My colleague Alex Shepard notes it only took a few hours for the Republican National Convention to erupt into chaos. In a display of arm-twisting that would make the hapless whips of the House Republican conference envy, the GOP put down a symbolic effort to hold a roll call vote that would have revealed the extent of opposition to Donald Trump’s candidacy among the delegates.
As I argued earlier today, it’s very possible there’ll be more unplanned outbursts and mishaps at this convention. It turns out that the Republican Party isn’t unified simply because Trump claims it is every now and again on television. But it’s worth noting this first eruption was predictable and front loaded by design, over and done with before the end of the workday, three-and-a-half full days of convention ahead of us. I think the real question is whether this week’s festivities are well organized and controlled enough to prevent other, unpredictable blowups. I’m not sure it is.