# 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.

## Background

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.
Republican National Convention presidential vote, 2000 :
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage |
| George W. Bush | 2,058 | 99.61% |
| Alan Keyes | 6 | 0.29% |
| John McCain | 1 | 0.05% |
| Abstentions | 1 | 0.05% |
| Totals | 2,066 | 100.00% |
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
### Day one: Monday, July 31

| Speaker | Speaker | Position/Notability |
| | Colin Powell | Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989-1993) |
| | Elaine Chao | Former president of the United Way of America (1993-1996) 4th U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation (1989-1991) Wife of U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell from Kentucky |

### Day two: Tuesday, August 1

| Speaker | Position/Notability |
| John McCain | U.S. Senator of Arizona (1987-2018) 2000 Republican presidential candidate |
| Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. | Retired general Allied Commander during the Persian Gulf War |
| Bob Dole | Former U.S. Senator from Kansas (1969-1996) 1976 Vice presidential nominee 1996 Presidential Nominee |
| George Pataki | 53rd Governor of New York (1995-2006) |
| Condoleezza Rice | Professor of political science and former provost of Stanford University |
| Laura Bush | 40th First Lady of Texas (1995-2000) Wife of George W. Bush |
| Elizabeth Dole | 20th U.S. Secretary of Labor (1989-1990) 8th U.S. Secretary of Transportation (1983-1987) Wife of Bob Dole |

### Day three: Wednesday, August 2

| Speaker | Speaker | Position/Notability |
| | Lynne Cheney | Former chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities (1986-1993) Wife of Dick Cheney |
| | Dick Cheney | 17th U.S. Secretary of Defense (1989-1993) Vice presidential nominee |

### Day four: Thursday, August 3

| Speaker | Speaker | Position/Notability |
| | Tom Ridge | 43rd Governor of Pennsylvania (1995-2001) |
| | George W. Bush | 46th Governor of Texas (1995-2000) Presidential nominee |

### Other attendees

| Speaker | Position/Notability |
| Henry Bonilla | U.S. Congressman of TX-23 (1993-2007) |
| Barbara Bush | Former First Lady of the United States (1989-1993) Former Second Lady of the United States (1981-1989) |
| George H. W. Bush | 41st President of the United States (1989-1993) |
| George P. Bush | Son of Governor Jeb Bush of Florida Nephew of George W. Bush |
| Andrew Card | 11th U.S. Secretary of Transportation (1992-1993) Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff (1988-1992) |
| Robert Conrad | Actor (1952-2019) |
| Bo Derek | Actress (1973-present) |
| Jennifer Dunn | Former Vice Chairwoman of the House Republican Conference (1997-1999) U.S. Congresswoman of WA-08 (1993-2005) |
| Gerald Ford | 38th President of the United States (1974-1977) |
| Bill Frist | U.S. Senator from Tennessee (1995-2007) |
| Chuck Hagel | U.S. Senator from Nebraska (1997-2009) |
| Melissa Hart | Senator from Pennsylvania's 40th State Senate District (1991-2001) Republican nominee for Pennsylvania's 4th Congressional District |
| Dennis Hastert | 51st Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (1999-2007) Leader of the House Republican Conference (1999-2007) U.S. Congressman from IL-14 (1987-2007) |
| Dwayne Johnson | Wrestler (1996-2004; 2013-2019; 2023-present) Actor (1999-present) |
| Lorrie Morgan | Musician (1972-present) |
| Trent Lott | U.S. Senator from Mississippi (1989-2007) Senate Majority Leader (1995-2001) |
| Sue Myrick | U.S. Congresswoman from NC-09 (1995-2013) |
| Jim Nicholson | Chair of the Republican National Committee (1997-2001) |
| Nancy Reagan | Former First Lady of the United States (1981-1989) |
| Richard J. Riordan | Mayor of Los Angeles (1993-2001) |
| Rick Schroder | Actor (1976-2016) |
| Ben Stein | Writer and Lawyer (1970-present) Actor and comedian (1986-present) |
| Connie Stevens | Actress and singer (1957-present) |
| Tommy Thompson | 42nd Governor of Wisconsin (1987-2001) |
| Tom Patrick Waring | Editor of the Northeast Times |
| J. C. Watts | U.S. Congressman from OK-04 (1995-2003) |
| Hank Williams Jr. | Singer-songwriter and musician (1963-present) Son of famous singer-songwriter Hank Williams [1923-1953] |
| Bruce Willis | Actor (1980-2022) |
| Steve Young | NFL Athlete |

## 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. The protests resulted in the arrest of over 300 people.
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.