write: It’s absurd. There is no connection between the two events [the GOP convention and Hurricane Gustav]. There is nothing that the delegates can do about the hurricane.

True. But that’s not the point. If the GOP doesn’t scale back their convention activities, the Dems can and will cast their refusal to do so as the typical coldness of the party of, by and for old white men, (Sarah Palin notwithstanding). In other words, for whites in power to be celebrating while poor blacks undergo hardship during yet another hurricane would be racist.

Mr. Auster, frankly, I feel you are too intelligent and too grounded in reason and logic to see that this is exactly how a GOP convention during a hurricane would be presented by the MSM—as proof of the lack of caring of the Republican party toward America’s most disadvantaged residents, poor blacks. The fact that Republicans are not presented with a choice of holding the convention as scheduled or helping poor blacks affected by Hurricane Gustav with GOP relief efforts is irrelevant. In an age of image and show, for Republicans to be portrayed as uncaring is just as bad as if they were, in fact, able to help and chose not to do so.

I know, it is absurd. But I thought we’d already established that we live in a time and a society in which the absurd has become the norm, even the commonplace.

LA replies:

But my thoughts were triggered by John of Powerline’s blog entry. He’s an establishment Republican. He knows full well how the Dems would spin it and use it to attack the GOP. And he said the Republicans should meet that threat head on instead of running from it.

Conservatives who automatically assume that people should accept liberal premises and liberal false charges and run from them, instead of exposing and resisting them, ought to think again.

Further, if we were to accept Adela’s premises, we would stop criticizing liberalism altogether, since we already know that liberalism is wrong and destructive. So why bother talking about it? Why bother pointing out and protesting and explaining the irrationality of liberalism, since we already know that it’s irrational?

Posted by Lawrence Auster at September 01, 2008 11:38 AM | Send