8:14 PM: Main takeaway from Baio’s speech was explaining our no moocher policy to new immigrant voters. Now Perry.
8:16 PM: One thing I’m watching tonight is whether any speaker refers to Trump as “Donald Trump” rather than “Mr Trump.”
8:27 PM: The loss Patricia Smith has suffered is unfathomable. And I would grant her anything to emerge from that grief. But it’s one thing to feel and express what emerges from that grief and anger, quite another for others to orchestrate and milk it for political ends. It’s difficult to fathom the sheer level of exploitation and titillation of the GOP rage organ that is contained in this speech. It’s just the most craven level of exploitation.
I’ve never experienced something like Patricia Smith did. But I did experience the closest person to me in my life die a sudden death from catastrophic physical trauma. I can tell you from experience that you look for some thing or person to blame. It’s the closest thing you can grasp on to, not to give meaning to what happened, but simply something to anchor yourself because there’s nothing more horrifying than the anchor-lessness and untethered pain of that experience. Most of us have people to help us work through the mind-deforming pain. They don’t have an echo chamber confirming us and goading us on in our anger for their own political or monetary purposes. The exploitation is beyond belief.
