(CN) — The Republican National Convention on Wednesday heavily featured attacks on Democrats and President Donald Trump’s focus on “law and order” just one day after a 17-year-old white Illinois resident allegedly shot and killed two Black Lives Matter protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Second Lady Karen Pence headlined the first half of Wednesday night’s programming, choosing to remember the women’s suffrage movement on the 100-year anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.
“100 years ago, today, the 19th Amendment was adopted into the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote,” she said. “Because of heroes like Susan B. Anthony and Lucy Stone, women today, like our daughters, Audrey and Charlotte, and future generations, will have their voices heard and their votes count.”
As a member of a military family herself, Pence switched gears to thank military spouses for their sacrifices.
“President Trump and Vice President Pence have been supporting our United States Armed Forces, including our military families, on a significant scale,” she said.
“And as the Second Lady, I’ve also been able to bring awareness to a form of therapy for our heroic veterans suffering from PTSD,” she added.
Her comments came minutes after the American Civil Liberties Union announced a class action lawsuit on behalf of veterans who say federal authorities unlawfully used excessive force to deprive them of their protest rights.
The action arose after a video showing veteran Christopher David being beaten and pepper-sprayed by federal authorities went viral out of Portland, Oregon last month.
“In these difficult times, we’ve all seen so many examples of everyday Americans reaching out a hand to those in need, those who “in humility have considered others more important than themselves,” Pence added during her Wednesday night address, giving a shoutout to healthcare workers, teachers, first responders, mental health providers, law enforcement officers, grocery and delivery workers and farmers.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem had kicked off the night by slamming Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his party.
“I’m here tonight because I believe America is an exceptional nation founded on three principles - equality, freedom, and opportunity,” Noem said. “But today, our founding principles are under attack.”
This year, she said, the choice for Americans is “between a man who values these ideals and all that can be built because of them and a man who isn’t guided by these ideals and coincidentally, has built nothing.”
“The edgier part of the presentations tonight was the sharpening of their argument that Republicans are the party of American values and traditions and Democrats aren't,” Eric Heberlig, a political science professor at the University of North Carolina Charlotte, told Courthouse News on Wednesday.
Echoing a claim made by Trump, Noem told viewers that “Democratic-run cities across this country are being overrun by violent mobs.”
After quoting Abraham Lincoln’s warning against “savage mobs,” Noem said, “He was concerned for the people who had seen their property destroyed, their families attacked, and their lives threatened or even taken away. These good people were becoming tired of, and disgusted with, a government that offered them no protection.”
“Sound familiar?” she asked.
Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn told the RNC that she was there to talk about “another kind of hero” — a kind of hero that, she claims, goes unrecognized by Democrats.
Accusing Democrats of wanting to “cancel” law enforcement officers, Blackburn warned viewers that chaos would ensue should Biden win the November election.
“If the Democrats had their way, they would keep you locked in your house until you become dependent on the government for everything. That sounds a lot like Communist China to me —maybe that’s why Joe Biden is so soft on them,” she said.