"I had never been to a national convention before so it was quite an experience," said Connell. He had been one of over 70 registered Republican voters to be elected delegates and alternate delegates from Massachusetts to represent the Bay State's GOP. A total of 2,509 delegates and 2,344 alternate delegates attended the RNC, which was held at Madison Square Garden (MSG) in New York City from August 30 to September 2.

How the Westford-based filmmaker became a delegate was an adventure unto itself. When Connell expressed an interest in attending the RNC, he was told by Massachusetts GOP insiders that delegate and alternate slates in all ten congressional districts had already been assembled and that activists were expected to support the anointed delegates and alternate delegates. Even those closest to President George W. Bush were alleged to have blessed the arrangement, which Connell would later discover was not in fact true.

"That didn't sit well with me," he admitted. "So I worked with several other people who wanted to go to the convention. We put together a diverse group of Republican voters in our respective areas, rented a bus and attended the caucus in Lawrence."

Dubbed "the coup of Lawrence" by some Republican activists, Connell succeeded in getting himself elected as one of three delegates from the Bay State's Fifth Congressional District. He also succeeded in electing as alternate delegates two of his supporters, Cambodian-Americans Sothy Chau and Stephen Thong of Lowell. "It was a tremendous victory for genuine diversity and grass-roots activism," mused Connell. "I'm proud of what we accomplished."

With his wife accompanying him as his guest, Connell took a train from Providence (RI) to New York City to attend the convention. At the halfway point in their journey, bomb-sniffing dogs and heavily armed police officers boarded the train. When the couple reached their destination at Penn Central Station, they were amazed at what greeted them.

"The place was crawling with cops, bomb-sniffing dogs and paramilitary units strategically stationed all over the place," recalled Connell. "We had to walk a few blocks from the train station to get a cab because taxis weren't allowed near Penn Central."

The couple stayed at the Drake Hotel on Park Avenue with the rest of the Massachusetts delegation. Security was tight. "Bomb-sniffing dogs and cops were always stationed outside our hotel," Connell observed. "All delegates and guests had to show their hotel cards and IDs or they would be refused access to the elevators to reach their rooms."

Every morning during their stay the delegates would be given their credentials du jour and instructions on what to do or where to go. Talking points were to be used if and when they would be approached by reporters from the local, national or international media.

Between convention sessions, Connell attended several lavish parties thrown by corporate sponsors or individuals like US Senator John McCain (R-AZ). "I liked the McCain party the best," enthused Connell. "They had open bars, buffets galore and live entertainment hosted by Joe Piscopo. McCain even mingled with (his guests). It was a great time."

The convention itself proved to be equally exciting on many different levels.

"It was thrilled to listen to actors like Ron Silver and Arnold Schwarzenegger defend Bush's war on terror," Connell recounted. "Republicans delegates at the convention may differ on social issues or aspects of economic policy but all of us support the defense of our country and America's campaign to take the war against the terrorists straight to their own turf."

He noted the appearances of other media celebrities at the convention such as Rip Torn, Angie Harmon, Joe Pantoliano, Al Franken, and Michael Moore.

"Franken and Moore had media passes," explained Connell. "Even Al-Jazerra had their own booth. No one can say that Bush's biggest media enemies were kept out of the convention."

He said that US Senator Zell Miller (D-GA) garnered the most tumultuous response from the delegates. "They acted like they were protein-starved they way they were reacting to all the red meat one-liners that Miller tossed to them," chuckled Connell. "Arnold was very entertaining and (Maryland Lt. Governor) Michael Steele made a great impression on us all as a rising star."

President Bush's received a hero's welcome from the delegates and gave a speech that was in parts somber, humorous and defiant. "When he talked about how humbled he was in the presence of the families of servicemen killed in action, there wasn't a dry eye in the house," Connell observed. "It was probably the best part of his speech."

Although the largest contingent of protestors was kept far away from MSG, several protestors succeeded in getting into the convention. One tried to disrupt the speech given by Vice-President Dick Cheney and two others tried to heckle President Bush during his convention address. All three were quickly whisked away by security.

From time to time Connell and his fellow delegates would encounter hostile glares or slurs directed at them from passersby while they stayed in New York City. Sometimes large groups would gather and scream obscenities along the route where the busses transporting the delegates would pass. "It would get ugly sometimes," opined Connell. "But thankfully those encounters were rare. For the most part, native New Yorkers were good to us."

"And I can't say enough about the NYPD," he interjected. "They did a great job protecting us. By the time we left the city, I thanked as many of them as I could. Some of them said, 'no, thank YOU for coming to New York City and we hope you'll come back.'" Connell and his wife departed the Big Apple the day after the convention ended and were back home by the end of the week.