麻豆影院

Audio Script

Embracing Donald Trump? Thoughts on the Republican National Convention
July 20, 2016听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Kenneth Bickers
Every national convention should have a couple of clear goals, says Ken Bickers, a political science professor at CU-麻豆影院. One is to kick off the general election season in a formal and focused way and he says the Republicans are doing that by aggressively attacking Democrat Hillary Clinton. The other goal is to unify the party behind their candidate, but so far he hasn鈥檛 seen any clear support going Donald Trump鈥檚 way.
CUT 1听 鈥淲hat I don鈥檛 see much of yet is a positive statement, an affirmative case for Donald Trump as President of the United States. So far it鈥檚 been, 鈥楬e would be better than her.鈥� (:13) But I haven鈥檛 heard, at least during the primetime speeches, a positive affirmative case for a Trump administration. And to me that is the other major thing that you need to focus on in a convention. (324) I think they need to do that.鈥� (:28)
One of the issues for Republican leaders that Bickers sees is trying to unify the party behind Trump. A difficult task, he says, considering that Trump essentially ran against the Republican Party.
听CUT 2 鈥淒onald Trump ran against the establishment. So I think that鈥檚 why there鈥檚 tension on the Republican side. (:06) This convention so far seems to me to be focused more on trying to bring back together the wings of the Republican Party and to find some way to reconcile conservatives and Tea Party conservatives with Donald Trump and what he represents in kind of a hostile takeover of the Republican Party.鈥� (:25)
Another major concern for leaders of the party, says Bickers, is figuring out how to get the support of Ohio Governor John Kasich. The one-time presidential candidate declined to appear at the convention and Bickers says that is troubling for the Republican Party.
CUT 3 鈥淭he big problem is Governor Kasich. And that鈥檚 because Ohio is so pivotal to the Republican Party. (:06) There is no instance where a Republican president won without winning Ohio. Never. It鈥檚 never happened. Not since the beginning of the Republican Party back in 1856. (:18)
Bicker鈥檚 advice to Donald Trump: If he really wants to win in November, he better find a way to get the support of Kasich.
CUT 4 鈥淪o I think Trump needs Kasich a lot more than Kasich needs Trump. He really ought to be reaching out to the governor. And maybe that鈥檚 happening. Maybe we鈥檒l see if before the convention is over. I suspect not. (:13) But to my mind not having the governor of the host state is a problem. Not having the governor of the host state when it鈥檚 Ohio is a catastrophe for the Republicans.鈥� (:24)
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