'Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope'
We sincerely thank all who participated in the Convention on Founding Principles this week, and we hope you found it to be an inspiring alternative to the Republican National Convention. If you missed any of it, you'll find it archived on our website and on YouTube. We encourage you to share the speeches and discussions you found most galvanizing with others, in order to grow our movement for responsible government based on honest, accountable leadership and unifying American principles. This is a unique and challenging time in America. We choose to see it as an opportunity to renew and strengthen our great republic. I hope you do too. Thank you for your commitment to the cause. Onward! —Evan McMullin
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1. 'A precious opportunity for rebirth'
— "Morally impermissible to be in between." Stand Up Republic Board member Tara Setmayer said the rise of populist nationalism in the country in recent years is alarming, because it is often a precursor to authoritarianism, which is incongruent with our founding principles. Echoing former President Ronald Reagan, she said, "It is a time for choosing."
— Time to reject the "white grievance party." Stand Up Republic co-Executive Director Mindy Finn called on viewers to strengthen our multi-ethnic democracy, the first in the world of its kind, by putting integrity, ideas, decency, and truth above tribe and identity.
— The thread is starting to fray. Principles First Founder Heath Mayo said disinformation and unprincipled leadership are harming our democracy. Being an American isn’t about looking or talking a certain way but by being a certain way. Addressing the inequities in our society that divide us is the most American way forward. —Convention on Founding Principles
MORE: Tracing the path of the modern GOP [audio] —WBUR
2. 'We're here, and they're not'
As per usual, President Trump delivered an exclusionary speech filled with lies, fear, and braggadocio, as he accepted his party's nomination at the finale of the Republican National Convention last night. About 1,500 people gathered on the South Lawn of the White House—mostly without masks or socially distanced amid the pandemic—to listen to the president assail his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, whom he called a "Trojan horse for socialism." The very setting of the speech at the White House broke longstanding norms that separate the political from the official. Former Homeland Security Sec. Tom Ridge said it best: "The approach to this convention was an abuse of presidential prerogatives, an abuse of the office." —The New York Times
— Biden's America? It's bad enough that Trump has dubbed violence happening on his own watch as "Biden's America." Now he's not even sticking to America. On the first night of the convention, the party aired a segment warning of dire consequences if Biden is elected president. The problem? One of the images in the segment doesn't show the U.S. at all—it shows Spain. —BuzzFeed News
— A family torn. One of the most emotional moments of the evening came when St. Louis Police Sgt. Ann Dorn spoke about her husband, David, a retired St. Louis Police captain who was killed during protests in the city in June. David Dorn's daughters say their late father did not support Trump and would not want his name or image to be used to further the president’s political agenda. —The St. Louis American
— Protesters vs. Paul. Sen. Rand Paul was confronted by shouting protesters after leaving the convention with his wife, Kelley, last night. The protesters demanded the Kentucky senator acknowledge the death of Breonna Taylor, who was killed by police executing a no-knock warrant in her Louisville, Ky., home earlier this year. Paul introduced legislation named for Taylor in June to ban no-knock search warrants. —Politico
MORE: The Economist: Hail to the king —The Economist
3. Graham: No plan, just unearned pride
"Trump is using the RNC to show the nation what he has learned over the past four years: the power of impunity. Throughout the convention, Trump, his family, and his aides are using the backdrop of the federal government, in defiance of precedent, propriety, and likely federal law. The president is not so much showing the majesty of the federal government—this is not its finest hour—as reveling in the knowledge that no one can or will stop him. It is a flex for its own sake, and at heart, that is his message about what he will deliver in a second term, too." —The Atlantic
4. A new March on Washington
Thousands of demonstrators have descended on the nation's capital today to demand an overhaul to the nation's criminal justice system and push for racial equality. Gathering at the same site where Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., called for the same reforms decades ago in his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech, attendees include family members of Black Americans who have been killed in recent months by police or in other racially-charged incidents—Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, and others. —NPR
— Suspect charged in Wisconsin. Kyle Rittenhouse, the Illinois teenager accused of shooting and killing protesters in Kenosha, Wisc., was charged yesterday with six criminal counts, including felony charges of first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree intentional homicide, and attempted first-degree intentional homicide. He also was charged with two counts of recklessly endangering safety and possession of a dangerous weapon while under 18, which is a misdemeanor. —NPR
— Kenosha could impact the election. The unrest in a key swing state less than 70 days from the election could be influential. Residents who already supported President Trump say the events of the past few days have reinforced their choice. Undecided voters say the apparent inability of elected leaders to halt the violence and looting is nudging them toward Trump. And Democrats, who understand the rage behind the chaos, worry that it may aid the president’s re-election prospects. —The New York Times
MORE: Kenosha shooting: Girlfriend of victim Anthony Huber speaks out about suspect Kyle Rittenhouse —CBS Chicago
5. Moon: Double standards in American policing must end
"For all of the arguing, all of the protesting and anti-protesting and riots and looting and complaining and fear-mongering, there is no single scene that better exemplifies the underlying friction between American law enforcement and the non-white public it is meant to serve than those cops in Kenosha driving right on by a double murderer. Because they weren't looking for a white kid. Even if that white kid was holding an assault rifle. Even if there were people screaming that that white kid had just killed people (there literally was someone screaming that at police). Even if the police could see the bodies in the street, a nurse already performing CPR on one victim, and dozens of people tending to the other victims." —Alabama Political Reporter
Ed. Note: Josh Moon is an investigative reporter and featured columnist at the Alabama Political Reporter.
MORE: Two officers fired tasers at Jacob Blake before he was shot, Wisconsin Justice Department says —CBS News
6. Around the globe
Shinzo Abe, Japan's longest-serving prime minister, said today that he is stepping down due to chronic health problems. "It is gut-wrenching to have to leave my job before accomplishing my goals," Abe said, mentioning his failure to resolve the issue of Japanese abducted years ago by North Korea, a territorial dispute with Russia, and a revision of Japan's war-renouncing constitution. He is expected to stay on until a new party leader is elected and formally approved by the parliament. —Associated Press
— China flexes its muscles. China launched a series of ballistic missiles into the South China Sea this week, according to the Pentagon. The exercises are part of a flurry of military maneuvers Beijing has ordered along thousands of miles of the country's coastline, as tensions with Washington over the disputed waterway continue to escalate. —CNN
— Concussion symptoms after clash in Syria. Four U.S. troops have been diagnosed with concussion-like symptoms after a Russian vehicle intentionally rammed into the one in which they were driving in northeast Syria earlier this week. The Russian forces were operating inside a designated "security zone" that they had agreed to stay out of. This was the first time American troops were injured in a confrontation with Russia in that region. —Independent
— Russian war games. The Russian navy conducted major war games near Alaska this week, involving dozens of ships and aircraft, the largest such drills in the area since Soviet times. Russia's navy chief, Adm. Nikolai Yevmenov, said the maneuvers are part of Russia's efforts to boost its presence in the Arctic region and protect its resources. —Associated Press
7. Krastev: How a Trump defeat could impact the EU
"[I]lliberal democracies such as Poland and Hungary, which have been unabashed backers of Trump's populist revolution, and which openly or tacitly opposed the idea of EU strategic autonomy, would view a Biden Administration as an a priori political threat. A Trump defeat in November would empower liberal forces in Central Europe at a time when recent events in Belarus are a clear sign that ageing is the worst enemy of populist strongmen such as Viktor Orbán, Hungary's prime minister since 2010." —European Council on Foreign Relations
Ed. Note: Ivan Krastev is European Council on Foreign Relations co-chair, chair of the Centre for Liberal Strategies, and a fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences, IWM Vienna.
8. A rough week for voting rights
There were a number of losses for voting rights advocates this week, as well as a domestic disinformation campaign aimed to scare voters away from mail-in voting. In Arkansas, the state Supreme Court ruled yesterday that proposed amendments regarding redistricting and ranked-choice voting do not qualify for the November ballot. As Arkansas Voters First evaluates its next steps, Chair Bonnie Miller said she "will not stop fighting for fair maps in Arkansas." She added, "I'm not giving up hope for a more representative democracy in our state." —The Fulcrum
— Maine. Maine was set to be the first state to use ranked-choice voting in a presidential election this year. That has changed after a Superior Court ruling this week. Judge Thomas McKeon reversed Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap's determination that the Maine Republican Party had not gathered enough valid signatures to challenge the use of RCV in a presidential election. Now, the issue will go before Maine voters again, for a third time in four years. —The Fulcrum
— Michigan. Two right-wing scam artists allegedly paid for a robocall targeting Detroit voters with disinformation about vote-by-mail, according to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. In the call, a woman's voice can be heard suggesting, falsely, that people who cast ballots through the mail will have their personal identifying information added to police and debt-collection databases, and that the Centers for Disease Control will use mailed ballots to "track people for mandatory vaccines." —Statescoop
— North Dakota. A sweeping election reform measure has been removed from the November ballot following a North Dakota Supreme Court ruling Tuesday. The measure would have established an independent redistricting commission, as well as other changes to the election process, if approved by voters. But the high court agreed with a lawsuit that claimed voters had been misled during the signature gathering process. —The Fulcrum
MORE: Trump says election workers, not USPS, could lead to 2020 miscount —NBC News
9. Rubin: Another insider steps forward
"Following in the footsteps of former Department of Homeland Security Chief of Staff Miles Taylor, another Trump Administration insider, Elizabeth Neumann, has stepped forward to warn us about the danger President Trump poses. 'You were hired to handle America's worst day, and you have absolutely failed' is as compelling a description of why four more years of Trump's incompetence, malfeasance, and cluelessness would be disastrous." —The Washington Post
MORE: Glover: Trumpers, if you saw something, say something —CNN
10. An American Story: Therapy dog comforts CA firefighters
— Kerith is a certified crisis response therapy dog, spreading love to firefighters as they take on the Woodward fire in California's Marin County.
— Kerith began making the rounds as a therapy dog in her local hospital emergency ward, where she visited patients, medical staff, and paramedics. It's also where she developed her affinity for firefighters, who invited the lively dog to visit their stations.
— "She makes people feel loved, special, and important. One firefighter told me, 'Kerith has the uncanny ability to make me feel like I am the most important person in the world,'" said Kerith's owner, Heidi Carmen. —CNN (via Karunavirus)
Ed. Note: Would you like to suggest "An American Story" from your local news? If so, please forward a link to the story to editor@thetopline.com. Thank you!
"For Your Weekend" is a once-a-week opportunity to recommend to the TOPLINE community an interesting book, podcast, documentary, or other media you've come across. Today's suggestion is from Bob D., Utah:
As the week of the RNC comes to a close (as nothing more than a monument to the narcissism and dishonesty of Donald Trump), I must say how very refreshing it is to have the CFP as a welcome contrast—with speakers unafraid to tell the truth, and make a stand against the lies, spin, and hyperbole of the RNC.
I have read several books written by those having first-hand experience with the corruption and chaos of the Trump Administration. Some, like John Bolton's book, were basically a waste of time, although at least it shows the pettiness of Donald Trump in trying to prevent its publication.
In my opinion, the book that should be required reading for every American citizen prior to the election is "A Warning," by an anonymous Trump senior official, who gives a very valid reason for having published the book anonymously (namely, so that Donald Trump does not have a target for his venom; he has only the substance of the narrative to attack—not a "whistleblower" that he can crucify and turn into yet another distraction).
I encourage all to read this book, published almost a year ago. And again, kudos to the CFP2020 organizers for a wholesome alternative to the RNC!
Want to make a suggestion for next week's "For Your Weekend"? Send your recommendations to editor@thetopline.com.
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