Bump is a rise in the polls after a convention or some other significant event. Thump is what the party or candidate on the other end of the bump experiences (a drop in the polls). The Democratic Convention was not like any I can remember, and I am an old man. There were the dire warnings about a dangerous opposition candidate. And it, the convention, was a call to arms, but it was also a very joyful celebration. It was a gathering notable for the music, laughter and camaraderie of the attendees. The precedent – a female of mixed race as the nominee for President of the United States was part of the excitement, but it was not an in your face factor that pitted reasonable males against the ladies who wore suffragette white. Instead, there was an almost universal excitement for the candidate, Kamala Harris, and a return to the optimism and can do attitude that has characterized this nation's progressive march to greatness. It was an expression of the best kind of patriotism – the kind of patriotism that is a commitment not just to what our country is but what it can and should be, the kind of patriotism that makes us say, “come let us make our great country even better.” All were and are invited to join us in building a better future for the nation that has always looked to the future. As some of the attendees who identified themselves as Republicans said, “voting for Kamala Harris does not mean you are a Democrat it means you are a patriot.”
The contrast between the Democratic Party's celebration of life and country and the Republican Party's worship of a cult leader practicing grievance politics cannot be greater. It is the difference between light and dark, love and hate, freedom and a theocratic fascism that interferes with the most intimate and life affirming decisions we make as human beings. This now brings us to the thump. There have only been two times in my life that I can recall when a major political party has lost as many of its members as this Republican Party has. One time was in 1964 when the Republicans nominated Barry Goldwater. The other time was in 1968 when Democratic progressives would not support Hubert Humphrey.
Barry Goldwater's 1964 Presidential campaign suffered from Republican apologist William F. Buckley's criticism of the John Birch Society and the far right wingers supporting Goldwater. That criticism contributed to the defection of many of the better educated Republicans, including the gypsy moths (progressive Northern Republicans). Goldwater's statement that “[e]xtremismin defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue,” taken in context with his extreme policy positions, was widely seen as an example of his, Goldwater's, embrace of jingoism and the “lunatic” right. And that perception caused none affiliated voters who leaned Republican to roundly reject him. Hubert Humphrey's problem in 1968 was that people thought he was too closely tied to “Lyndon Johnson's” war in Vietnam.
Today, even before the Democratic convention, the intellectuals of the Republican Party, including the very conservative Republican apologist George Will, have fled the GOP in droves over Trump's brand of fascism. Many of those intellectuals have even formed anti-Trump organizations, such as the Lincoln Project. Furthermore, many former members of the Trump administration, such as Vice President Mike Pence, and former Republican congress members, such as Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, will not endorse Trump. From the examples I have given, you may conclude that losing so many members of your party, particularly influential members, does not bode well for your chances to win elections. While that conclusion is correct it also assumes that the enthusiasm from your party's convention will translate into hard work on behalf of your candidates. These (November elections) are not just Trump's and the MAGA's elections to lose they are our elections to win! As Michelle Obama said, “Do Something!” The post convention bump has increased our momentum. Now is the time to get out there and thump the GOP.