This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Aug. 23, 2012 - WASHINGTON – Tropical Storm Isaac may be threatening Tampa in the wake of what some call Hurricane Todd (as in Akin), but Republicans are hoping that the excitement next week will take place inside their convention hall when they nominate Mitt Romney for president.
“We need to keep the issues big, because this is a big election,” says former U.S. Sen. Jim Talent, a senior Romney adviser who hopes a well-orchestrated convention will give the GOP ticket a major political “bounce.” Talent is confident that Romney and other speakers will “show our contrasts with the president but present our positive vision.”
Like the 50,000 other delegates, alternates, media and others who will attend next week’s Republican National Convention and related events, Talent is crossing his fingers that Isaac doesn’t evolve into a hurricane headed for Tampa. And Missouri GOP delegates hope that the storm set off by the controversial rape comments last weekend by U.S. Rep. Todd Akin, R-Wildwood, will calm by the time the convention opens Monday.
“Romney and [running mate U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan] are going to have to sell to the American people that it’s time to step up and make the changes that are needed to get this country turned around,” asserts former U.S. Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond, a Missouri delegate who has attended all but one GOP convention since 1972.
Missouri Republican Party Chairman David Cole said the convention needs “to tell the story of Mitt Romney and allow the American people to see the clear contrasts between Barack Obama’s stale policies and Romney’s vision for a better future.” He added: “We’ll ask the American people if they’re better off today than they were 3 ½ years ago and just tell that story.”
Cole said his message to Missouri delegates was “to have fun and enjoy this,” whether it rains or not. “We’ve got good delegation events planned; it’s going to be fun.” And the most important message, of course, is for delegates to “get ready to go back to Missouri and elect Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan” – a ticket that he thinks “Republican Missouri is going to like and support.”
As Cole glanced out his window in Tampa on Thursday evening, he saw clouds gathering ahead of Tropical Storm Isaac, which forecasters said might become a hurricane that could strike Florida in the next few days. He’s hoping that the storm will move to the west and he’s also expecting that this week’s storm over Akin’s comments won’t overshadow coverage of the GOP convention.
“Obviously, it’s a concern,” Cole said, because “every day that we’re talking about this rather than talking about the job performances of Claire McCaskill and Barack Obama is a day that we’re not discussing what we need to be talking about.” Still, Cole added: “But I don’t think that it’s going to overshadow our convention.”
Typically, a U.S. Senate GOP primary victor would be given a warm welcome at the GOP convention, but Akin told a radio-show host this week that, in deference to the wishes of RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, he didn’t plan to attend. However, Akin flew to Tampa this week to meet with members of the Council for National Policy, a coalition of conservative and evangelical leaders, activists, and donors.
Priebus, who had defeated St. Louisan (and 2nd congressional district GOP nominee) Ann Wagner for the RNC chairman post in 2010, said in a statement this week that the party “is ready for the mission ahead: sending America's Comeback Team to Washington to rein in federal spending and put Americans back to work.”
Conventions less newsworthy but still important
Unless there are last-minute political disputes or compelling external events, political conventions aren’t what they used to be – and news coverage of them isn’t either.
In the old days, party nominees were often decided in the smoke-filled amphitheaters – most notably, the 103-ballot Democratic convention in 1924. Today, they are lavishly produced, high-tech infomercials for the party and its nominees.
That’s why is has gotten tougher for the parties to attract nationwide audiences; for example, the three major TV networks are planning to devote only about an hour of coverage apiece to the GOP convention’s three final evenings.
In fact, the last time the nominee was in doubt at a Republican convention, Bond recalls, was in 1976 – when Ronald Reagan tried a conservative coup in an unsuccessful effort to unseat President Gerald Ford.
Bond should know, because – as Missouri’s governor – he was a host of the Kansas City gathering, committed to back Ford “because I made a personal appeal to him to bring the convention to Missouri.” Reagan “vaulted onto the national stage” in that convention, but both Ford and Bond fell in that fall’s election – the only election Bond ever lost.
“It was the most memorable convention for me,” Bond said, because “the outcome wasn’t determined before the convention.”
This time around, no one doubts that the Romney-Ryan ticket will prevail. The main question is how much of a bounce the proceedings will provide. Republicans have spared no expense, building a first-of its-kind main stage and podium in the converted hockey arena – the Tampa Bay Times Forum – that incorporates 13 different LED video screens, ranging from 29 feet long to moveable 8 by 8 foot screens.
Those video screens will be framed by dark wood – and brightened by other LED screens above – as part of a $2.5 million theatrical-style stage that designers say is meant to convey openness and warmth. The auditorium also features two musical stages, including one for an in-house band and another for “surprise acts.”
Allowed camera angles will often include the GOP Party signs and other branding, and the convention’s evening schedule will be organized in a way that fits the blocks of time when TV networks will be paying attention. “When [viewers] are flipping through the channels at home, I want them to know this is the Republican National Convention,” the convention’s executive producer told the New York Times.
“Assuming that the hurricane doesn’t blow out the electricity, I think that part of the convention should go well,” said Talent, who expects the convention to highlight Romney’s attractive family and show his personal warmth.
“It’s a very important part of who he is,” Talent said. “They’re a family that has pulled together on this thing, and Ann Romney is of course a huge favorite” in her public appearances. “So I expect her to be prominently featured.”
Bond described Ann Romney as a “very compelling, charming person” and said he was concerned that her speech Monday might not get as much attention as it should because “TV network coverage is going to be much less that at previous conventions. They’ll cover prime time speakers but [viewers] are going to miss out on a lot of it.”
While Bond and his wife are “working hard” for the Romney-Ryan ticket, he said two other current and former Missouri senators are closer to the candidate: “Jim Talent is a key man and Roy Blunt has been a longtime supporter of Gov. Romney.”
In a statement to the Beacon, Blunt said Thursday that the Tampa convention will be “a great opportunity for Americans to learn more about Mitt Romney's remarkable record as a job creator and his plans to help jumpstart our economy.”
Blunt, who has been Romney’s main point person on Capitol Hill and will be a surrogate for Romney at the convention, said he is “looking forward to showcasing our ticket and spending some time with the Missouri delegation.”
Talent chaired a GOP platform subcommittee on defense and foreign policy this week and also will be a Romney surrogate for media interviews and sessions during the convention. He told the Beacon that his panel produced a “very strong” segment of the draft platform, emphasizing that America “can have security and also peace because if we’re strong we can deter conflict.”
In general, he said the platform debates were surprisingly calm, given the number of GOP presidential candidates who had started in the long primary campaign won by Romney. “We had a lot of vigorous debate, but there really was a team atmosphere,” Talent said. “When you consider how many different factions there were in the primaries, that’s a real achievement.”
Some Ron Paul delegates unhappy
The hurricane may be threatening, but the only real prospect of a political storm at the GOP convention is among the delegates pledged to the only candidate other than Romney to stay in the primary race, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, who has not been scheduled to speak at the convention.
While Paul’s backers won quite a few delegate slots (and in some cases, a majority of seats) in seven states – Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Nevada and Oregon – his total delegate count of about 373 represents only a small percentage of the total 2,286 delegates.
While it did not appear as if Paul had won enough states for his name to be placed in nominations for president – in part, because some of the states have rules binding even Paul's delegates to vote for Romney – there appeared to be an outside chance that Paul’s name could be placed in nomination for vice president. In part to mollify Paul, his son and likely national successor, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was granted a speaking slot on Monday.
A leading St. Louis delegate for Ron Paul, marketing expert Heather Coil, 26, told the Beacon that she was unhappy that her candidate wasn’t offered a speaking slot and the GOP would not allow his name to be placed in nomination.
“The Romney campaign has gone to great lengths to prevent him from speaking at this convention,” Coil said. “A 15-minute speaking slot is guaranteed for candidates with a five state plurality, which Paul has obtained. Instead of allowing his speech, the Romney campaign has chosen to challenge the delegates in the states Paul has won in an attempt to prevent him from being nominated or speaking.”
Talent, while acknowledging that Ron and Rand Paul “are each, separately, political leaders of tremendous standing,” said he thinks “Sen. Paul will very much carry a message that Dr. Paul would carry… I doubt that Ron is upset at his son being featured” as a convention speaker.
Also, Ron Paul’s eight delegates and alternates from Missouri – as well as many of the other Paul delegates – planned to take part in a “We Are the Future” rally for Paul's supporters this weekend at the University of South Florida’s Sun Dome, which is billed as featuring an appearance by Ron Paul.
Will a star emerge from convention?
Other than the task of choosing the party’s candidates for the nation’s two highest offices, Bond says the conventions can “help create national stars.”
A recent example: Then- U.S. Sen. Obama of Illinois gained national attention with a keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic convention. Bond’s bet for this year’s star is running mate Ryan, a 42-year-old congressman from Wisconsin who has become an intellectual leader of U.S. House conservatives.
“We’re excited about Paul Ryan,” said Bond, whose wife, Linda, worked with Ryan as a staffer at the late Jack Kemp’s Empower America foundation in the early 1990s.
“His ideas are very bold,” Bond said, and “there’s no better spokesman” than Ryan on the need for “significant but thoughtful changes – not in slashing money but slowing the rate of growth, making sure that what we spend is spent effectively.”
Talent also lauds Ryan, calling him “a tremendous addition to the ticket,” whose relative youth, intelligence and congressional experience make him a standout running mate. And Missouri GOP chair Cole says Ryan has “energized” many Missouri Republicans to work harder for the ticket in November.
At a GOP fundraising event Thursday evening in Springfield, Ryan reportedly wowed a big crowd that included Bond, Blunt and former GOP U.S. Sens. John C. Danforth and John Ashcroft. Bond thinks a Romney/Ryan ticket will push for “dramatic changes in the economy. President Obama tried to fix it, but he’s failed.”
That will be a big theme of the convention and many of the state delegation powwows. Illinois Republican delegates will caucus separately from their Missouri counterparts, and they plan to hold receptions and parties at venues ranging from a “beach party” at the Post Card Inn to a late-night party at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort.
Among the downstate Illinois lawmakers who will attend at least part of the convention is U.S. Rep. John Shimkus, R-Collinsville, who will be there Tuesday through Thursday.
While none of the convention speakers are from St. Louis, one of the region’s native sons, Cardinal Timothy Dolan – now the archbishop of New York and head of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops – is scheduled to give the benediction on the final night of the convention. His prayer will follow Romney’s acceptance speech and precede the final act by House Speaker John Boehner, who will gavel the convention to a close.
One prominent Missouri Republican who chose not to go to Tampa is the dean of the congressional delegation, U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau.
“I am not going to Tampa,” Emerson said. “The hotels are expensive. It’s a pain to get there. When you’re young, and it’s fun – that’s one thing. But I’m getting too old for all this stuff.”
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