Director, Commonwealth Policy Center

Today, Republicans from across the country will meet in Cleveland as the 2016 Republican National Convention begins. Nearly 5000 delegates and alternate delegates will attend from all 50 states and it looks very possibly to be a contentious week with protests both inside and outside the convention hall. Donald Trump—the presumed nominee, is the point of controversy—perhaps not so much for his policy positions as with his treatment of other people and his hyperbolic and sometimes inflammatory statements. Supporters of Trump say that he's addressing issues like illegal immigration which haven't been properly addressed in the past eight years. Conservative opponents of Trump say that he is neither a true conservative nor dignified enough to lead the nation. In either case, The Republicans aren't the only political party with a flawed candidate—after all the Democratic convention meets next week and Hillary Clinton remains under a cloud of suspicion for misleading the nation about her private email server and classified messages sent through it.