About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 25, 2020)
LOCA^POLITICS The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com Tuesday, August 25, 2020 7A Scaled-down GOP national convention opens TRAVIS DOVE I The New York Times via Associated Press President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence give a thumbs-up after speaking during the first day of the Republican National Convention Monday, Aug. 24, in Charlotte, N.C. BY STEVE PEOPLES, MICHELLE L. PRICE AND DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON - Republi cans offered dark warnings about America’s future if President Don ald Trump fails to win a second term, opening their scaled-down national convention Monday night by casting the GOP as a protector of religious freedom, the nation’s workers and much more. A school teacher warned that conservative Christian values were under attack from labor unions. A small business owner charged that businesses across America were facing unwarranted pandemic shutdowns and riotous mobs. And Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida likened the prospect of Democrat Joe Biden’s election to a horror movie. “They’ll disarm you, empty the prisons, lock you in your home, and invite MS-13 to live next door,” Gaetz declared. Trump, who was not scheduled to deliver his keynote convention address until later in the week, made multiple public appearances throughout the first day of the four- day convention. And while the eve ning programming was carefully scripted, Trump was not. “The only way they can take this election away from us is if this is a rigged election,” Trump told hundreds of Republican del egates gathered in North Carolina, raising anew his concerns about Americans’ expected reliance on mail voting during the pandemic. Experts say mail voting has proven remarkably secure. The GOP convention marks a crucial moment for Trump, a first- term Republican president tasked with reshaping a campaign he is losing by all accounts, at least for now. A deep sense of pessimism has settled over the electorate 10 weeks before Election Day. Just 23% of Americans think the coun try is heading in the right direction, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. More than 177,000 Americans have been killed by the pandemic and millions more have been infected. Corona virus-related job losses also reach into the millions. Trump and his supporters on Monday night touted his response to the pandemic while standing alongside front-line workers in the White House. Organizers also repeatedly sought to cast Trump as an empa- thetic figure, borrowing a page from the Democrats’ convention playbook a week ago that effec tively highlighted Biden’s personal connection to voters. The evening program high lighted the tension within Trump’s Republican Party. His harsh attacks against Democrats who are trying to expand mail voting and demonstrators protesting deaths in police custody, for example, often delight his die-hard loyalists. Yet the party pointed to a somewhat more diverse convention lineup with a more inclusive message designed to expand Trump’s politi cal coalition beyond his white, working-class base. Two of the three final speakers on the prime-time program were people of color: former U.S. ambas sador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate. And one of several African Americans on the schedule, for mer football star Herschel Walker, defended the president against those who call him a racist. “It hurts my soul to hear the terrible names that people call Donald,” Walker said in prepared remarks. “The worst one is ‘racist.’ I take it as a personal insult that people would think I would have a 37-year friendship with a racist. ” However, the program also fea tured Mark and Patricia McClos- key, the St. Louis couple arrested after pointing guns at Black Lives Matter protesters marching past their home. “Democrats no longer view the government’s job as protecting honest citizens from criminals, but rather protecting criminals from honest citizens,” the McCloskeys said in prepared remarks that broke from the optimistic vision for America organizers promised. They added: “Make no mistake: No matter where you live, your family will not be safe in the radi cal Democrats’ America.” Those cheering Trump’s leader ship on the pandemic included a coronavirus patient, a small busi ness owner from Montana and a nurse practitioner from Virginia. “As a healthcare professional, I can tell you without hesitation, Donald Trump’s quick action and leadership saved thousands of lives during COVID-19,” Amy Ford, a registered nurse who was deployed to New York and Texas to fight the coronavirus. Some of the planned remarks for the evening program were pre recorded, while others were to be delivered live from a Washington auditorium. The Republicans gathered in contrast to the Democrats, who held an all-virtual convention last week. Trump said he had made the trip to North Carolina to contrast himself with his Democratic rival, who never traveled to Wisconsin, the state where the Democratic convention was originally sup posed to be held. Vice President Mike Pence appeared with him. The president has sought to min imize the toll of the coronavirus pandemic and he barely addressed it on Monday, but its impact was plainly evident at the Charlotte Convention Center, where just 336 delegates gathered instead of the thousands once expected to converge on this city for a week- long extravaganza. Attendees sat at well-spaced tables at first and masks were mandatory, though many were seen flouting the regulation. Trump also panned the state’s Democratic governor for restric tions put in place to try to prevent the spread of the virus, which has killed more than 175,000 people in the country and infected mil lions. The president accused Gov. Roy Cooper of “being in a total shutdown mode,” and claimed the restrictions were aimed at trying to hurt his campaign. Mecklenburg County Health Director Gibbie Harris said she had “shared concern about the lack of mask wearing and social distancing in the room” with RNC staff and had “been assured that they are working hard to address these issues.” Republicans will spend the week convinving the American people that the president deserves a sec ond term. Aides want the conven tion to recast the story of Trump’s presidency and present the elec tion as a choice between his vision for America’s future and the one presented by Biden. “Over the next four days, Presi dent Trump and Republicans are going to talk about all we have achieved the past four years, and cast an aspirational, forward- looking vision about what we can achieve in the next four,” said GOP Chair Ronna McDaniel. Besides formally awarding Trump the Republican nomina tion, delegates gathered in North Carolina also approved a handful of new resolutions, including one to keep Columbus Day as a fed eral holiday and one that labels the Southern Poverty Law Center, which catalogs the country’s hate groups, as a “radical organization. ” Another bemoans “cancel cul ture,” warning that it “has grown into erasing of history, encourag ing lawlessness, muting citizens and violating free exchange of ideas, thoughts, and speech.” But the delegates did not vote on a new 2020 platform, which details the party’s positions on key issues, after a unanimous vote to forgo one this year. Democrats were content to let Trump’s unfiltered message drive the day. While he campaigned aggres sively across the country through out last week’s Democratic convention, Biden made no public appearance on Monday. Braselton to hold Labor Day weekend fireworks fest Times file photo Red, White and Blue Redo What: Braselton patriotic reverse parade and fireworks show Parade: 6-8 p.m. at Year One parking lot, 1001 Cherry St., Braselton Fireworks show: Dark-thirty, around 8:30 p.m. in downtown Braselton Parade sign up: downtownbraselton.formstack.com/forms/2020reverseparade BY KELSEY P0D0 kpodo@gainesvilletimes.com Labor Day weekend is about to feel like July Fourth in downtown Braselton. Because of the pandemic, the city post poned its Independence Day festivities to Saturday, Sept. 5, and plans to make up for it with a “Red, White and Blue Redo.” “I know we’re all lacking in safe things to do in recent months,” Nikki Perry, Braselton’s tourism director, said. “We felt like it was important to give people an opportunity to enjoy some time with their family and celebrate Labor Day weekend.” To protect residents and visitors, Perry said the city plans to host a “reverse parade.” Instead of allowing spectators to line the streets and watch floats and deco rated vehicles pass by, the opposite will happen. From 6-8 p.m., Perry said all the parade’s entertainment will remain sta tioned in Year One’s parking lot at 1001 Cherry St. Attendees are asked to drive through the guided route as local busi nesses, organizations and individuals wave from their spaces. “It’s a no-contact parade,” Perry said. “You won’t have to worry about people in the parade approaching vehicles. They won’t throw candy or hand out any litera ture. We want to make sure this is safe.” Although the American Legion Post 7 in Gainesville had plans of postponing its July Fourth fireworks show to Labor Day weekend, Johnny Varner, veteran service officer, said Hall County officials “shot the whole thing down.” Laurel Park, which touches Lake Lanier, typically serves as the annual event’s venue. Varner said the celebration easily draws in over 5,000 people, mak ing it impossible to safely hold during the pandemic. “We were thinking of how we could do something at the Legion, but it doesn’t seem feasible at this point,” he said. “The numbers (COVID-19 cases) don’t help, they keep going up. Nobody wants the liability.” Braselton will hold its fireworks show around 8:30 p.m., after sunset. Instead of asking people to congregate in one place for its fireworks show, Perry said Braselton is encouraging people to space out and socially distance themselves in the downtown area. She said people can view the fireworks at Town Green, Braselton Park, the top of the city’s parking deck and “anywhere with an unobstructive view of the sky in downtown.” “We’re counting on the public to stay safe and take care of themselves,” Perry said. “More of our events have been can celed to keep the public safe. We’re hop ing that this is an opportunity for people to be responsible and come out and spend time with their family.” Businesses, organizations, churches and individuals who would like to par ticipate in the parade can sign up by vis iting downtownbraselton. f ormstack. com / forms / 202Orever separade. In-person job fair set for Sept. 15 witb precautions BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com An in-person job fair is set for Sept. 15 at the Gainesville Civic Center, but with precautions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some 45 employers are expected at the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce event, where job seekers will be able to “meet employers face to face” and apply for jobs, the chamber said in a recent press release. The chamber urges prospective employees to bring their resume but also wear a mask. Officials “will be taking measures to ensure the safety of employers and job seekers at this event with temperature checks, face masks, hand sani tizer, as well as extra-wide aisles and larger booth spaces,” the chamber said. This is the first in-person job fair the chamber has held since the COVID-19 pandemic, but it isn’t its first in-person event. Job Fair What: Some 45 employers will be interviewing job seekers When: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sept. 15 Where: Gainesville Civic Center, 830 Green St. Admission: Free The chamber held its annual Economic & Polit ical Forecast on Aug. 11 at Lanier Technical Col lege’s Ramsey Conference Center. The event had both an in-person and virtual audience. But then it canceled its 112th Annual Meeting & Gala, which had been scheduled for Sept. 10 at the Chattahoochee Country Club in Gainesville. The event, which draws hundreds to a packed ball room, had already been postponed from May 14. It was canceled because COVID-19 is “still prev alent in the community,” chamber president and CEO Kit Dunlap has said. Times file photo
