#GOP2012 Thursday August 30

Street art the city missed, outside of downtown:

Some shops sold ponchos, because when it rains in Tampa, it pours:

Guys with a "Fix the Debt" petition talked to people riding the "freewheelin" vehicles:

A lone woman protested both Republicans and Democrats:

Doctors For America told everyone who would listen of the wonders of Obamacare:

They handed out fans with propaganda:

And talked to people from booths in white coats:

It ended up being crashed by a woman who wanted to mention Mitt Romney's dog:

(I didn't say anything to her about Obama eating his.)

The Westboro Baptist Church was still protesting, and people were still filming it:

A woman there was handing out pamphlets, and I took one. It told how natural disasters are caused by angering God:

And how to not make God angry:

It may seem weird, but it's better than another religious pamphlet I was handed by someone else. It was one long paragraph:

People were also handing out anti-lawsuit newspapers:

This man was unimpressed by Ron Paul supporters, he wore a "Ross Perot '92" T-shirt, possibly ironically:

A global warming beach party (because even non-religious people wanted to tell me the world would end):

And a man on a reclined bicycle with an Obama shirt:

I saw what was on the "Vote Pro-Life" truck. Aborted fetuses and pocket change:

This man was miffed that Florida's Attorney General gave a speech awkwardly (I'm not kidding):

And the man on this street corner was reading the bible, out loud:

#GOP2012 Wednesday August 29

Is this sign true?

"Generalissimo Buckhorn Declares Victory--Free Speech Dead"

Let's see!

Down the street, the feminists from yesterday's post, had been allowed to protest so much they were taking a rest:

There was a flurry of activity over at the Westboro Baptists Church protest:

It was because of a woman, with a "God bless these homophobic jerks" sign:

People, like those selling Romney/Ryan pins, stopped to watch the show:

There appeared to be a group taking turns holding the sign:

(About the Westboro Baptist Church:

If you've ever been to a state fair in America, you may have seen a clown sitting over a tank of water who hurls insults at people. The audience pays money to try and dunk the clown.

The Westboro Baptist Church has that act down cold. People seemed to enjoy yelling back at them, and I wonder if, in a way, the Westboro Baptists don't provide a type of scream therapy. When people are frustrated they often don't have anyone to vent their feelings towards, especially negative ones; the Westboro guys provide that.

I'm not sure if people need this type of therapy offered so aggressively though.)

A guy nearby was selling cookies, Obameos or Romneos:

Also around was a Ron Paul supporter, still angry about the change to convention rules:

As with every other day of the convention, there weren't many protesters. But there were a lot of photographers and film crews, taking pictures of anything they could find:

This is the "Real Delegates... Go Nuts!" memorabilia vendor, and there was a film crew jammed inside taking pictures of customers:

At the MSNBC stage, people were lined up taking pictures, they hoped of someone famous:

Finally, I found some more protesters; this time union guys getting ready to picket:

And I found out what the Biotechnology Industry Organization was doing in Tampa; handing out water and yogurt bars:

Strangely, the yogurt bars were "100% natural":

Regardless, they both have my endorsement!

Ron Paul supporters started setting up another protest at a street corner, with a big "Ron Paul for President" sign:

At this point, I don't think the Ron Paul guys are impressing anyone. In fact, they're making the case for everything they're protesting against.

The smaller protests seemed a lot more personal, and effective. Like these two people at a street corner:

Or this guy jogging with "Obama 2012" written on his undershirt:

Finally, I saw some Guardian Angels, who are known as a vigilante group. The police were there to make sure no one volunteered to help too actively:

#GOP2012 Tuesday August 28

I've been trying to get a picture of the mounted police for days and I finally did!

Several non-political organizations were at the convention.

Craftsmen tools were building a home for a veteran:

The Biotechnology Industry Organization had a mobile display:

Yelp was trying to get people to vote for yelp:

And there was a weird company with bicycle powered vehicles:

There were also protesters. I saw a lone man, near a press area, being ignored by everyone. He was happy I took his picture:

(His sign was about the national debt and blamed Republicans and Neo-Cons for it.)

Next I spotted some Ron Paul supporters:

But protesting wasn't allowed where they were so the police talked to them:

Nearby was the MSNBC stage:

And the Huffington Post Oasis:

One Ron Paul Supporter had handwritten signs taped to his car:

They said, "Don't Be A Fake Republican Vote Ron Paul", and, "RNC Changing rules while in play? That's called cheating!".

This Ron Paul supporter was more committed, incorporating a Ron Paul sign into his paint job:

I saw a few Ron Paul people handing out fliers, too. They were irritated about rule changes at the convention.

At Lykes Gaslight Park I found a larger group of Ron Paul supporters:

There weren't a lot of people, but they had energy:

And balloons!

Supposedly protests like this weren't allowed, nearby police didn't interfere:

They seemed to not bother small groups that behaved.

And there wasn't favoritism towards Republicans. Here are some "Christians for Obama" who also weren't stopped by the police:

I'm not sure if the vendors on the street were legal either. Here's one selling "Vote Them Out!" playing cards:

Now, to an officially sanctioned protest, the Westboro Baptist Church:

This sign reads, ""Homo Sex Is A Threat to National Security":

Lots of people, with iPhones, were interviewing members of the church. Other than that they weren't being bothered.

This guy was protesting nearby and made a point of saying he wasn't with the church:

Like everywhere else, there were officers in the background, making sure nothing got out of hand:

And the award for "worst protest" goes to "Man on the Cross". This is the park where it was supposed to happen, completely empty: