Four Republican Conventions have been disrupted by record-setting hurricanes at the time the presidents were actively involved with Israel’s covenant land; 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2020
(The numbers next to the hurricanes reflect their listing in “Top 30 Costliest U.S. Hurricanes: 1900-2017” http://www.stormfax.com/hurcost1.htm)
Republican’s 2004 Convention: Hurricane Frances (14)
Republican’s 2008 Convention: Hurricane Gustav (19)
Republican’s 2012 Convention: Hurricane Isaac (24)
Republican’s 2016 Convention: No hurricane and an excellent weather week. (The Republican Platform eliminated the two-state plan and replaced it with one state, Israel.)
Republican’s 2020 Convention: Hurricane Laura (the most powerful hurricane to hit Louisiana in 150 years, major Cat. 4 at landfall - NOLA)
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Four Republican Conventions greatly impacted by major hurricanes
There were three major record-setting, billion-dollar hurricanes at the time of the 2004 (Frances), 2008 (Gustav), and 2012 (Isaac) Republican Conventions. The fourth was Hurricane Laura, which dominated the news during the final two nights of this week’s Republican Convention, August 26–27 (chronology below).
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Hurricane Frances and the 2004 Republican Convention
On Tuesday, April 31, 2004, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon increased the size of his Gaza evacuations in response to Bush Administration pressure. That same day, Hurricane Frances increased to an enormous Category 4 storm with wind speeds of 140 mph.
Home evacuations began the next day in Florida, with 2.8 million people advised to evacuate—the largest such evacuation in Florida’s history. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush had to cancel his trip to the Republican Convention in New York City to monitor the hurricane response.
Thursday night's Sept. 2 nomination acceptance speech by President George W. Bush shared the top news billing with Hurricane Frances. A journalist stated, "Frances took some of Bush's thunder from him."
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Hurricane Gustav and the 2008 Republican Convention
The opening night of the 2008 Republican Convention was canceled as Gustav neared land, and the tone of the conference was subdued over concern that the massive Hurricane Gustav would be another Katrina.
President G. W. Bush canceled his planned appearance at the convention’s opening session to focus on preparations for Hurricane Gustav. He headed to Texas to monitor Gustav on Monday, Sept. 1, and Vice President Cheney left on Sept. 2 for Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine and Italy, as he couldn't reschedule his trip to stand in for the President.
President Bush's Tuesday, Sept. 2, evening address was an eight-minute taped message from the White House.
The day the major hurricane began to form was the same day that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was pressing Israel to sign a document by the end of the year that would divide Jerusalem and give the Palestinians a state in Israel's capital city as well as land in Judea and Samaria and Gaza Strip, according to multiple reports in major official Palestinian Authority media outlets.
WorldNetDaily reported that the U.S. was planning to issue a letter guaranteeing the country would back agreements reached during current Israeli-Palestinian negotiations—and aimed at creating a Palestinian state before President Bush left office in January.
The move was intended to ensure any agreements reached by the Israelis and the Palestinian Authority and spelled out in a joint document would be recognized by the next U.S. administration and binding for Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Gustav Chronology:
Saturday, Aug. 30, 2008 – President George W. Bush declares a state of emergency in Louisiana and Texas, empowering federal authorities to lead disaster relief efforts in the two states. White House spokesman Scott Stanzel says, "President Bush called to make sure the states were receiving all the assistance they needed from the federal government."
Sunday, Aug. 31, 2008 – CNN and others predict a $25 to $35 billion storm based on federal storm models. President Bush monitors Gustav from the White House.
Monday, Sept. 1, 2008 – President Bush travels to Austin, Texas, to monitor things from there rather than traveling to the GOP Convention.
Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2008 – President Bush delivers an eight-minute speech to the GOP Convention to endorse John McCain but does not talk about his record.
Monday, Sept. 1, 2008 – A weakened but still powerful Hurricane Gustav makes landfall around 10:30 a.m. eastern time as a Category 2 storm.
Monday, Sept. 1, 2008 - Tropical Depression 9 forms and becomes Hurricane Ike—an eventual $27 billion hurricane.
Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2008 – President Bush issues a Major Disaster Declaration for 34 of Louisiana's parishes. He travels to Louisiana to survey the damage and meet with the governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal.
In August 2008 the United States participated in behind-the-scenes peace negotiations on the future boundaries of a Palestinian state and the city of Jerusalem, along with a letter that would bind the next U.S. Administration to an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.
During this time period, the U.S. had record rains from Tropical Storm Fay (Aug. 8–17), an intense Hurricane Gustav (Aug. 25–Sept. 2) that cost billions of dollars and disrupted life in Louisiana, and then the massive Hurricane Ike (Sept. 1–14) that hit Houston, Galveston and other adjoining areas. Ike was a $27 billion hurricane according to the U.S. Department of Commerce Implicit Price Deflator for Construction.
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Hurricane Isaac and the 2012 Republican Convention
U.S. disagreement with Israel about Iran, timing of Hurricane Isaac, and the 2012 Republican Convention
Tropical Storm Isaac (yes, Isaac) became Hurricane Isaac and disrupted the 2012 Republican Convention in Tampa or, at the very least, once again become the main story during the next week's Republican Convention in Tampa.
Tropical Depression 10 developed on Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012, at the same time the Obama Administration continued their extreme pressure on Israel not to strike Iran—and within hours of the Republicans adding the "two-state" solution in Israel to their convention platform due to extreme pressure from AIPAC and Congressman Cantor (R-VA) to match Israel’s official position.
Concerns over Isaac’s path and size dominated the pre-convention news. The first night of the Republican Convention on August 27 was canceled due to Hurricane Isaac.
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Hurricane Laura and the 2020 Republican Convention
Tropical Depression 13, which became Hurricane Laura, began at 11:00 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, August 19. This was five hours after President Trump said at the White House that the Saudis will follow suit amid the UAE-Israel deal and that he would have interest in selling F-35s to the UAE.
Secretary State Mike Pompeo traveled to Israel, Sudan, Bahrain, UAE and Oman this week (chronology below).
The Category 4 150 mph Hurricane Laura intensified on Wednesday the day of Vice President Mike Pence’s speech and came ashore in the early morning hours of Thursday, the day President Trump gave his acceptance speech.
Hurricane Laura’s landing did not occur a day before, or a day after, but on the very day of President Trump’s message to the nation.
According to the Weather Channel, experts put Laura among the top 10 most powerful hurricanes to hit the U.S. The storm is also the strongest hurricane on record to hit this part of the Gulf coast, with wind speeds that reached nearly 150 mph before landfall, according to Space City Weather.