# 2020 Virtual convention thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 17, 2020, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-virtual-convention-thread/918353 "2020-08-17T23:18:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![ThisIsTheEnd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisistheend/32/4713_2.png) [@ThisIsTheEnd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisIsTheEnd)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2020, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-virtual-convention-thread/918353/324 "2020-08-25T23:51:36Z")
I didn’t see anything that really pointed to coke. I mean, he was like he always is and she was cartoonish, but I think her presentation like that was intentional, not a situation where she intended to be low-key but the coke took over. I mean maybe they were on coke, I don’t think you could tell one way or the other by how they gave their speeches. Cite: Did a lot of coke. ---
**Author:** ![Tabco](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tabco/32/7644_2.png) [@Tabco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabco)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-virtual-convention-thread/918353/325 "2020-08-26T01:27:18Z")
I didn’t get the impression either of them was using any drugs. Guilfoyle was very, very loud, though. I actually had to turn down the volume. Her speech would’ve been better suited to a live audience. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-virtual-convention-thread/918353/326 "2020-08-26T03:58:15Z")
Am I the only one who thought Melania’s outfit screamed “yes, we’re fascists”? ---
**Author:** ![SwissMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@SwissMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwissMan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-virtual-convention-thread/918353/327 "2020-08-26T04:01:58Z")
Colbert just described it as looking like an outfit to command the Soviet tank corps in. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-virtual-convention-thread/918353/328 "2020-08-26T13:22:54Z")
And his girlfriend emulates Melania in the same way, including copying her hairstyle and make-up. And she gets paid well for her support > **[Trump Campaign Secretly Paying $180,000 A Year To His Sons’ Significant Others](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-secret-payments-sons-wife-girlfriend_n_5e9a1c46c5b635d25d6c747a)** > > Lara Trump and Kimberly Guilfoyle are each receiving $15,000 per month through the campaign manager’s private company, GOP sources said, to dodge FEC rules. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-virtual-convention-thread/918353/329 "2020-08-26T14:37:55Z")
So last night, the Republicans trampled all over the lines separating politics and government. Pompeo gave a talk from Jerusalem – possibly violating the Hatch Act, absolutely violating State Department rules. And then the cherry on the cake of the day: we interrupt the convention for a naturalization swearing-in ceremony from the White House. 5 new citizens – all from shithole countries – were sworn in, while Trump grudgingly approved and made semi-appropriate comments. I have to feel sorry for the new citizens. On the one hand – a very proud moment for them, and a trip to the White House! How awesome! On the other: they’re being used as political props to support that asshole. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-virtual-convention-thread/918353/330 "2020-08-26T15:25:57Z")
Best line I’ve heard about the convention came from Stephen Colbert: “Melania dressed to impress- or to command the Soviet tank corps”. Pompeo is a douche dirigible. Secretaries of State have traditionally not given political speeches, for good reason. You present an American face to the world, not a Republican or Democratic one. Doing it from Jerusalem was inflammatory and counterproductive to the pursuit of peace in the Middle East. If he wants to give a speech for Don Junior at the 2024 convention, he’ll be welcome to do it from his prison cell. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-virtual-convention-thread/918353/331 "2020-08-26T15:57:38Z")
> [@SwissMan](#): > > Colbert just described it as looking like an outfit to command the Soviet tank corps in. Does Slovenia have an armored division? ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-virtual-convention-thread/918353/332 "2020-08-26T17:56:09Z")
Can’t wait until Pompeo is sent back home to Kansas (more specifically, to Leavenworth, in an orange jumpsuit). ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-virtual-convention-thread/918353/333 "2020-08-26T19:06:59Z")
I watched some of the speeches (rants, really) after the fact. I kind of wish I hadn’t. But I guess I should know what’s going on. Clearly the Republican Party (assuming such an entity actually exists in anything more than name and has not been supplanted entirely by the Trump Party), having not a single real issue remaining upon which to campaign (as evidenced by its lack of an actual platform), is going with (a) the Leader, and (b) terrifying ignorant people into voting for Trump. A couple of years ago, at the start of the Trump administration, I ran across this, in A.J.P. Taylor’s _The Origins of the Second World War_: > Everything about Fascism was a fraud. The social peril from which it saved Italy was a fraud; the revolution by which it seized power was a fraud; the ability and policy of Mussolini were fraudulent. Fascist rule was corrupt, incompetent, empty; Mussolini himself a vain, blundering, boaster without either ideas or aims. Yep. That’s where we’re at right now. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-virtual-convention-thread/918353/334 "2020-08-26T19:12:27Z")
Love the factual analysis. Maybe Biden Should do coke so he can be more cohereant. Or maybe he does, since we’re speculating wildly. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-virtual-convention-thread/918353/335 "2020-08-26T19:16:26Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Best line I’ve heard about the convention came from Stephen Colbert: “Melania dressed to impress- or to command the Soviet tank corps”. On the one hand - it really does resemble Soviet Army uniforms. On the other, in photos of Soviet Army officers, they smile more. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-virtual-convention-thread/918353/336 "2020-08-26T19:19:17Z")
I was happy to har that CNN had to settle with the young man whom they slandered. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-virtual-convention-thread/918353/337 "2020-08-26T19:50:18Z")
Elizabeth Montgomery wore it better. [Linky.](https://www.google.com/search?q=twilight+zone+elizabeth+montgomery&rlz=1C1GCEB_enUS874US874&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiH1-nk0LnrAhWOHc0KHQq2CIwQ_AUoAXoECBwQAw&biw=1271&bih=600&dpr=1.5#imgrc=6_LMezX6_J3v7M) High boots are more practical _and_ consistent with the outfit than Melania’s high heels. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-virtual-convention-thread/918353/338 "2020-08-26T19:51:38Z")
Ya know, every convention is always an exercise in spin; making our candidate look good while refusing to acknowledge any accomplishments of the opponent. But the RNC has gone off into 100% gaslighting. When they started praising Trump for his forceful and decisive response to the pandemic I started doubting my sanity and had to shut it off. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-virtual-convention-thread/918353/339 "2020-08-26T20:02:56Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > But the RNC has gone off into 100% gaslighting. When they started praising Trump for his forceful and decisive response to the pandemic I started doubting my sanity and had to shut it off. The First Lady’s speech was like that. She said some awful nice things about her husband, including “compassionate” and “hard working.” That had to be an insult, right? Like if my wife praised me for being tall, dark and handsome, and fluent and 6 languages. Since I’m none of those things, I’d be a little pissed off. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-virtual-convention-thread/918353/340 "2020-08-26T20:08:47Z")
_You_ want your compliments to fit, Trump’s not so choosy. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-virtual-convention-thread/918353/341 "2020-08-26T20:25:25Z")
My thought on the conventions: In this day and age of so much entertainment, it really sorta takes some effort to find a live feed of the conventions. For the Dems, I had to do some poking around to find where to live stream it. For the Pubs, I have no interest. Now granted, I’m a dyed-in-the-wool Dem. But unless the parties give the lukewarm voters out there a reason to watch, I can’t imagine people (cord-cutters especially) going out of their way to find the streams of these convos. Being a die-hard Dem, even I didn’t watch every night. The Dems had a number of people-of-interest to attract the curious, I reckon: The Obamas, Harris (she’s new and people may want to see who she is), Bernie, AOC. They had a number of people who have name recognition outside of the beltway-following nerds and hyper-politicals that would likely draw the curious. Who do the Pubs have that would appeal to a broader spectrum of the population? The Trump kids? That congressman with the eyepatch? Nikki Haley? That guy who’s vice president? I daresay these are not marquee names to draw anyone in besides the Trumpy faithful. No ex-presidents, no former presidential candidates. No SNL-hosting mavericks. Even from a strictly entertainment angle, the RNC has no big celebrities, no big-name musical acts. I don’t mean to compare the ratings of one to the other, because they could very well end up being very similar, but I believe only one of these conventions has the potential to reach otherwise-indifferent voters. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-virtual-convention-thread/918353/342 "2020-08-26T20:37:01Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > No ex-presidents, no former presidential candidates. I think they pretty much used everyone on the short list of “true believers.” GWB and Romney aren’t Trump fans, and I suspect that they weren’t even invited. Dole apparently has said things in support of Trump in the past, but he’s also 97 years old, and in poor health (and he may not have wanted to come out in support of Trump now, anyway). ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-virtual-convention-thread/918353/343 "2020-08-26T20:54:37Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > GWB and Romney aren’t Trump fans, and I suspect that they weren’t even invited. Dole apparently has said things in support of Trump in the past, but he’s also 97 years old, and in poor health (and he may not have wanted to come out in support of Trump now, anyway). And that’s just the thing-- Bush and Romney and Dole may have drawn in some eyeballs from people who are moderately interested in politics, or just wanted to hear what an ex-president or ex-candidate had to say or to see how old Dole looks. But no casually-curious people are trying to figure out how to live-stream the Don Jr. or Kimberly G’oliveoyl speeches, when they can just flip on Netflix and watch the next episode of Supermarket Sweep. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-virtual-convention-thread/918353.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-virtual-convention-thread/918353.md?page=18)