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The Lompoc Record (Lompoc, CA)Firestone a delegate at GOP convention
http://www.lompocrecord.com/articles/2004/08/31/news/news19.txt
By Erin Carlyle - Staff Writer8/31/04

Fresh from the energy of thousands of GOP party activists at theRepublican National Convention in New York, Santa Barbara County 3rd DistrictSupervisor-elect Brooks Firestone felt awed at the power of democracy.Filmmaker Michael Moore, whose Fahrenheit 9/11 film sharply criticizedPresident George Bush, was among the members of the press sitting in plainview of the delegates."What a great country this is. A guy who said terrible things about thepresident," Firestone said.But praise was heaped upon the commander in chief at Madison Square Garden,where Firestone is among the Central Coast residents attending the GOPconvention, just four miles away from where terrorists attacks struck on Sept.11, 2001."The theme tonight was the war on terror," Firestone said. Arizona Sen. JohnMcCain endorsed the urgent need to go to war in Iraq, while former New YorkCity Mayor Rudy Giuliani expressed gratitude that Bush was in office when theattacks hit."New York is like an armed camp," Firestone said. "There are policeeverywhere. To get into the hotel you have to go through three checkpoints. Toget into the convention you have to go through about five checkpoints."On Monday delegates nominated the incumbents and voted to support theBush-Cheney platform, including support of constitutional bans on gay marriageand abortion. Firestone said the platform leans too far right for his tastes.Firestone contrasted the "upbeat" tenor of the convention's daytime sessionswith Sunday's march by thousands of protesters who shared "a tremendousanti-Bush theme.""The theme was very vitriolic about the president and not very pro-Kerry,"Firestone said.But Republicans Monday night had plenty of criticism for Kerry, characterizinghim as a flip-flopper unfit for the nation's highest office.For Firestone, attending the convention as a delegate is a chance to beinvolved in democracy."I study history and believe people should be involved," he said. He alsohopes to "refresh my communication with Sacramento-type people," which canonly help as the county interfaces with the state, he said.So far, a visit to the New York City Opera's rehearsal of La Boheme was amongthe trip highlights, Firestone said.The Associated Press contributed to this story.