news-record.com

Local delegates to the Republican National Convention are bound for Minneapolis and St. Paul excited about their party’s choice for vice president and wary of a hurricane churning toward Louisiana.

Like the Democrats who met in Denver last week, Republicans won’t have a lot of work to do when their convention begins Monday. Arizona Sen. John McCain has been long established as his party’s nominee.

But McCain’s pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate gave local Republicans a charge as they packed their bags.

“I was very much hoping he would choose a woman,” said Rep. Laura Wiley, a High Point Republican and convention delegate. Her husband, Bruce Wiley, is an alternate to the convention.

This is Wiley’s first time attending her party’s grand political festival, something she said she has been hoping to do for a while.
But with Hurricane Gustav churning toward the Gulf Coast, some delegates worried not so much about travel arrangements but about how it would look to fete their nominee as a potentially damaging storm hits areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The storm is not expected to come ashore until Monday. News reports from the convention site say party officials are considering postponing the festivities if the damage is severe.

But as of Saturday, the convention was on, and state Sen. Phil Berger, a Rockingham Republican, was getting ready to attend his first convention as a delegate.

“The conventions for the most part serve as a mechanism to rally the troops and provide a snapshot for the larger population of what the party and what the nominee hope to emphasize during the campaign,” Berger said.

Berger said he hoped to see McCain and others stress the candidate’s experience in Washington and take aim at efforts of congressional Democrats over the past few years.

“Over the past two years of Democrats running Congress, we have seen nothing in the way of new solutions they’re promising to all the problems that are facing our nation,” Berger said.

Others said McCain needs to draw just as sharp of a contrast between himself and President Bush in order to answer criticism by Democrats that the Republican nominee is too closely linked to the administration.

“On very important things, McCain has differed with the president,” said Matthew Lambeth, 23, treasurer of the Randolph County Republican Party. “They need to highlight things to show that he’s the true maverick.”

Although some delegates are appointed or have seats by virtue of their elected positions, others like Lambeth are elected from Congressional districts.

“I’ve worked really hard for it,” he said.

In addition to getting a chance to meet fellow Republican activists, the convention provides the opportunity to meet rock stars of the political world.

Lambeth said he hoped to meet former New York mayor and presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani, as well as a few news personalities.

“One is Sean Hannity. And ever since I was a little boy, I’ve had a crush on Katie Couric, so I’d like to see her,” he said.

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com