GOP convention speaker: ‘The party is coming together’

David Keene, keynote speaker for the Idaho GOP convention this evening, told hundreds of assembled Republican faithful that their party can win this year’s presidential race. “I think the American people are smarter than the folks at NBC and at CBS and at the New York Times,” he said to a burst of applause. Noting that House Speaker Paul Ryan backed presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump today, Keene said, “The party is coming together.”

He said he believes Democratic presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton is in trouble, because of “aging socialist” Bernie Sanders. “This is a man who is not a serious national figure, and she’s been unable to take him out,” Keene said. “Every time she goes after one group, she’s driving the other group away.”

He said of the Democrats, “Today they’re running scared. … Their act is no longer selling, and as a result of that we are in a position to save the country.”

Keene, a former president of the NRA and the American Conservative Union, said, “If you and everyone you know understands the stakes that are on the table, we can win – not just in friendly places like Idaho.”