# The Republican national Convention **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 18, 2016, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-national-convention/757729 "2016-06-18T21:53:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 25
**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:** [July 19, 2016, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-national-convention/757729/481 "2016-07-19T19:12:20Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > _Never Trump_ delegates plan one final push tonight. > [Never Trump Delegates Have One Last Chance to Stand Up to Trump – Mother Jones](http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/07/never-trump-delegates-have-one-last-chance-stand-trump) > > A secret phrase? Probably something to do with the Uniform Commercial Code. 😛 It may only work if the flags in the room have gold fringe. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-national-convention/757729/482 "2016-07-19T19:16:38Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > I’m tellin’ ya, this kind of stuff is boiler-plate. I pretty much would have written the same the same thing if I’d been her speech writer, and I’ve neither watched nor read Michelle’s speech. It’s certainly NOT boilerplate stuff in “real life.” Ask any of my students who have had the pleasure of meeting the dean of academic affairs to discuss “borrowing” uncited sources for academic papers. Whoops, I forgot Trump luuuuuuuvs the uneducated. And, to be fair, Trump University “professors” probably didn’t spend a lot of time teaching about intellectual dishonesty. ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-national-convention/757729/483 "2016-07-19T19:19:42Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > That’s the beauty of it. Presumably, many people read the speech beforehand. If it quoted the rickroll word for word, somebody would have noticed. The way it was done gave it a chance to escape notice and stay in the final draft. > > Deliberate and hilarious. I guess that is the other possibility – different enough to sneak through. I would love to read Melania’s rejected speech that she actually wrote herself: “I vuz wery poor girl living in Transylvania. Every day ve only eat bugs and worms. One day my mutter said, Melania you are pretty girl. You go find fat, rich American and you eat good. So I find my Donal’.” ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-national-convention/757729/484 "2016-07-19T19:23:40Z")
Trump aide Rick Gates is being named as responsible for the plagiarism. > **[NAMED: Rick Gates, Trump aide who let Melania speak Michelle's words](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3697909/Named-Donald-Trump-aide-let-Melania-speak-Michelle-Obama-s-words-Campaign-chairman-s-former-lobbying-partner-faces-calls-sacked-Republican-s-team-plunged-civil-war.html)** > > Multiple sources say Rick Gates (right) was responsible for approving Melania Trump's Monday night speech but he tells CNN it's 'absolutely not' true. The speech was apparently partly lifted. > [@](#): > > Sources inside the Donald Trump campaign and the Republican Party are pointing fingers at an aide they say is responsible for the Melania Trump plagiarism storm – a man who was the campaign chairman’s lobbying partner before he came aboard the Trump train. > > Rick Gates was named to [DailyMail.com](http://DailyMail.com) by several sources with knowledge of the steps that led to Melania Trump delivering a partly plagiarized speech Monday night. They’ve already said that they’re not going to fire anyone, so I suppose he’ll just “resign”. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-national-convention/757729/485 "2016-07-19T19:24:31Z")
This trainwreck, and the preceding derailings, point out that many politicians and their retinues really, really, **really** don’t understand how technology works. Even my yellow lab, with her limited typing toes, could have Googled and found this plagiarism. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-national-convention/757729/486 "2016-07-19T19:26:07Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Of course! The scales fall from my eyes, all is clarity, revealed! Melania is a trim, healthy and youthful 46 years old. He’s going to dump her, and needed an excuse. Should have been obvious, feel a bit silly for taking so long. A devious plot. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-national-convention/757729/487 "2016-07-19T19:31:41Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > … I am not wholly convinced of the accusation of plagiarism. The allegedly stolen lines are not quite identical, and express general, vague sentiments common in such speeches. Having some commonality in wording and turns of phrase is to be expected. > [@DoctorJ](#): > > They’re common sentiments, but there are a million ways to express those sentiments. What are the odds that Michelle and Melania (and their respective speechwriters) would express them in almost exactly the same words? The sentiments being delivered in the same sequence is also a bit of a red flag. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-national-convention/757729/488 "2016-07-19T19:34:35Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > The dog-whistle is: “Obama is not a white name” Oh, they’ve gone far beyond dog-whistles. They’re on to doghorns now. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-national-convention/757729/489 "2016-07-19T19:34:39Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Does that mean that Trump will now refer to her as “Liar Melania”? Look, the media is being very unfair to my wife. Ok? It’s unfair and it’s just sad. They’re jealous! Look at her, she’s gorgeous! She has great tits. And they’re calling her Lyin’ Melania, Crooked Melania - it’s very unfair. What? They’re not calling her that? They will be, believe me. Believe me. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-national-convention/757729/490 "2016-07-19T19:37:00Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I don’t think anyone would draw a line between the speech, no firings, and Trump being a bad husband, since there was no plagiarism, since he thinks there wasn’t. What he thinks is true is true, or should be. > > And anyway, you don’t think he loves Melania Trump, do you? _Somebody_ plagiarized MO’s speech and quoted Rick Astley, so if it weren’t Donald or Melinia themselves then someone in the campaign humiliated his wife… and Donald is just standing there, taking it, like Charles Atlas when he first ran into the beach bully. [![](https://www.printwand.com/blog/media/2013/03/charles-atlas-comic.jpg) ](https://www.printwand.com/blog/media/2013/03/charles-atlas-comic.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-national-convention/757729/491 "2016-07-19T19:39:00Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > Oh, they’ve gone far beyond dog-whistles. They’re on to doghorns now. I have a collie who won’t come when called and I caught myself wondering if I could order a doghorn from Amazon. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-national-convention/757729/492 "2016-07-19T19:41:21Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Goofy hypothesizing - how do you think Donald is acting towards Melania and her writers today? > -Is he pissed at this obvious unforced error? > -Is he comforting her, saying it could have happened to anyone, or that the evil pressfolk are being unfair? > -Is he gleeful about another crazy distraction which is giving his campaign unprecedented publicity at a time that it seems there is no such thing as bad publicity? > -Other possibilities? Other possibilities? Sure, here’s one: Is he reviewing the files and photos from entries in the 2015 Miss Universe Pageant to find a potential candidate for Mrs. Donald Trump 4.0? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-national-convention/757729/493 "2016-07-19T19:50:21Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Other possibilities? > > Sure, here’s one: > > Is he reviewing the files and photos from entries in the 2015 Miss Universe Pageant to find a potential candidate for Mrs. Donald Trump 4.0? And since he seems to like them ever younger, possibly Miss Teen USA. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-national-convention/757729/494 "2016-07-19T19:55:54Z")
This one is more serious. > **[At least a dozen California GOP staffers quarantined in virus outbreak at...](https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-california-republicans-norovirus-20160719-snap-story.html)** > > At least a dozen California GOP staff members at the Republican National Convention have been quarantined in their hotel rooms after becoming ill with what appears to be a highly contagious norovirus, also known as the cruise-ship virus, according to... > [@](#): > > At least a dozen California GOP staff members at the Republican National Convention have been quarantined in their hotel rooms after becoming ill with what appears to be a highly contagious norovirus, also known as the cruise-ship virus, according to officials from both the California GOP and local health agencies. > > “It looks like norovirus,” said Pete Schade, the Erie County health commissioner. His department collected fecal samples from the afflicted staffers Tuesday morning and planned to take them to a state lab in the afternoon. > > “As soon as we know a little bit more about what we’re dealing with for sure, we’ll have a better way of dealing with future precautions.” > > The 550-member delegation was warned of the outbreak by state GOP officials in an email at 2:40 a.m. Tuesday. They were advised to avoid shaking hands with others, to wash hands frequently, to avoid sharing food and to not use the delegation buses to the convention if they have any symptoms — all difficult rules to follow at a political convention. We’ll probably be seeing conspiracy theories about Obama and germ warfare. ---
**Author:** ![Ferris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ferris/32/11573_2.png) [@Ferris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferris)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-national-convention/757729/495 "2016-07-19T19:56:10Z")
Just a random observation, you can anagram ‘republican national convention’ into: ‘Non-viable, ancient puritan colon’. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-national-convention/757729/496 "2016-07-19T20:01:50Z")
> [@Ferris](#): > > Just a random observation, you can anagram ‘republican national convention’ into: > > ‘Non-viable, ancient puritan colon’. I suppose using “loonc” for “loons” would be cheating. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-national-convention/757729/497 "2016-07-19T20:03:30Z")
Thank you, Fenris. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-national-convention/757729/498 "2016-07-19T20:03:49Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > This one is more serious. > [At least a dozen California GOP staffers quarantined in virus outbreak at convention](http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-california-republicans-norovirus-20160719-snap-story.html) > We’ll probably be seeing conspiracy theories about Obama and germ warfare. No, this is brilliant! They can close out the convention and go home without nominating anyone! Because of the disease. It’s perfect! Bravo, GOP. I certainly didn’t see it coming. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-national-convention/757729/499 "2016-07-19T20:04:23Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > _Somebody_ plagiarized MO’s speech and quoted Rick Astley, so if it weren’t Donald or Melinia themselves then someone in the campaign humiliated his wife… and Donald is just standing there, taking it, like Charles Atlas when he first ran into the beach bully. Donald isn’t taking it at all. What is there for him to take? It wasn’t him talking, and anyway, there was no plagiarism if he believes there wasn’t. You’re not thinking like Donald Trump: 1. Nobody caught me personally doing anything wrong. 2. I’ve decided it wasn’t plagiarism. Therefore, it wasn’t. 3. Wife 3 served her purpose. So Melania gets flak, so what? She’s a tool. If Trump would lose with her alive, but would win if she was painfully assassinated in October and he got some pity votes, he’d pay the assassin to do it if he could get away with it. I am not exaggerating. That’s literally true. If someone was mean to MY wife I’d be furious and I’d punish them. But I am not a sociopath and I love my wife. Presumably you are also not a sociopath. You and I are, like the vast majority of people, possessed of empathy, the characteristic of feeling emotions because other people are feeling them. The strength of the empathetic response is usually proportional to the closeness of one’s relationship with the party feeling the emotion; hence, we are sad and angry when our spouses or children are sad and angry. You’re thinking in those terms, and naturally perceive someone else who would NOT react the way you would as being a wimp. If someone felt empathy for their wife but did nothing about it that suggests weakness, cowardice, or some other negative thing. Trump, however, is a sociopath and so doesn’t feel empathy. He doesn’t care if his wife’s reputation is damaged except insofar as it affects him (which, really, this flap hasn’t.) If someone criticizes him over it, so what? “Losers, lying for crooked Hillary. Sad!” It’s worked before. He appears able to tell lies of unlimited stupidity and a huge percentage of the voting public will vote for him all the same. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-national-convention/757729/500 "2016-07-19T20:08:23Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Someone else pointed this out - I wouldn’t even think it would be such a big deal if she had plagiarized a speech from Nancy Reagan, or something. But to steal a speech from your hated rival, the person who your party freaked out over because once upon a time she wanted to feed kindergarteners better? It’s disgusting but the irony is priceless. > > But thank you guys for covering this! There was no way I was going to watch any of it, I like my blood pressure where it is. It’s way more entertaining to read your reports, except for one person who is apparently living in the state of Denial permanently. Please check your Private Messages. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-national-convention/757729.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-national-convention/757729.md?page=26)