Citizen Capozzi | Live at the Republican National Convention

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Opinion columnist Louis Capozzi is at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, where Wharton graduate Donald Trump W'86 is expected to be nominated to be the GOP's presidential candidate later this week. Check back here periodically for updates or follow Louis at @citizencapozzi for more RNC-related content.

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Monday, 5:38 PM

The Pennsylvania delegation helped kill #NeverTrump.

Chaos rocked the GOP Convention as anti-Trump delegates frantically scrambled to secure enough votes for a roll-call vote.

Originally, as was widely reported, the “Never Trump” delegates had secured the support of 9 delegations for a roll call vote aimed at rejecting the convention rules that essentially guarantee Trump’s nomination.

But temporary Convention Chair Congressman Steve Womack (R-AK 3rd), a close Trump ally, steamrolled past the boisterous objections of several delegations, Colorado and Texas – which the RNC shrewdly seated furthest from the stage - chief among the rebels. Never Trump delegates fought back, persistently chanting, “roll call vote!”

But pro-Trump delegates fought back, with the New York and Pennsylvania delegations leading the charge. They started chanting, “U.S.A., U.S.A.” As other pro-Trump delegations from New England and the Midwest joined in, the anti-Trump chant for a roll call vote was drowned out.

Rep. Womack then struck the fatal blow.

He announced that 3 states had withdrawn their request for a roll call vote, pulling the petition down to six concurring states, one below the required threshold. The RNC operatives clearly know what they’re doing.

Shortly thereafter, Senator John Barasso (R-WY) tried to restore unity with the question, “Who’s proud to be an American?”

And with that, the drama was over and #NeverTrump died. Some prominent figures like Ken Cucinelli will rant and rave to a sympathetic media, but they failed in the end. The Republican Party clearly belongs to Donald Trump now, for better or worse.

Guess it’s time for the coronation.

Monday, 2:57 PM

I guess Republicans are aware that the water was poisoned in Flint, Michigan.

One of the early speakers on Monday at the Republican National Convention, Michigan’s Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette, claimed that he is working hard to help the affected families, saying “Justice is coming to Flint.” Schuette also acknowledged that most of the victims of the poisoned water were black, calling for a justice system that treats all people equal.

In the aftermath of the discovery of poisoned water in Flint, it was easy to forget that most of the state’s top officials were Republicans. Governor Rick Snyder (R-MI) worked hard to stay out of the news and blamed federal officials, even as evidence emerged that his officials green-lighted Flint’s switch to a poisoned water source to save money.

In contrast, Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) led the effort to secure more federal funding for Flint, an effort that many Republican senators opposed. Hillary Clinton canceled campaign events to appear in Flint and bring national attention to the crisis. She then insisted on debating Senator Bernie Sanders there. In short, the perception arose that Democrats cared more about black lives in Flint than Republicans.

The lesson here? Aside from any substantive policy issues that prevent Republicans from earning the trust of minority voters, rhetoric and attention to minority issues are a large part of the Party’s failures on that front.

In other words, you’re a little late, Attorney General Schuette. 

Sunday, 11:31 PM 

It’s 1839 all over again.

While the world watches the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, history is being made for the University of Pennsylvania.

For the first time since 1839, a major American political party is nominating a Penn alumnus to be President of the United States. Last time, the rapidly weakening Whig Party gathered in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to fight back against the Democratic Party’s decade of presidential dominance under presidents Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren.

After futilely nominating two candidates in the 1836 election, the delegates to the Whig Convention in Harrisburg were desperate to break through, to choose a candidate that would excite voters in the same way President Jackson had. Passing over Henry Clay, one of America’s most famous senators, they chose William Henry Harrison, a general made famous by his victory at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811 against a confederacy of Native American tribes. In the presidential election of 1840, Harrison went on to easily defeat President Van Buren by almost 4 times as many electoral votes.

Harrison’s win was also a victory for the University of Pennsylvania, which earned its first presidential alumnus after 100 years of existence. Well, sort of.

In truth, President Harrison’s connection to Penn was tenuous. He briefly studied medicine there in 1790 under the tutelage of Dr. Benjamin Rush, a famous Philadelphia doctor. But Harrison’s time there was unpleasant, and he later told his biographer that he disliked studying medicine, just like many modern pre-meds. Then, in 1791, Harrison was forced to drop out after he ran out of money. I guess Penn had financial aid struggles back then too.

Further, Harrison didn’t really have the opportunity to bring glory to his tenuous alma mater. He died of pneumonia on April 4, 1841, just thirty days after he entered office.

And that was the height of political glory for Penn alumni. Since then, no Quaker has served as or even been nominated by a major political party for President or Vice President. Compare that to Harvard University, which can claim 8 U.S. presidents, or to Yale’s 5 presidents.

Of course, Penn has had some prominent political alumni since President Harrison. We can claim two prominent Supreme Court justices: Owen Roberts and William Brennan (thanks Penn Law). We have produced prominent cabinet secretaries – paging George Wickersham, Attorney General for Theodore Roosevelt – and plenty of governors.

But still, Penn’s political track record is relatively unimpressive for a school that claims Benjamin Franklin as its founder. No current U.S. Senator attended Penn, and our campus’s political culture still lags behind peer schools like Harvard and Yale. For the past few decades, Penn has generally remained out of national political news.

Until Donald Trump.

Now in Cleveland, the Republican Party will nominate Penn’s second presidential candidate. And unlike Harrison, Trump frequently claims that Penn was an important step on his path to success. Yet Penn is not returning the love.

While the administration has remained suspiciously silent about America’s most notorious politician, Penn students have made headlines by circulating a petition denouncing their fellow Quaker. Many writers for The Daily Pennsylvanian, myself included, have written highly critical accounts of Trump’s candidacy.

Nevertheless, Trump has steamrolled his way to the nomination, a feat that we can hopefully acknowledge is impressive if not admirable. Like William Henry Harrison and the Whigs in 1840, Donald Trump and the Republicans will soon challenge the Democratic Party’s standing presidential dominance.

This week in Cleveland, I’ll be blogging and live Tweeting for The Daily Pennsylvanian about what I see. Besides Donald Trump, Penn will also be represented by Ivanka Trump (Wharton, 2004), Donald Trump Jr. (Wharton, 2000), and Tiffany Trump (College, 2016). And while I’ll remain critical of how the Trumps are changing the Republican Party, I’ll also witness political history being made.

And after 177 years, Penn is center stage again. 

Citizen Capozzi will continue to cover the Republican National Convention this week on the DPolitics blog at thedp.com/politics. Check back next week for coverage of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.