2000 Republican National Convention

2000 Republican National Convention

2000 presidential election
Nominees Bush and Cheney
Convention
Date(s)	July 31 – August 3, 2000
City	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Venue	First Union Center
Candidates
Presidential nominee	George W. Bush of Texas
Vice presidential nominee	Dick Cheney of Wyoming
Voting
Total delegates	4,335
Votes needed for nomination	2,172
Results (president)	Bush (TX): 4,328 (99.61%) Keyes (MD): 6 (0.29%) McCain (AZ): 1 (0.05%) Abstention: 1 (0.05%)
Ballots	1
‹ 1996  ·  2004 ›

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 2000 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.

Political context[]

The First Union Center, now known as the Wells Fargo Center, was the site of the 2000 Republican National Convention

Bush, eldest son of the 41st president, was identified early as the party establishment's frontrunner and turned back a strong primary challenge from John McCain, a Vietnam War veteran and U.S. Senator from Arizona. At the convention, the party and campaign sought to showcase Bush's slogan of compassionate conservatism to persuade undecided voters.

Roll call vote[]

Instead of holding the roll call of states on one night, the Bush campaign arranged for the voting to take place over four nights, so that Bush would eventually build up support throughout the week, culminating with Cheney's home state of Wyoming finally putting him over the top on the final night. There were few defections, despite a large contingent of delegates having been elected to support McCain, who formally released them to Bush.

The convention then voted by acclamation to make the convention nomination unanimous. Cheney's nomination as vice president had also been approved by acclamation on Wednesday night, so Cheney could address the convention later that night as the official nominee.

Cheney's acceptance speech[]

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[]

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."

Speakers[]

July 31[]

• Colin Powell, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Elaine Chao, former president of the United Way of America married to U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell from Kentucky

August 1[]

• John McCain, U.S. Senator from Arizona
• Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr., retired general and allied commander during the 1991 Persian Gulf War
• Bob Dole, former U.S. Senator from Kansas and 1996 Republican Presidential Nominee
• George Pataki, Governor of New York
• Condoleezza Rice, professor of political science and former provost of Stanford University
• Laura Bush, school librarian married to George W. Bush
• Elizabeth Dole, former Secretary of Labor married to Former Republican Presidential Candidate Bob Dole.

August 2[]

• Lynne Cheney, former chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities married to Dick Cheney
• Vice Presidential nominee Dick Cheney, former U.S. Secretary of Defense

August 3[]

• Tom Ridge, governor of Pennsylvania
• Presidential nominee George W. Bush, governor of Texas

Other attendees[]

• Henry Bonilla
• Barbara Bush (Former First Lady)
• George H. W. Bush (Former President)
• George P. Bush (Son of George W.'s brother, Jeb Bush, Governor from Florida)
• Andrew Card (Former United States Secretary of Transportation)
• Robert Conrad
• Bo Derek
• Jennifer Dunn
• Gerald Ford (Former President)
• Bill Frist (Senator from Tennessee)
• Chuck Hagel (Senator from Nebraska)
• Melissa Hart (Congresswoman from Pennsylvania)
• Dennis Hastert (Speaker of the United States House of Representatives)
• Dwayne Johnson (The Rock)
• Lorrie Morgan (country music recording artist)
• Trent Lott (Senate Majority Leader)
• Sue Myrick
• Jim Nicholson (RNC Chairman)
• Nancy Reagan (Former First Lady)
• Richard J. Riordan
• Rick Schroder
• Ben Stein
• Connie Stevens
• Tommy Thompson (Governor of Wisconsin)
• ()
• J.C. Watts
• Hank Williams Jr.
• Bruce Willis (Actor)
• Steve Young

Public reception[]

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]

See also[]

• Republican Party presidential primaries, 2000
• History of the United States Republican Party
• List of Republican National Conventions
• U.S. presidential nomination convention
• 2000 Democratic National Convention
• 2000 United States presidential election
• George W. Bush presidential campaign, 2000

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2000 Republican National Convention.

• George W. Bush's nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC (transcript) at The American Presidency Project
• Republican Party platform of 2000 at The American Presidency Project
• PBS Online NewsHour: Republican Convention 2000, archive including transcripts, analysis, interviews, photographs, and streaming audio/video.
• CNN AllPolitics: Republican Convention 2000, archived facts, news, speech transcripts, party platform, and links
• Rocca, Mo. Report From Philly: What's Wrong With Rabble Rousing? A Correspondent For "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" Tried His Best To Ruffle Feathers At The Convention. A Web Exclusive By Mo Rocca. Newsweek.com. Aug 14, 2000.
• Video of Bush nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC (via YouTube)
• Audio of Bush nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC^{[permanent dead link]}
• Video of Cheney nomination acceptance speech for Vice President at RNC (via YouTube)
• Audio of Cheney nomination acceptance speech for Vice President at RNC^{[permanent dead link]}
• Transcript of Cheney nomination acceptance speech for Vice President at RNC