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Greetings!

It was a busy week involving the Republican National Convention. Four of my DHD topic relate to the GOP meeting, one involves an Olympic athlete whose parents I interviewed for a story, and the final topic is about one of my favorite politicians.

Let’s get to it!

  1. Ted Talks

The most dramatic experience at the GOP convention was Sen. Ted Cruz’s speech. I have mixed feelings about what the Texas senator did. Ever since he’s been serving on the national level, I have had a skeptical opinion of Cruz. He has always come across to me as someone who is a little too “slick” and doesn’t seem to play well with others.

On the issues, Ted and I share similar views. Regarding the content of his speech this week, I can’t find anything disagreeable. In fact, he and I are in agreement on how to vote. He said “vote your conscience;” I have said to vote for righteousness. From that standpoint, I can applaud Ted, and regarding how his speech started, it was excellent.

The problem I have, though, is not the “what” of his speech, rather the “how” and “where.” It was bad form to accept the invitation to speak at the convention under the guise of supporting the Republican Party then ending with the impression of trying to rock the boat. All he did was fuel my longtime notion of him being a slick maverick.

I would have preferred he gave a similar speech prior to the convention, or even in another venue during the convention. And regarding him saying afterward of not endorsing Trump because of Trump’s horrible remarks about Cruz’s wife and father, Cruz made a spectacle of that too. It would have been better for him to attempt to reconcile with Trump privately, and that would’ve been the noblest act.

Comparisons have been made of Cruz’s speech to Ronald Reagan’s speech at the 1976 GOP Convention. Reagan also did not make a verbal endorsement for Pres. Ford, but the eventual 40th U.S. President displayed a spirit of unity in his speech that met the delegates’ approval. Cruz did not come close to such a demonstration.

  1. The Trump Bunch

Though I am critical of Cruz, please don’t interpret this as support for Trump. My view of the Republican presidential candidate has not changed. In fact, I am much more unfavorable of his speech than I am of Cruz’s. Actually, I’m just critical of what I DID hear, since I fell asleep in the middle of it. Really, it did not matter to me what Trump said because ever since I heard him say “everything’s negotiable,” I’ve been convinced he cannot be trusted.

The Trump children, though, were spectacular in giving their speeches this week. I especially applaud Donald Jr. and Ivanka on their speeches, which may have been the best of the whole convention.

And though all the Trumps offered appealing content, there is one issue none of them came close to addressing – the Sanctity of Life. This is why I cannot vote for Donald Trump. He can say he is “pro-life,” but there is no support to his mentioning the phrase. Issues relating to Sanctity of Life are not on his radar. As charming as his family is, I don’t think pro-life values are a part of their modus operandi.

Until I hear Donald Trump denounce Planned Parenthood or even begin to demonstrate how he values the Sanctity of Life through other means, I cannot justifiably mark his box on the ballot.

As of now, I’m still a part of the “Leave It Blank” campaign and have my vote be declared an under vote.

  1. Other Great Convention Speeches

I did not see all of the GOP Convention speeches, but of those I did watch, other than the Trump children’s, here’s some of my favorites:

Laura Ingraham: You can watch it here. One of my favorite lines, “Many don’t respect the life of the infant in the womb or the elderly who languish alone.” I also enjoyed how she talked about her family.

Rudy Giuliani: Boy howdy, he was fiery! He came out blazing with scorching remarks against Hillary Clinton and President Obama. Watch it here.

Scott Walker: This was fun to watch. Walker goes out without a teleprompter, holding a microphone and speaks from his heart. Watch it here.

Newt Gingrich: Loved the beginning of the former Speaker of the House’s speech. Newt is one of the best speakers in modern politics. He speaks like a professor on current events, offering his audience clear understanding of what is happening in the world. Watch his speech here.

  1. Props to Pence

Governor Mike Pence also did an excellent job giving his speech. I have great admiration for him. I loved that he said he is a Christian, a conservative and a Republican – in that order. He also addressed Sanctity of Life and presented himself as one who stands on Christian values. I also appreciated how he introduced his family, especially his mother.

I mentioned last week that Trump naming Pence as his running mate gives Trump some positive points. I hope somehow Pence could encourage him to be more vocal on pro-life issues.

  1. A Favorite in This Year’s Olympics

I had the privilege of meeting Bruce and Janet Barringer who are the parents of Olympic runner Jenny Simpson. I interviewed the Barringers for a story that will appear in next week’s Baptist Messenger. Be looking for it.

Though I did not meet Jenny, through her parents, I grew to appreciate her as an athlete and as a person. I look forward to cheering for her when she competes in the Olympic Games next month. She is competing in the 1500m, and the dates of her competition are Aug. 12, 14 and 16. Two videos I wanted to share about Jenny include her bio titled More Than Gold, which was produced by New Balance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-w6_6moy6o

Also, check out this brief video after she lost a race due to losing her shoe. I appreciate her graciousness during this interview:

  1. Great Words from Gowdy

Someone I wish spoke at the GOP Convention is Trey Gowdy. Unfortunately, the congressman from S.C. wasn’t on the program. Since we did not hear him, I found a great address he gave at Liberty University, my alma mater, during convocation. The following video offers highlights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0dCTvX0wzs