GOP hails Bush Irish record

And at exactly 199 words, it measures more than four times the length of the 47-word Democratic platform statement, unveiled in Boston last month.
The GOP statement, a draft of which has been seen by the Echo, was preceded Monday by a brief floor speech in Madison Square Garden by Susan Davis, president of the National Assembly of Irish American Republicans.
Davis was one of only four speakers allotted time to address issues classified as ethnic or special interest.
Ireland was not given separate floor time at the Democratic convention, but the party’s brief platform statement was followed by a far more comprehensive statement in a subsequent Kerry/Edwards policy book.
In her timeslot, which ran about two minutes, Davis thanked President Bush for his efforts on behalf of peace in Northern Ireland. She also devoted part of her time to highlighting the fact that Irish Americans are no longer tied at the hip to the Democratic party.
“Millions of Irish have come to the United States to embrace the promise of opportunity, to work hard in the belief that individuals can make a difference,” she said. “It is this belief that has led Irish Americans to the Republican Party. And it is the vision and leadership of President Bush that has led Irish American Republicans to this convention to say thank you.”
David thanked Bush for appointing “two exceptional envoys” to Northern Ireland and for traveling to Belfast to support full implementation of the Good Friday agreement.
She thanked Bush for his “public and private support” of the upcoming political talks and for spurring trade and partnerships that would benefit Irish and Americans.
“And thank you President Bush for again delivering a Republican Party platform that eloquently details our party’s commitment to peace and prosperity on the island of Ireland,” she said.
The platform itself states that Republicans “recognize and hail” President Bush’s “use of the prestige and influence of the United States to support the efforts of leaders in Ireland and the United Kingdom and the many other people of good will who are working to achieve a lasting and peaceful settlement in Northern Ireland.”
The platform endorses Bush’s “personal reaffirmation” of U.S. commitment to the Good Friday agreement and its full implementation, as expressed during Bush’s visit to Northern Ireland in April 2003.
The statement applauds the appointment of a special envoy to the peace process and the efforts to restore a “democratic process” in the North.
“We share the president’s commitment that America’s support for this vital work will continue,” the draft statement adds.
It goes on to say that the GOP supports the U.S. commitment to Northern Ireland’s economic development, including support for the International Fund for Ireland and private U.S. investment there.
This would be done “with care to ensure fair employment and better opportunities for all.”
The statement concludes by saying that though the burdens of history “weigh heavily upon this land we cheer its people for taking the lead in building for themselves and for their children a future of peace and understanding.”
Unlike the GOP’s platform statement four years ago, widely viewed as a groundbreaking move for the party, the 2004 version concentrates entirely on Northern Ireland and does not address Irish issues rooted in U.S. soil, most notably the cases of the deportees.
The 2000 statement, unveiled that year at the Republican convention in Philadelphia, called for a “review of issues” of deportation and extradition arising prior to the Good Friday accord. It also included a specific call for complete implementation of the Patten Commission’s recommendations on police reform. Policing is not mentioned this time, although agreement on policing is presumably implied in the reference to a lasting and peaceful settlement in the North.
The NAIAR founder, Rear Adm. Jim Carey, said that the new GOP platform statement was the second in a row to be “much stronger” and supportive of the issues important to Irish Americans than the Democratic platform.
Against the backdrop of the convention, meanwhile, NAIAR organized two Irish events in Manhattan over the four days of the convention.
On Tuesday, the group hosted a “Celebration of Irish Heritage” at the Irish Hunger Memorial in Battery Park City, while on Wednesday evening it was set to throw down the gangplank for “Blarney Bash 11” on board a tall ship berthed at the South Street Seaport.
The “bash” is specifically intended to honor what NAIAR has calculated as being the 52 members of the House of Representatives, nine U.S. senators and 12 governors who are both Irish American and Republican.
The main honorees at the Seaport event are Secretary for Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson and Rep. Jack Quinn from upstate New York.