We begin in Cleveland, where the GOP kicked off proceedings amid a tense atmosphere, with anticipation of protests both inside and outside the venue. Over the course of four days there were A LOT of dramatic twists. From plagiarised speeches, mock trials and Ted Cruz’s glaring refusal to endorse Donald Trump – large parts of this convention felt like pure political theatre. 

Possibly overshadowed by these events were some fascinating developments that imply subtle shifts within the party, even if this is not necessarily reflected in the right-wing platform Republicans have proposed for 2017.

The fact that a country as large as the United States governs through a two-party system means that the labels of ‘Republican’ and ‘Democrat’ draw together a wide and diverse range of political factions. In very simplistic terms, the Republican Party represents individuals who may be varying degrees of culturally, socially, or fiscally conservative.

This election season – with the rise of movements such as Bernie or Bust and Never Trump – has highlighted how difficult it can be to sustain unity among party ranks. On the Republican side, the ambiguous nature of Donald Trump’s political identity could be responsible for apparent deviations from the traditional party line that were evident at the convention.

Gay Rights

Video 1

The inclusion of the phrase ‘gay or straight’ in a number of speeches at the convention suggests that sexual orientation is no longer a taboo subject for the Republican Party. Not only was the abbreviation LGBTQ mentioned (albeit clumsily) multiple times by Trump, positive references to the gay community were well received by a majority of the convention audience.

The most striking example of this was when Peter Thiel, the openly gay co-founder of PayPal took to the stage. As is evident in Video 1, Thiel rejects the culture wars that have long been a fixture of American politics as mere distraction. He then receives rapturous applause for his confirmation that one can comfortably identify as both gay and Republican.

Although since the late ‘70s there has been a segment of the party supportive of LGBTQ rights (known as the ‘Log Cabin’ Republicans) it is an issue that is usually skipped over at national Republican events due to its divisive nature.

Ted Cruz and Donald Trump framed their references to the polarising topic within accepted Republican talking points. Cruz applied the ever-reliable and conveniently-vague coating of ‘freedom’. As in, sexual orientation is included in the list of a person’s individual freedoms. His follow-up that Americans should live “according to (…) conscience” also provides reassurance for those who may feel that it is morally wrong.

Trump used his declared desire to protect the LGBTQ community as a way of setting America apart from a “hateful foreign ideology” (read: ISIS, cynically read: Middle East). It also provides Trump, on a personal level, with ammo to shoot down accusations of his own bigotry. While he has flip-flopped on LGBTQ issues – initially stating that he doesn’t care which bathrooms transgender people use but recently proposing that individual states should decide – they are one of the few societal groups he has yet to openly insult.

Cruz Seeks the African-American Vote?

Video 2

Ted Cruz’s speech dominated headlines for the dramatic way he was essentially booed off stage as a defiant Donald Trump emerged from the back of the arena to distract from the fact that the Texas senator had refused to endorse him.

However, what was also surprising was the amount of time Cruz devoted to appealing to African-Americans. The senator offered a strong historical case for tying black progress to the origins of the Republican Party. This itself is not particularly new; Republicans often proudly remind others that they are the party of Lincoln – a statement that fails to acknowledge the numerous political realignments that have occurred since 1854.

What emphasised the sense that Cruz was reaching out to the black vote were his subsequent references to Anton Sterling (a black man killed by police officers in Baton Rouge earlier this month) and the shooting of members of a black South Carolina church group last year. This is significant, particularly in the case of Sterling. During the recently revived debate surrounding police brutality towards the black community, Republicans have frequently appeared to side with police. Given the sensitive nature of the issue, sympathetic references to the victims of such incidents risk being perceived as anti-law enforcement.

While some viewed the senator’s refusal to endorse Trump as political suicide, the convention speech could actually be seen as politically savvy. It is perhaps no coincidence that at a rally earlier in the day, Cruz hinted that he could once again run for the Presidency in 2020. With this speech he has managed to distance himself from Trump (who has yet to be completely embraced by the party) and established a platform on which to appeal to a wider demographic in the future. Whether he will be successful in this endeavour is another matter.

What Does This Mean?

The inclusion of traditionally liberal talking points at the RNC does not necessarily signify that the party is shifting to the left. If anything, Republican policies and the choice of staunch conservative Mike Pence as Vice President suggest the opposite is happening.

What is important is that this is a party experiencing a crisis of identity that has only been exacerbated by the nomination of Donald Trump. Brief acknowledgements of race and LGBTQ issues hint at possible avenues the party could go down in the future to sustain a support base large enough to win elections. Indeed, studies suggest that younger generations are not as conservative as their parents on such topics. As a result, the next decade is likely to witness a significant realignment in terms of the demographics and values that shape right-wing politics in America.

The identity of the Republican Party is there for the taking. The question is: will it be Trump who grabs it with both hands?

 

 

Header Image courtesy of Disney on Flickr

Footage from Video 1 belongs to PBS

Footage from Video 2 belongs to PBS & Fox News

Both produced and edited by AcrossThePond