If you thought you heard the name "Hillary Clinton" even more than "Donald Trump" during the last four nights of the Republican National Convention, you might be right. The New York Times counted, and found that she figured more prominently at the RNC than any other Democratic contender has in a Republican convention since at least 1992.
Historians who study the presidency noted that her name was invoked with more venom than the names of earlier Democratic nominees in the last six Republican conventions.
“It’s hard to think of a convention in recent times with this much vitriol and this level of aggression leveled at the opposition,” said Julian E. Zelizer, a professor of history at Princeton. […]
Historians say one of the last times convention speakers used language this bitter and divisive was when Bill Clinton won the nomination in 1992. Patrick J. Buchanan declared there was a “cultural war” over the soul of America.
Many in the party believed Mr. Buchanan’s speech crossed a line and alienated moderate voters. This week, [presidential historian Michael] Beschloss said, “it would have been unexceptional.”
Hell, it would have been tame in comparison to the performances this week. Particularly that of Chris Christie, who worked the delegates into a frothing frenzy of hate, screaming "Lock her up!" at the top of their lungs.
There was no attempt at all in this convention to play to the unconvinced or the alienated moderate. This was about bending the Republican Party to Donald Trump's twisted will, it was about some kind of perverted version of unity. Trump's is not going to pivot in this general election. He's not going to moderate in hopes of convincing voters who don't share his bloodlust. It's going to be about destroying Hillary Clinton as the embodiment of everything that terrifies the GOP about living in the 21st century.