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OPINION: Reflections from the RNC in Cleveland

Dee Brown | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 years, 6 months AGO
by Dee Brown
| July 24, 2016 8:00 AM

The questions I had when signing up to be a delegate in May to the Republican National Convention were laid to rest when I arrived in Cleveland last week.

My seatmate on one stretch was a deep-shaft coal miner from West Virginia. He was frustrated that his hours have been cut, his wife has had to go to work rather than stay at home with their three small children and that deductibles and out-of-pocket costs are rising on his health-care premiums.

John’s frustration reflects the same angst our coal miners feel in southwest Montana along with the future collapse of health policies in our nation. Both were major themes at the convention.

Speakers were chosen for the podium based on message. One day we discussed strong families, another the safety of our citizens, all while making America the country most of us with gray hair remember during the Kennedy years. There was clamorous applause when the speakers talked about the safety of the men and women in blue after recent killings in our nation.

My early presidential choice was Dr. Ben Carson, who seems to be the calm, brilliant, logical voice of the Republicans. It is notable that when he dropped out of the large field he threw his weight into Trump’s corner.

I’d never heard Rudy Giuliani speak other than on television. It was immediately apparent that he could get a crowd pumped and on their feet by discussing the crisis of immigration while putting his full support behind the nominee.

The electricity in the air at the Cleveland convention is resonating across the nation and could be felt on the street and in the airports all week. People are talking about the difference between a businessman running the country or a politician with lots of negative baggage.

I believe, as Trump does, that we can make America great again by putting people back to work, defending our borders and having more capital investment and

manufacturing returned to the U.S.

The Trump tsunami is starting at the grass-roots level. It is coming to make the changes prayed for by millions across America. Many beltway folks and establishment zillionaires are worried because they know the changes will be huuuuugge.

Dee Brown, a Hungry Horse Republican, is running for re-election in Senate District 2. Her opponent in November is Democrat Cody Casazza.

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