For the Record: Extreme Makeover, GOP Edition

We're just one week out from the start of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland ... you know, the one with the delegates who hate the presumptive nominee. The following week is the Democratic National Convention ... which, if you're just joining us, is the one with the delegates who hate the presumptive nominee. Just throwing this out there: Belgium operated just fine without a government for 589 days, although we should point out that Belgium is deeply partisan and nobody can stand their political opponents. In other words, it sounds like a great model for us.

Extreme Makeover: GOP Edition

What will the Republican Party look like following next week's convention? Trump already has left his mark, and it's barely been a month and a half since he clinched the nomination. He's already turned the party around completely on free trade, immigration reform and just nominating whichever Bush was available in a given year.

"Win or lose, the Trump candidacy has inflamed the divisions within the Republican Party," said Republican strategist Ryan Williams. "Even if Trump does not become the president, these rifts will remain."

The big-tent party that Ronald Reagan touted -- nowadays full of Reagan Republicans, Tea Partiers, pro-business factions, strict constructionists, conservative Democrats, pseudo-libertarians, religious conservatives, bounty hunters, desperados, mugs, pugs and thugs -- needs to hold together to get The Donald into the Oval Office, say the pundits. Trump disagrees. "I have to be honest, I think I'll win without the unity," Trump told backers recently in Raleigh, North Carolina. Will the party still be together when Trump leaves the Republican stage -- either this year, 2020 or 2024? That's another question altogether.

Who you gonna call?

2016: It's all remakes, but with women this time! This Friday is the premiere of the Ghostbusters reboot, and we're positive that some producer out there is piecing together an all-female Color Me Badd relaunch. Will Hillary Clinton complete the 20th century all-X-chromosome makeover?

Quite possibly, unless Donald Trump can turn around his standing among women voters. The latest poll shows a solid 24-point lead for Clinton among women voters, 59% to 35%. Bernie-supporting Tennessean Lauren Rolwing says Trump isn't an option for her. "At this time, I'm not going to take anything off the table other than voting for Trump," she says. "That's off the table."

He holds a slim lead among white women without a college degree, 48% to 45% -- but this is a demographic that normally goes to the Republican nominee by double digits. Is Clinton getting love from this demo? Hardly. Most of the Trump detractors in this group are voting against Trump, rather than for Hillary. "Trump is our only hope to gain our country back," Teresa Willis, 60, said at a Cincinnati-area rally last week. "I believe this election is our last chance."

"I don't like either of you," says Wisconsin voter Maggie Ensing. "Can we have someone else, please?" Trump, Clinton or a third-party candidate? Hey, we'll all get the chance to choose the form of the destructor in four months.

Bernie's platform: Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V

Over the weekend, Hillary Clinton announced support for investing in community health care centers, which offer primary care for those in areas with limited access to health care. Seems like we were just reading about this concept somewhere else, but where ... oh wait, we know where. It was the second time in less than a week that Hillary adopted a platform plank from Bernie's campaign ... on Wednesday, she proposed completely free tuition for in-state four-year colleges -- but only for students from families making less than $85,000 a year. (Sanders' proposal didn't necessarily come with an income test, so the Clinton plan is more of an homage than a line-by-line remake.)

"The proposal brought forth today by Secretary Clinton, working with our campaign, is an important step forward in expanding health care in America – and expanding health insurance and health care access to tens of millions of Americans," Sanders said in a statement shortly after the announcement. The lovefest between the two former rivals appears to be laying the groundwork for a possible endorsement tomorrow from Sanders. So much for that convention floor fight ... we were already making popcorn.

More from the campaign trail

• Newt Gingrich: 'It is more dangerous to be black in America' (Paste BN OnPolitics)
• Latest possible Trump VP pick is pro-abortion rights and a registered Democrat. Heads explode throughout the political spectrum (Paste BN OnPolitics)
• [This space reserved for whenever Hillary holds a press conference or visits a Sunday morning talk show]

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