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.