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George W. Bush Campaign Buttons
Photo by John Fischer
Philadelphia may be governed by Democrats but for the next week it will be the Republican Party and their faithful who rule the city.
Thousands of delegates, alternates, party officials, guests and press have begun to arrive in the city for the 2000 Republican National Convention, which will run from Monday, July 31, through Thursday, August 3.
A national convention is a celebration of democracy in action. Men and women chosen across the nation in primaries, caucuses or state conventions come together to choose their candidates for president and vice-president of the United States.
While the outcome of this week's convention in Philadelphia is already etched in stone, few are disappointed in the fact that there will be no surprise when the delegates choose the ticket of George W. Bush for president and Richard Cheney for vice-president.
The party actually kicked off last Wednesday when PoliticalFest opened its doors at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. This "World's Fair of Politics" offers a great opportunity for the public to learn all about the American political system and see up close lots of political and historical memorabilia.
Throughout the week, we'll be doing updates of what is going on in the city both at he Convention itself as well as outside of the First Union Center. The Convention will be having an impact on every resident of the Greater Philadelphia area in one way or the other. There will be traffic delays, demonstrations, public celebrations such as huge fireworks displays and the summer Mummer's parade.