Republican National Convention

The Republican National Convention is a convention held to revise and approve the Republican National Platform, and to nominate the Republican candidates for President and Vice President.

Questions to be resolved at the 2012 convention include:

• will RINOs allow the elected Maine Ron Paul delegates to be seated at the convention?
• will RINOs prevent speakers from making meaningful statements against abortion and same-sex marriage issues, in prime time?
• will the Republican National Platform criticize Planned Parenthood this time?
• will someone more conservative than Paul Ryan, such as Allen West, at least be nominated for vice president?
• will RINOs really exclude conservative Florida congressman Allen West and Sarah Palin from speaking at the convention?

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This convention is held every four years, in the summer before a presidential election. It lasts about 4 days on average, and typically features speeches from liberal Republicans while excluding conservatives.

The Republican National Convention also considers and approves the official platform for the Republican Party. Nearly all state Republican Party organizations typically adopt the national platform, and most Republican candidates campaign on the principles set forth in the party platform.

2012 convention

The 2012 Republican National Convention is scheduled to be held in Tampa, Florida from August 27 to 30. This year's convention excludes presentations by the energetic conservatives Allen West, Sarah Palin, Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul, and Herman Cain.

The list of speakers include former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Rand Paul, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, New Mexico Governor Susanna Martinez, Ohio Governor John Kasich, Florida Governor Rick Scott, whose state is hosting the convention, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, Rob Portman, Kelly Ayotte, Bob McDonnell, Connie Mack, John McCain, Jeb Bush, and Artur Davis. The keynote speech will be given by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. The first speaker at the convention will be Ann Romney.

In a move reminiscent of the unnecessary panic that arose during the Hurricane Irene debacle, in which the Michael Bloomberg administration inconvenienced millions of New Yorkers for no good reason, the RNC decided to delay the start of the convention by at least one day over fears that a tropical storm may interrupt the proceedings. This delay was put in place even though Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus told reporters that : "We don't think it will hit Tampa,"

Prior conventions

The 2000 convention was held in Philadelphia, PA. The 2004 Convention was held in New York City, New York, and the 2008 Convention was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Most Republican National Conventions that have led to victory have been contentious:

• 1952 - epic struggle between Robert Taft and Dwight Eisenhower for the nomination
• 1968 - multiple candidates, including Ronald Reagan, stayed in the race until the convention
• 1980 - Reagan passed over Gerald Ford and picked George H.W. Bush as V.P.
• 1988 - George H.W. Bush picked Dan Quayle as V.P., and received a "bounce" in the polls that continued through the election

External Links

• Official site for 2012 Convention
• Official site for the 2008 Convention
• Official RNC site
• A Sample of What Happens at Conventions
• Past Conventions