On first night of convention, Republicans offer an apocalyptic vision of America By Eugene Robinson July 19

The opening night of the Republican National Convention presented perhaps the darkest, most dystopian vision of America that either of our major political parties has offered in our lifetimes. It sounded as if we lived in some destabilized banana republic sliding rapidly into lawlessness and anarchy.

The reality is quite the opposite. Crime rates are historically low, the economy remains in recovery, stock markets are at or near record highs, unemployment has fallen to 4.9 percent and the United States, in terms of peace and prosperity, is the envy of the world. None of this was acknowledged Monday night in Cleveland. Speaker after speaker warned urgently of impending doom.

Most apocalyptic of all was the speech by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. On a scale of 1 to 10, he cranked the volume up to 11 and the hair-on-fire rhetoric all the way up to 25 or so. …

Giuliani’s mad soliloquy was apparently well-received inside the hall. On television, however, it came across as almost unhinged. Put it this way: If you were on a plane sitting next to a guy who was talking that way, you’d alert the flight attendants.

It was not hard to figure out the reason for all the doom and gloom. The theme for the first night of Donald Trump’s convention was “Make America Safe Again.” To convince people of the need to make the nation safe, you first have to sell them on the idea that it is desperately unsafe. Speaker after speaker tried to do just that. …

You are in grave danger, speakers at the convention told Americans, and the person responsible is Hillary Clinton. Obviously, convention organizers thought this was a winning message. I disagree.

It is risky to apply the rules of a normal election to this bizarre cycle, but the fact is that optimism almost always sells better than pessimism.”

mjh: However, the sunny optimism of Raygun has been replaced by the fear of the Mad Hatters, as in this local luminary:

The death knell sounds for the U.S.A.

THIS OBITUARY should appear in every newspaper in the United States of America.

The United States of America – born: July 4, 1776; died: July 5, 2016. Cause of death – crooked politicians. Preceded in death by U.S. Constitution and presidential oath of office – Jan. 20, 2009.
The United States will be deeply missed by many citizens and friends around the world.

Funeral services – Nov. 5, 2016.

DUSTY BURNETT
Albuquerque

mjh: Such fortitude and patriotism! As Curly used to say, “what a maroon!” (sic)