CLEVELAND — The ongoing Republican National Convention is at the culmination of one of the most controversial and contentious campaigns of any candidate for president of the United States in the nation’s history.
Donald Trump has been officially named the nominee for the Republican Party, and tonight the process is expected to be complete with a full acceptance of the nomination by Trump.
The Daily Mississippian was in Cleveland in attendance of the convention on Monday through Wednesday, where it met up with many of the Mississippi delegates and party officials in attendance of the event.
“This is really about spending time with other members of the Mississippi delegation — people who work hard together,” said Tyler Norman, Mississippi delegate to the convention. “We are sort of like one big family. We had a breakfast together today and heard from the heroes of Benghazi. We have events like that all throughout the week. For somebody like me who is not on a specific committee, it’s not as time consuming as if I was on a committee.”
Committee or not, the convention is certainly not all fun and games. In the first day alone, the convention saw an earnest attempt to overthrow the rules put in place by the rules committee in hopes of allowing delegates to “vote their conscious,” trying to rob Trump of the nomination despite the results of the primary nationwide.
However, no Mississippi delegates had any part in that movement. Henry Barbour, nephew of former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and a member of the highly contested rules committee, was instrumental in forming the rules regarding how delegates are required to vote.
“We made certain that the will of the voters was confirmed, and the voters really are the ultimate grassroots,” Barbour said. “I think that is important. There are some people who wanted to basically ignore what the voters have said, and the rules committee made certain that the way people voted mattered.”
And regardless of the rules, the delegation values unity of the party on a national and state level over anything else.
“Mississippians are team players. They know that we have to be unified as a convention when this thing is done,” U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper said.
Harper represents the third congressional district of Mississippi and is also serving as a delegate to the convention.
“We know that Trump is going to be the nominee,” Harper said. “Even if you don’t like Donald Trump’s personality, and there are some who are struggling with casting a vote for Donald Trump, then I say ‘Yes you can. Look at what your option is here.’”
Of course, the convention is not all about just casting votes. The formation of the national platform for the party is also a primary goal. Mississippi State Treasurer Lynn Fitch served on the platform committee this convention and put forth some changes she feels will be very beneficial for Mississippi as a whole.
“I served on the constitution committee. It was very humbling — very much so an opportunity to really peel back and go ‘this is our core value document, this is our principle driven document, and we have some things we need to address,’” Fitch said. “It was an opportunity to put some language in there for states to pass legislation in regard to women inequality. In this platform I was able to get some language in that said if you have an unplanned pregnancy that the father is equally financially responsible from birth through adulthood. It’s a huge opportunity to lift (Mississippi) from poverty, and, again, that is one of the biggest issues we are facing in the state.”
This sort of contribution on a national level is not uncommon of Mississippi delegates. The state has had a proud tradition of impacting the national party at each convention regardless of their relative size and delegate count.
This is seen in the many conservative leaders that the state has produced for decades, and to many delegates, the reason why is a no-brainer.
“When you have people like the Trent Lotts, the Thad Cochrans and Haley Barbours, the Lynn Fitchs — they know how to communicate,” said Curt Hébert, attorney and delegate. “I think that has everything to do with it. It is the foundation of conservatism, and secondly, the style of communication and respectfulness that we have as Mississippians for people around us.”
As far as Mississippians at the convention are concerned, Trump is the right man for America and the state’s future.
“The thing I am most concerned about is the judiciary branch,” said Bradley White, former chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party. “(If Trump is elected) you will see a turn in conservative judges being appointed to federal benches. That will have a huge effect, not only on Mississippi, but nationwide.”
As the convention comes to a close, it only seems fitting to reflect on the many safety concerns that were expressed nationwide. Barring unforeseen circumstances since the publication of this article, the delegates of Mississippi have been unanimously impressed with the performance by the Cleveland Police Department and the city of Cleveland in general as they work to keep everyone safe during the convention.
“If you’re not safe in Cleveland, Ohio, this week, you’re probably not safe anywhere,” Harper said. “People were probably a little bit more anxious at this (convention) than previous ones. But, there is such a large presence of law enforcement here in Cleveland.”
As the convention comes to a close tonight, balloons and confetti will line the floors of the Quicken Loans Arena. With the help of Mississippi delegates and Republican Party officials, one of the most historic candidacies in America continues.
