Republican National Convention: Day Three

TUESDAY, NEW YORK - Last night, inside Madison Square Garden, they repeatedly
drove home the message : Protect, preserve, ensure.
The only time they took a break was when former President Bush was introduced, taking
his seat as a pre-recorded tape of Van Halen’s ‘Jump’ reverberated through the arena.

Current New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg talked about the future; Former Mayor Ed Koch
talked about the present in the aftermath of 9/11, and eyebrows were raised when Gov. Schwarzenegger talked of being inspired by… Richard Nixon.
When the Terminator-turned-Governor announced that the Republican Party wanted to welcome all immigrants, there were a lot of blank stares.

If any of the delegates and their alternates visiting from across the country wanted
to see real immigrants up close, it was a short ride.

It is no longer than five minutes from the hoopla going on inside the
convention site to the dank bowels of the 34th Street subway station,
where signs warn you which areas have been sprayed with ‘raticide’ and
whose riders, those lucky enough to secure a seat among the crowds, lean
their heads back, close their eyes and try to push the memories of the day far away.

Instead, there were organized tours to immigrant landmarks.
The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island were on visual display for visiting delegates,
who were escorted from one exhibition to the next and returned to the arena.
Once inside, a ‘W 2004’ poster could be fetched for $10 at souvenir stands,
in addition to $15 ‘premium’ Bush/Cheney ‘04 golf balls and $3 re-election pins.

A subway ride to the New York neighborhoods would have been worth a
lifetime of understanding. With 6,400 subway cars, there were more than
enough to carry each of the 2,500 delegates and 2,300 alternate delegates between neighborhoods.

Instead, delegates were hustled away on police-escorted buses to do tourist things.
They will dine at Tiffany’s and dance at the Copacabana. They will be entertained at
Broadway shows, and sung to by country music singers Sara Evans and Brooks & Dunn when they take their place on stage inside The Garden. It is just a few flights above Penn Station,
a few floors from all those subway cars that will be running all night long with their destinations to everywhere.

Saratogian writer Thomas Dimopoulos is in New York City providing local
coverage of the Republican National Convention this week.