Posted on 08/28/2004 5:14:56 AM PDT by BigWaveBetty
Go to the GOP Convention site for interactive chats, an electronic backstage pass, program schedule and news.
Please share stories and pictures of the convention.
Godspeed to Iowa Granny and Hillary's Lovely Legs on their trip to the convention!
Really good interview with Laura Bush by Deborah Orin.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY DICK AND LYNN CHENEY (shown here with two of their four grandkids)
Geez, Blather will say anything to get ratings.
Just spoke with HLL, she's on the plane headed for NYC. HLL reports there are a few on board who look like protesters. She'll call again when she gets settled in.
I apologize for the rude photo I posted earlier.
I'm making amends with these 10 Most Essential NY fashion tips. Should give IG a laugh.
What, no pearls??
Will be looking for you Mountaineer!
MZ also was there - we saw her when we arrived, but not after we all had gone through security. Perhaps she'll have stories to tell. All we can say is that he was greeted by a great deal of enthusiasm. A couple of steelworkers - union members, one a self-described Democrat - spoke before Dubya and absolutely kicked butt.
One interesting thing - not a single protester! We decided it's because they really just don't care enough, so unless they're transported and paid, they just don't bother. Big contrast to when Kerry was in Wheeling, and about 50 of us showed up to taunt.
I hope our rally is on C-SPAN so you all can see not all West Virginians are mindless Byrd voters!
M--Did you see today's Page Six? Cindy Adams' column is the most hateful, stereotyping, outdated, small-minded piece of trash I've read in a long time...straight outta the 50's.
DELEGATES COMING! DELEGATES COMING!And it gets worse from there. What were her editors thinking?!August 29, 2004 -- BOARD up Wendy's, Denny's and Arby's. Get off the streets. The dele gates are coming.
What hasn't been mentioned is the many tactical problems associated with them coming here. For instance, airlines don't know if a spittoon is considered carry-on. Another thing, not all of our hotels are goat-friendly. And our restaurants have a dress code: no overalls. Our stores are shutting down because they know (A) that even the Religious Right realizes J.C. can also mean Penney. And (B) these people won't buy fall wardrobe made of real wool. They have to protect their family members. And (C) our cops are confused. They don't know if chewing tobacco is against the law.
Aliens from far-off galaxies like Louisiana and Utah are invading us.
I met one delegate's girlfriend. She was a cow. A real cow.
WHEELING, W.Va. (Reuters) - President Bush portrayed himself as a friend of the U.S. steel and mining industries on Sunday on the eve of the Republican National Convention, while he chastised Democrat John Kerry as a flip-flopper in the battleground state of West Virginia.
"I'm hunting for votes," the Republican incumbent told a deafening crowd of 10,000 supporters at a campaign stop in Wheeling, West Virginia, part of a weeklong tour of key swing-states leading up to his arrival at the convention in New York on Wednesday. Bush reminded his audience of his readiness to impose protective tariffs on inexpensive steel imports in 2002 and touted his administration's $447 million support package for clean coal technology, widely seen as a linchpin of the coal industry's future in the United States.
"If we think an industry is being treated unfairly, we'll enforce the law," Bush said. "I thought I needed to stand up for steel, and I did stand up for steel ... and it worked. The plan worked. These folks back here are working at good jobs, high-paying jobs." ...
Bush accused Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, as a flip-flopper who once described coal as a dirty source of energy but has since tried come out in favor of coal legislation. "He's out there mining for votes. Be careful of somebody whose position shifts in the wind," he said.
As hundreds of thousands of protesters converged on New York to denounce the president's policies ahead of Monday's convention start, Bush was introduced as a "man of steel" -- by a registered Democrat who serves as a steelworkers union shop steward -- after meeting with half a dozen local steelworkers.
With Bush and Kerry running neck-and-neck nationwide, West Virginia could prove key to the outcome of the November election. The president won the heavily Democratic state and its five Electoral College votes from Democrat Al Gore in 2000 by advocating for coal and gun ownership rights. Gore would have become president if he had proved the victor in West Virginia. ....
Pretty quick! I see you've already posted to the separate thread I put up on the Cindy Adams column.
Y'all come on over...we're gonna have a Cindy roast!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1202509/posts?page=18
Associated Press coverage:
WHEELING, W.Va. -- President Bush said today that Democrat John Kerry is using ``upside-down'' logic when he says terrorists' recruiting efforts are getting a boost from the war on terrorism.
``During the '90s, the terrorists were recruiting and training and plotting for war with us long before we went to war with them,'' said Bush, campaigning for re-election in West Virginia.
Sen. Kerry of Massachusetts, Bush's Democratic rival, has said administration policies create anti-American sentiment around the world and encourage rather than discourage people to join terrorist cells.
``I think it's wrong to provide excuses for their (terrorists') hatred,'' Bush said. ``You don't create terrorists by fighting back. You defeat the terrorists by fighting back.''
....
Inside the hall where Bush spoke, supporters did a stadium-style wave with large blue and yellow signs cut in the shape of Ws. Kerry supporters stood outside the entrance to the rally site, one holding a sign that said ```W' orst President'' and ``Intelligence Failure Begins with the President.''
The burly fellow at right, in white golf shirt, is another steelworker - and pastor - who spoke prior to Bush's talk. These two guys did so well. BTW, West Virginia's only Republican congressional representative is the woman at left in the bright-colored pantsuit, Shelley Moore Capito.
Thanks for the pic and the information there.
Stayin' alive....ah, ah , ah , ah stayin'alive!
This is wierd. "My Comments" tells me you posted a reply to me....and it says it's #93 OF 92!??? It doesn't show up when I go to the Guild.
What's going on?
Cspan reairing the speech now. I hope to post pictures later this eve.
There it is....LOL!
Try hitting the reload button to keep updating
And not of one of them was bused in!
Sounds like a fabulous time! God bless Wheeling, WV for showing our president how much we love him. :-)
Mine was doing something similar, I would hit post, it would take me to this page and no post. If I went back and re-hit post it'd post twice. ???? I thought it was my wacky computer and the power going off and on.
We thoroughly enjoyed hearing the speech once more on C-SPAN. At the very end, where W blew a kiss before exiting the arena, Mr. M swears he was looking right at me! LOL, be still my heart. I also saw Dubya shake hands with the Russian I girl who played college b-ball at WLSC (6'10") and who freeped Kerry with us last month. What a thrill for her!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.