GOP Convention - Update 9/6

[WDWLVR]

I've been thinking of you there. Glad you are having a great time and thanks for sharing your experiences with us.

 

[palmtreegirl]

Too cool! Glad to hear you're having a good time!

 

[orvilleair]

The protest at FOX was probably orchestrated by CNN. lol,.

Thanks for the post. Be sure to keep the Ohio delegation in check.

 

[arminnie]

Originally posted by Sandy V.
Were you close to where the "heckler" was last night during the end of Arnold's speech? If so, what was your impression of what happened?

I think there was at least one heckler a night. I'm kind of getting them confused right now. One night there was someone right in front of Cheney's box - it took about 2 seconds for the person to be in the arms of police/agents escorting her out. She was screaming bloody murder and trying to grab onto the rails as they were taking her out. I think this was the first night - that was right in front of me. Another night it happened nearby my roommate who was in another section. She said that afterwards secret service were searching the aisle she had been in - like they were looking for something she dropped. I did not see that.

I think the biggest disturbance inside was one morning when about 4 protestors stood up with signs - this was during the morning session for young Republicans and was not the regular session. The only reason that I was in the building that a friend of mine was being interviewed upstairs with the press and I was waiting for her watching what was happening. In that case it was the young people who tore down the protestors signs before the police escorted them out.

An aside about the press boxes - Al Jazeera (I know I am spelling that wrong) had one. That kind of surprised me.

 

[arminnie]

Originally posted by bsnyder
What a great post, Minnie! Thanks for giving us the on-the-ground "scoop".

Please post again and let us know your impressions of President Bush's speech from an in--person perspective.

The Garden was just electrified! Balloons and confetti and streamers and people going wild. That was one night that I did not leave early.

 

[arminnie]

Originally posted by Disney Enthusiast
Do you know when your interview aired or will air?

It was a local feed back to Little Rock so I was not on the Fox Cable network. My sister taped it for me. I haven't had the nerve to look at it yet as my father called me the next day and told me not to be disappointed because I looked so HAGGARD!

 

[meeshi]

I missed this the first time and was wondering how things were going. That must have been such a wonderful experience! Thanks for sharing it with us!

 

[arminnie]

Originally posted by BuzznBelle'smom
How did it come about that you got chosen to be a delegate? Are the parties as great as the news makes out?

I think each state chooses its delegates differently according to the state party rules. Basically you file to run and state which candidate you are supporting. I presume that in states with an early primary and a contested race for the nomination you get elected according to who you support.

The filing fee to run in Arkansas was $125 so it was not thousands of dollars. The filing fee for the US senate in Arkansas is something like ten or twenty thousand dollars (I don't know the correct amount I just know that it is a lot). The filing fees go to the party not the state (at least here).

Arkansas has four congressional districts - there were district meetings and certain delegates and alternates were elected by district. It was an election at their district meeting - not an election at the polls. The remaining delegates and alternates were elected at the state convention. The district delegates were elected one at a time with nominating speeches etc.

To make it go easier and quicker at the state convention a slate was presented by the Governor (with lots of input from Republican officials and campaign staff). As I've only been back here for two years I agreed to only be an alternate not try to get to be a delegate. I was THRILLED to get to be an alternate.

Alternates get invited to all of the parties and sessions and even get guest passes. The only difference is that we don't have a vote and can't be on a committee like platform or rules. And that we don't sit on the floor.

The parties that I went to were really great, but we did not get invited to the big lobbyist parties nor are we a critical swing state like Ohio. All delegations got invited to a Broadway play (you were assigned by state - no choice). Afterwards we had a very nice party at the Copacabana hosted by several Arkansas companies (I think they did the same for Democ. delegates at their convention). It was a full open bar and "heavy" hors doeurves - the really good stuff.

I got to go to a luncheon at the Marriott Marquise honoring Laura Bush that was first rate. I also went to a party at the Lotos club (formerly a Vanderbilt home) that was very, very nice.

We had a state delegation breakfast the first morning and they passed out our "Goodie" bags - lots of books, mints, pins, even rice (produced in Arkansas).

Our Lt. Governor (Win Rockefeller) hosted a party one evening for Arkansas guests. I also went to the Mississippi party as a friend of mine had an invitation to that. The parties were all by invitation - I guess it would not have been that hard to wrangle some more invitations but I didn't go to all that I did get invited to. Every state had their own parties - the critical swing states got important visitors to come - like Pataki or Giuliani.

Several nights I went out to dinner at 1 AM - that is so NOT me.

 

[arminnie]

Originally posted by shortbun
I have to ask. When W was officially and unanymously
nominated tonight, it seemed that the music and the mood
didn't match. The music was kinda old 'soul' and the delegates
had to be encouraged to really get rowdy. Was that the feeling
on the floor too? Maybe they could pick better music, eh?
Or maybe the mood just didn't translate well on TV?

I am so the wrong person to ask about the music. I think I'm still lost in the 60s music (which is not a bad place to be lost).

Looking at the people on the floor I did see quite a bit of movement from my vantage point, but the place was packed to the gills on the floor. There was a huge amount of energy in the place but I'm not sure if it matched the music - again my ignorance - music was the hardest thing I had to take in school!

One of the things I did not understand was how they got everybody to do the same thing at the same time. Somethings could happen spontaneous and then travel across the floor, but that was not what I saw. Groups that were not in each other's line of vision started doing the same thing at the same time. If I find out I'll share.

 

[arminnie]

Originally posted by Tink&SquirtsMom
I saw on the news just now some student protesters who were able to actually get into Madison Gardens today and disrupt the convention for a short time. Hope no one was hurt and hope everyone knows that they in no way represent the majority of the democratic party.

I know that. My Democratic sister got up at 5:15 am to take me to the airport. On the return trip my Democratic sister-in-law drove me 1 1/2 hours to the airport for my return (I'd taken the train down to see her after the convention).

When interviewed by a TV station before I left I was asked if I was afraid of the demonstrators and I told them that I did not think that Democrats were terrorists. There's always a fringe element out there who don't know how to act. Sort of like those radical violent protests at abortion clinics.