2000 Republican National Convention
The 2000 Republican National Convention convened at the First Union Center (now the Wells Fargo Center) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 31 to August 3, 2000. The 2,066 delegates assembled at the convention nominated Texas Governor George W. Bush for president and former U.S. Secretary of Defense Richard B. "Dick" Cheney for vice president.
Convention
Cheney's acceptance speech[edit]
Cheney's convention address was the first to include sustained attacks on Vice President Al Gore, the presumptive Democratic nominee—whereas most of the speakers who came before him criticized the vice president only briefly, or without mentioning his name. (This was part of the Bush campaign's strategy to "change the tone" in national politics by moving beyond the division and bitterness of recent partisan discourse.) Cheney, however, was given latitude to lob various direct attacks on Clinton and Gore, and even reprised a line that Gore had used in his 1992 convention address attacking the first President Bush: "It is time for them to go."
This was the first vice-presidential acceptance speech in recent memory to be held the night before the presidential nominee's address. The standard practice at the time was for both nominees to give their speeches the same night. Cheney's speech began a tradition of vice-presidential nominees headlining their own night at the convention; two weeks later, at the Democratic convention, that party's vice-presidential nominee, Joe Lieberman, also spoke on the third night as opposed to the final night.
Bush's acceptance speech[edit]
In his speech, Bush attacked the Clinton administration on defense and military topics, high taxes, underfunded schools, high pollution, and a lack of dignity and respect for the presidency. He attacked Clinton's military policies, claiming that American troops were "not ready for duty, sir." He also claimed the Clinton administration had failed to provide leadership, saying, "They've had their chance. They have not led. We will."
Public reception[edit]
In July 1999, the LGBT+ community of Philadelphia held two protests on July 29 and 30. They did this in objection to Philadelphia hosting the Republican National Convention.[2] The protests resulted in the arrest of over 300 people.[3]
The initial protest was not target to the Republican Party specifically, rather, it was a call to change from both Republican and Democratic parties. The protesters felt that both political parties for the most part, ignored the needs and issues surrounding the LGBT community.[3]