Philadelphia convention about more than just George W. Bush

By David Drucker

Daily Bruin Contributor

The Republican National Convention opens July 31 in downtown
Philadelphia with the goal of reaching out to the moderate majority
of voters and officially nominating Texas Gov. George W. Bush and
his running mate Richard B. Cheney to the 2000 GOP presidential
ticket.

The California Republican Party, the largest state delegation
attending the RNC at First Union Arena, sees the convention as
crucial despite the fact that the nomination is a foregone
conclusion.

“We have more races at stake than just the White
House,” said CRP Communications Director Stuart DeVeaux.
“We want to maintain our majority in the Senate and help
elect Tom Campbell, who’s challenging Senator Feinstein for
her Senate seat.”

DeVeaux said it’s also important for the CRP to try to
increase the Republican majority in the House of
Representatives.

Class of ’95 alumnus Dave Louden, campaign manager for Tom
McClintock’s (R-38th Assembly district) election bid to the
19th State Senate district, agrees that the RNC remains
significant. He said Bush’s popularity among Republicans and
Independents who consider GOP candidates will play a major role in
their attendance at the ballot box.

“What the CRP relies on to motivate Republicans to go out
and vote is the “˜top’ of the ticket,” Louden
said.

Louden added that the GOP presidential nominee’s success
directly affects the success of the entire GOP slate.

“The better George W. is thought of nationwide, the better
he’ll be perceived in California,” Louden said.
“That support will trickle down to the Republican candidates
throughout the State.”

DeVeaux maintained that the RNC is about more than just the
presidential nomination.

“The convention is still very important to the
party,” DeVeaux said. “It will help us encourage
grassroots activists, new Republican voters, and undecided
voters.”

But amid the political brouhaha of the 37th RNC and its
estimated 45,000 attendees ““ including 15,000 media members
““ a healthy contingent of protesters plan on employing
nonviolent action to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with GOP
policies and ideology.

“Our purpose is to point out the fundamentally
anti-democratic nature of the American political system, which
applies to democrats and republicans alike,” said R2K
spokesman David Levy.

“We have a one party system with two factions that we call
the “˜corporate party’,” Levy continued.

Former UCLA history professor John Bader, who recently left the
university to work for Democrat Jon Corzine’s U.S. Senate
campaign in New Jersey, said political turmoil is a part of
convention tradition.

“If you look back in time, you realize that conventions
were in fact more interesting, because the outcomes were not as
predetermined as they are now,” Bader said. “There used
to be lots of deal-making and excitement.”

Levy said R2K, a protest umbrella group allied with its
Democratic National Convention counterpart D2K, has had more
cooperation with Philadelphia city officials than D2K has had with
Los Angeles.

But he said he remains suspicious of the Philadelphia Police
Department’s attitude toward the protesters.

“The situation here is probably better than it is in Los
Angeles,” Levy said. “But we are definitely concerned,
judging by the Philadelphia Police Department’s past
behavior.”

Philadelphia Police Department spokeswoman Lt. Susan Slawson
attempted to assuage those concerns, and said she doesn’t
expect the RNC to turn into another Seattle ““ referring to
the World Trade Organization conference last November.

“We’re not worried that there’s going to be
that kind of violent protesting. We’re simply prepared in the
event that it happens,” Slawson said.

Slawson also mentioned that her department is taking tactical
precautions to ensure that violence between protesters and the
police is a non-event.

“The police officers the protesters will be dealing with
will be plainclothes officers. We will not have uniformed officers
on the front lines,” Slawson said. “These officers know
how to use the gift of gab to calm a situation down.”

Levy said Philadelphia city officials, including the
Mayor’s office, have adopted a more conciliatory attitude
toward R2K since the alleged beating of a criminal suspect by
police in North Philadelphia in early July.

He said he remains cautious, though, of law enforcement’s
commitment to refrain from unprovoked violence.

“The highest likelihood of violence is police violence on
nonviolent protesters, as took place in Seattle,” Levy
said.

“We are concerned because of the general attitude of
police officers when it comes to the respecting or disrespecting of
the rule of law. We are hoping they will be on their best
behavior,” he continued.

Slawson said protesters who obey the law don’t need to
worry.

“Our officers have been trained to be verbally abused, our
job is to take that abuse,” Slawson said.

“As a protester, you can say whatever you want, you just
can’t do whatever you want,” Slawson continued.