Democracy in action looks a lot different this week inside Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena, the site of the 2016 Republican National Convention, than it does outside.
Democracy in action looks a lot different this week inside Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena, the site of the 2016 Republican National Convention, than it does outside.
Throughout the past three days, reports have swirled about flag burning, police scuffles and confrontations between the Ku Klux Klan, Westboro Baptist Church and the Black Lives Matter movement in Cleveland’s Public Square that ended with various group members lobbing urine-filled “grenades” at one another.
But inside the arena it has been, for the most part, a jubilant scene of relative solidarity as one of the nation’s two major political parties fills out its presidential ticket.
“There has been singing, dancing in the aisles, yelling and chanting of ‘Trump! Trump! Trump!’” said Hilo businesswoman Lorraine Shin, a former delegate for Hawaii, current Hawaii delegation aide and the mother of famed MMA fighter BJ Penn. “Then, chants of ‘USA! USA! USA!’ spread throughout the arena.”
Some of the most prominent “USA” chanting ensued Monday to drown out a Republican faction opposed to awarding Trump the party’s nomination. The splinter group made one final stand against the real estate magnate’s candidacy, requesting a roll call vote to amend convention voting rules.
The measure was voted down by a voice vote followed by competing clamor from what has been widely described as a fractured party amid Trump’s rise to political prominence. But Shin said all protesting has been handled professionally, and insisted intra-party dissent was represented by only a minor presence within the RNC itself.
“It was just a small group,” said Shin, who serves as the chairwoman for the Trump campaign on the Big Island. “They wanted to change the rules, and that didn’t happen. I don’t think this is unusual. It happened, and we just moved forward.”
Shin added that the Hawaii delegation itself had differing opinions among its 19 members, 11 who voted for Trump, seven who backed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and one who supported Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
She said ample amounts of aloha and cooperation characterized every discussion, which typically followed communal breakfasts and prayer sessions. She suggested proceedings within the Hawaii delegation were emblematic of Republican delegations throughout most states.
“People have voiced their concerns,” said Sandi Combs of Kapaa, Kauai, a 2016 Hawaii delegate. “We have had a few little scuffles about stuff, but it was all respectful and kind. At the end of the day, we will all be Trump supporters. It is going to be a unified party, absolutely.”
Civility and cooperation amid disagreement didn’t render RNC attendees’ emotions inert, however.
“I have never felt more like an American than being here,” said Combs, who is running for the state House in Hawaii’s 14th District and can’t wait to regale her Kapaa High School social studies class with details from her RNC experience. “In most places in the world, this kind of activity is illegal, and we get to do it. We dance every chance we get. … The excitement ripples through the place.”
Shin and Combs agreed there’s nothing that can dampen their spirits or the general spirit of the RNC.
Combs said Republicans on the ground in Cleveland largely have brushed aside accusations that Melania Trump, the nominee’s wife, plagiarized a portion of first lady Michelle Obama’s speech delivered at the Democratic National Convention in 2008.
Combs instead thinks her candidate actually turned the situation to his advantage.
“As usual, Mr. Trump is making the most out of getting the free press he so adores,” she said.
Shin said she’s felt safe throughout the RNC, despite tensions surrounding recent attacks against police and the speculation of danger to large, congregating groups of people after a truck barreled into a Bastille Day crowd in Nice, France, claiming 84 lives just one week ago.
Shin’s sense of security has been aided greatly by the presence of Cleveland law enforcement and federal agents, who she described as doing an “unbelievable” job protecting people. The absence of apprehension has allowed her and her fellow Republicans to focus on why they descended on the Ohio city in the first place.
“Mr. Trump and (vice presidential candidate Mike Pence) are going to show us how to bring our country together and win in November,” Shin said. “I wish all the people in Hawaii who support Trump were here, too. The mood, the enthusiasm and the excitement are just wonderful.”
Email Max Dible at mdible@westhawaiitoday.com.