The Note: Pre-RNC Week Kicks Off In Cleveland

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July 11, 2016

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Pre-RNC Week Kicks Off In Cleveland

Everything You Need to Know About the Republican Convention Committee Meetings

It's the not-so-calm before the storm. With thousands of Republicans from across the country gearing up for next week's GOP convention, dozens are already gathering here in Cleveland for preliminary meetings that could upset Donald Trump's path to the White House, ABC's RYAN STRUYK reports. Delegates will spar over proposals for official positions of the Republican Party, as well as the finalized rules that will govern next week's convention. And handfuls of Republicans still hoping to block presumptive nominee Trump from winning the nomination will make their final Hail Mary effort. Here's everything you need to know about this week's convention committee meetings in Cleveland: http://abcn.ws/29xXoTq

Majority Disapproves of Decision Not to Charge Clinton on Emails

A majority of Americans disapproves of the FBI's recommendation not to charge Hillary Clinton with a crime over her handling of email while secretary of state, and a similar number in a new ABC News/Washington Post poll say the issue leaves them worried about how she'd handle her responsibilities as president if elected. Most also say the email controversy won't affect their vote choice in the presidential election. But more say it leaves them less rather than more likely to support Clinton, 28 percent vs. 10 percent. Reaction to the decision is highly political, with partisanship factoring heavily in people's views. Yet Democrats don't back Clinton up on the issue nearly as much as Republicans criticize her, and independents side more with Republicans. More from ABC's GREGORY HOLYK: http://abcn.ws/29nOrM5

Democrats Finalize Exceptionally Progressive Party Platform

The Democratic Party is on track to ratify what is arguably its most progressive policy agenda in modern history, after the committee tasked with writing the platform document finished its final round of amendments and votes overnight. The platform is expected to be formally adopted at the party's national convention in Philadelphia at the end of the month, ABC's MARYALICE PARKS reports. While the document is nonbinding, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has been laser-focused on it since the primary season wrapped up and has kept some of his top staffers on board to fight for the inclusion of his ideas. The Sanders campaign views the platform as tangible evidence that his campaign's efforts moved the party to the left and they hope the document will excite their fans and serve as leverage for lobbying policy details in next Congress and administration. http://abcn.ws/29yTDB3

Analysis -- ABC's Rick Klein

This summer of discontent has added some new elements to the anger and angst that have dominated the election year. This is now a fearful nation – afraid not just about changing economic and demographic forces, but of our collective security. It's a particular kind of fear, too – as much about the nation's emotional health as about its physical or even political well-being. It won't take long to see how this impacts the campaign. The next 17 days will include two vice-presidential selections and the entirety of both conventions. Such choices and such moments have been based on a particular vision for the year, with both campaigns seeing a nation defined by its divisions. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have been playing to the parties' respective bases, albeit in unique ways. This just might be the moment that changes all that, where a confluence of unpredictable political forces demands a new style of leadership – and new sets of choices along the way. Americans love to say they are united in the wake of national tragedies. Might there be a way to vote that way, too?