Well, the Republican National Convention is over, although there were moments during Donald Trump’s one hour and 15 minute long acceptance speech when I wondered if it would ever actually end. Mind you, I’m a preacher and long-windedness is something I appreciate. My anxiety about wrapping up the speech was actually more about whether I’d get to see the balloons come down before I had to give up and go to bed.

Now you know I’m not a Trump supporter. Or at least you should know that by now. Neither am I a Hillary supporter. Although I’m way more conservative than Bernie Sanders I believe he was the candidate who most clearly articulated the brokenness of our political system and the way it favors the powerful corporate interests over ordinary Americans. I agree with Bernie that there is a need for a political revolution in this country. And I liked his ideas about Medicare for All and free tuition at State colleges and Universities.

I know…that makes me sound like a Socialist too. But I’m not. I’m on Medicare and I think it works pretty well. It beats the hell out of Obamacare which has been a disaster in our family and is leaving enrollees with huge deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses. According to the Kaiser Foundation many people are foregoing medical attention because they just can’t afford it. The other thing about Medicare for All is that it’s the only way to protect people from the predatory practices of the insurance companies.

And free tuition? Well, we already provide free public education for 12 grades. Why not 2 or 4 more if it means we can create a more educated workforce without saddling kids with huge college loan debt?

But I digress.

I’ll probably write-in Bernie Sanders in November. Just so you know.

But the point of this post is not to tout my presidential preference. It is to congratulate the Republicans for running a truly unconventional Republican National Convention.

Two things happened in Cleveland that were quite remarkable. One was letting Ted Cruz get up and not endorse the nominee. I personally think Ted is a jerk, but the very fact he was allowed to speak is something I’ve never seen before. And we are not likely to see anything like that when the Democrats meet in Philadelphia next week.

Allowing the dissenting voice – even letting it speak in Prime Time – was a magnanimous gesture. Yes, it exposed Cruz for being a self-serving ass, but it also demonstrated a willingness on the part of the Republicans to allow an opposing view. That’s a healthy thing. It will be interesting to see if the Democrats have anyone speak who refuses to endorse Secretary Clinton. I doubt it.

The second thing I liked was the speech given by Peter Thiel and the positive reception it received. One of the founders of Ebay, the openly gay Thiel spoke about the distracting ways Republicans focus on ridiculous social issues like who goes to the bathroom where. Thiel said, “I’m proud to be gay. I’m proud to be a Republican. But most of all, I’m proud to be an American.” And the delegates gave him a standing ovation.

For a Republican Party that in recent years has become something like an American version of the Taliban, these two moments at the Republican national Convention breathed a breath of hope into what was once the party of Lincoln.

To me, this UN-conventional-ism of the Republican gathering stood in stark contrast – and to some degree in contradiction – to the party platform adopted earlier in the week that more appropriately belongs to the Middle Ages than to 21st century America.

For that, let the balloons fall from the sky.

And lets go see what nice things I can say about the Democrats next week in Philadelphia.