The Unseen Convention, or How Romney Can Win

I must preface this post with an acknowledgment of my own conflict on the subject.

I believe another presidential term for Obama may well be disastrous, not only for this country but for the world -- as I also believe that the vitality of both our representative democracy and our economy is crucial not only within our borders but far beyond them. Yet I cannot ignore that Mitt Romney is willing, and some of his allies are eager, to roll back full civil and human rights for our GLBT citizens, one of whom is my marvelous and admirable older daughter.

I both hope and believe that the societal trend, at least in this country, toward full GLBT rights is sufficiently strong that even a Republican sweep of the institutions of federal government will not reverse it, or not for long. On balance, therefore, I believe that my daughters and their generation will overall, and eventually, benefit from a Romney victory.

Those who heard the Tuesday and Wednesday night speakers at the Republican National Convention may well be excited and optimistic about the future of the Republican Party. A host of past, present and potential Governors and members of Congress, female and/or from various ethnic minorities -- including Mayor Mia Love, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Sen. Kelly Ayotte, Gov. Mary Fallin, Senatorial candidate Ted Cruz, Former Rep. Artur Davis, Gov. Nikki Haley, Gov. Luis Fortuno (pardon my ignorance of how to insert a tilde), and Gov. Susana Martinez -- showed that Republicans are by no means an exclusive collection of old white males.

Similarly, those hearing the speeches Thursday evening have reason to be excited and optimistic about the Republican presidential candidate. Speaker after speaker spoke from personal knowledge of Mitt Romney's drive, decisiveness, and business acumen, as well as his warmth and caring as a human being, his willingness to step forward and intervene with all his energy when he knew that help was needed.

The problem: almost no one heard these speeches. NBC and MSNBC generally cut away from the Tuesday and Wednesday speeches I've listed, perhaps finding them too challenging to the preferred liberal narrative about Republicans. Not even Fox News covered all the speeches by those whose businesses Bain Capitol  saved, or who witnessed Romney's hands-on turnaround of the 2002 Olympics or recounted his community and charity work. And how many potential voters waited until Romney was due to speak to tune in, or never bothered at all? Only those attending the convention and those who watched C-SPAN throughout it got the full benefit of this expertly crafted presentation. (Of course it was planned to present Romney and the Republicans in the best possible light. To the extent the Romney campaign was involved, the competence of that effort is its own kind of testimonial.)

For those who want Mitt Romney to win election -- those for whom his positions on social issues are either unobjectionable, or are not an insuperable objection -- there is a simple way to substantially increase the chances of that victory.

Get on YouTube, or your favorite search engine, and find videos and/or transcripts of some of these speeches. Share the links on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, or any other social media outlet. (Of course, you can do the same for any inspirint narratives that may emerge from the upcoming Democratic convention.)

It's that easy for each of us to increase voter knowledge of the alternatives in this election.