Weather forecasts and some factoids about the GOP and Democrats’ conventions
Wednesday, May 30, 2012 at 12:50PM 
Republican symbol from GOP.comThe Republican National Convention in Tampa (Fla.) and the Democrats’ gathering in Charlotte (N.C.) will be held roughly midway through hurricane season, 2012.
Do convention-goers have any cause to worry? Besides that, what makes each convention city special? Both Florida and North Carolina are, in case you didn’t know, considered swing states in the 2012 General Election.
The Old Farmer’s Almanac suggests hurricanes won’t be a problem for either major political party’s convention. I’m a believer in that almanac; I’ve read it for many years because that’s the guide my grandmother planted her garden by. It’s also a great tool for star, planet and moon gazing.
For Republicans, the forecast for Tampa is seasonable, with slight cooling from the summer heat period. There’s a chance of the popup storms Florida is famous for, but nothing to merit serious concern. Average temps should range around 80 degrees.
Republicans will gather in the city U.S. soldiers more or less founded by building Ft. Brooke in 1824. The territory became part of the U.S. in 1845. The city has the 7th largest port in the nation, and railroads helped Tampa grow. A city government page also notes, “In 1914 Percival Ellicott Fansler introduced the world's first scheduled commercial airline service with the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line.”
The GOP convention kicks off on August 27, one day after Women’s Equality Day. Republicans played a key role in women’s suffrage, with 36 GOP senators voting for the amendment that would be sent to the states. Twenty Democrats voted for it.
As everyone knows, President Abraham Lincoln is considered the spiritual father of the GOP, the party I am registered with because most of its current tenets (smaller government, less federal spending, strong military, not obstructing small business and states' rights) are in line with my own.
A major holy feast day occurs during the GOP convention—St. Augustine of Hippo on Aug. 28. Encyclopedia Britannica called him “the most significant Christian thinker after St. Paul.”
Democrats can also anticipate fairly good weather, if the almanac’s predictions prevail. Average temps should be in the 70s for the conference that spans the Labor Day holiday, symbolic perhaps of the party’s ties to big organized labor. Charlotte may be stormy that week, but no hurricanes are in the forecast.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg website said:
“Once called Charlottetowne, the city was named Charlotte in 1762 in honor of the British Queen ‘Charlotte Sophia’ while the county was named Mecklenburg to denote the region in Germany where she was born.”
One challenge for convention planners will be the tunnels that run beneath Charlotte. Most Southerners know they’re there, but they can pose a challenge to those in charge of security.
Gold mining played an important role in Charlotte’s history; I once wrote an article for an outdoor magazine about the gold rush in the South predating the California rush.
President Andrew Jackson would be considered the spiritual founder of the party now associated with Leftist principles, regulations on steroids, redistribution of U.S. wealth and big government.
Judging by the Texas Primary on Tuesday, Gov. Mitt Romney will be the GOP nominee to face Democrats’ nominee President Barack Obama in November.
Romney brings a record of success in the private sector as well as a message of prosperity and government reform aimed at all Americans.
The same can’t be said for the Dems’ nominee.
Hopefully you’ll find my candor about my political affiliation refreshing. The same can’t be said of most traditional media unfortunately, although it's a fairly safe bet most writers in that realm are Dem supporters.
Related
Passage of the 19th Amendment (Fordham University)
Romney up close... (The US Report)
(Commentary by Kay B. Day/May 30, 2012)