The Republican National Convention managed to accomplish in its first night what the Democratic Party failed to do during its entire four-night convention: It struck a tone of seriousness and sincerity, thanks to the personal testimonies of a few completely ordinary guest speakers.
First, there was Natalie Harp, a bone cancer survivor who took advantage of the Trump administration’s right-to-try policy and survived what should have been a deadly disease. Then came Andrew Pollack, father of one of the Parkland High School students whose life was taken during the deadly school shooting that rocked Florida in 2018. Pollack’s story was brutal — quick to the point but devastatingly tragic, and thus difficult to ignore.
But perhaps the most moving speech was given by Maximo Alvarez, a Cuban-born man whose parents fled Fidel Castro’s regime to give him an opportunity to build a better life. He’s done just that, and he warned voters that the policies Democrats support and the behaviors they encourage represent a political direction that looks a bit like the one he left all those years ago. I found myself thinking how lucky I am to not know what that must be like.
These are the stories that will move voters. We might not be able to relate personally to Harp, Pollack, or Alvarez, but we recognize the tangible policies that have affected their lives and understand that those policies could affect ours too — one way or the other. And if the GOP can continue to focus on policy and the people it affects, this convention might just give President Trump’s campaign the boost it needs.
