The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Monday GOP Convention Schedule Postponed Due to Anticipated BlogBash Hangovers and Approaching Hurricane …

Posted on | August 25, 2012 | 15 Comments

. . . but mainly, yeah, it was the hurricane:

Republicans announced Saturday that they had effectively canceled the first day of its convention for safety concerns associated with an impending hurricane.
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement that “the Republican National Convention will convene on Monday August 27th and immediately recess until Tuesday afternoon, August 28th.”That move essentially postpones the activities of the first of four scheduled days of the convention. But Priebus said in a conference call with reporters that the details of the revised schedule were not yet settled, and could be announced as soon as Sunday.
“The Republican National Convention is going to take place. We know that we will officially nominate Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan,” he said.

Ali Akbar and I learned the news this evening while we were attending a reception at the fabulous mansion where Sunday night the National Bloggers Club will be hosting Blog Bash.

The political ramifications were immediately obvious: With no official convention business Monday, Republicans will be free to party all night Sunday, and so this will certainly be the most off-the-hook Blog Bash in the history of off-the-hook Blog Bashes.

A little bit of actual news: I called one of my sources with the Romney campaign and suggested we get together, but he explained that he was “in the candidate’s hotel,” which is under a draconian security lockdown for the duration of the convention. Basically, you’ve got to give the Secret Service a DNA sample to get anywhere near Mitt’s hotel.

Also, I had an interesting conversation — and by “interesting conversation,” of course, I mean dreadful embarrassment — at this evening’s reception while talking to the chairwoman of the convention’s Platform Committee, Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee. Someone at the reception had told me that the youngest member of the Platform Committee, a girl from Alabama, had gotten a lot of publicity, and so I asked Congresswoman Blackburn about this.

Eh . . . wrong question.

Exactly why this was the wrong question, I didn’t quite understand at the time, until I got back to our Ybor City condo and Googled the story:

[D]elegates to the Republican National Convention met [Thursday] in Tampa, Florida, to finalize the party’s platform on various controversial issues, including abortion, with the youngest member of the platform committee, Jackie Curtiss, 22, having the most to say.
Staunchly anti-abortion, Curtiss objected to an amendment to the platform banning medication “that terminates human life after conception.” The amendment aims to outlaw “abortion pills,” as they are sometimes called, which could, Curtiss worried, potentially include the “morning after pill.” Curtiss emphasized that platform needed to make it clear that the Republican party is welcoming to women, and that such extreme positions could be alienating. Curtiss was also the only person in attendance who referred to Rep. Todd Akin by name, despite the ongoing media attention devoted to his ignorant comments about “forcible rape” and incidences of pregnancy.
“I think it’s a huge issue. I think you can tell that by all the Republican candidates coming out in opposition to him,” she said. “We don’t need to get hung up on him, but we also don’t need to support policies that mirror his.”

My faux-pas in mentioning this to Congresswoman Blackburn was an error committed in honest ignorance, but my explanation won’t help me any more than Todd Akin’s explanations have helped him — which is to say, not at all. After embarrassing myself with this stupid gaffe, I sort of backed away apologetically and exited the room.

No point even trying to dig myself out of that hole, eh?

At any rate, let’s hope my dreadful blunder will be forgiven (if not forgotten) tomorrow afternoon when I cover the Her New View panel discussion at the Straz Performing Arts Center here in Tampa: Dana Loesch, Katie Pavlich, Rep. Blackburn, Rep. Renee Ellmers, Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will participate in the 5 p.m. event, and afterwards we’ll depart to Blog Bash.

Hurricane? Who’s afraid of a hurricane?

Category: Fear and Loathing at the Republican National Convention

Comments

15 Responses to “Monday GOP Convention Schedule Postponed Due to Anticipated BlogBash Hangovers and Approaching Hurricane …”

  1. Adjoran
    August 26th, 2012 @ 12:17 am

    I don’t get it. What was your embarrassment? Asking a question on a difficult and touchy subject? I thought that’s what reporters were supposed to do.

    And you don’t even report the answer. Did she tell you to bugger off, or call security?

    Riddle me this: supporters of which 2012 GOP Presidential candidate nominated Todd Akin in the primary?

  2. Adjoran
    August 26th, 2012 @ 4:50 am

    Here’s a little hint: Akin wasn’t nominated by Romney voters or Gingrich voters or Paul voters, was he?

  3. Fear and Loathing in Tampa | hogewash
    August 26th, 2012 @ 7:05 am

    […] in Tampa Posted on 26 August, 2012 by wjjhoge Gotcher pre-convention event coverage here. Share this:TwitterFacebookLinkedInEmailPrintLike this:LikeBe the first to like this. This entry […]

  4. Dianna Deeley
    August 26th, 2012 @ 1:02 pm

    Adjoran, I have no clue. You clearly do. Help a girl out!

  5. Adjoran
    August 26th, 2012 @ 4:33 pm

    Here’s a hint: sweater vests and incessant whining.

  6. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    August 26th, 2012 @ 6:42 pm

    Sort of like going to a job interview where you inadvertently say something that is wrong (but your intent was never to do that).

  7. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    August 26th, 2012 @ 6:44 pm

    I am glad Tampa was spared the storm and that you are safe RSM (even if bb gun shooting anarchists are showing up). I am worried about where the storm is headed.

  8. K-Bob
    August 26th, 2012 @ 6:54 pm

    Okay, I thought Smitty posts were the ones that are supposed to be hard. I read this twice and don’t get the “gaffe” part. Am I goin’ stoopid, or what?

  9. K-Bob
    August 26th, 2012 @ 6:55 pm

    BB Guns? They’ll put their eye out.

  10. EBL
    August 26th, 2012 @ 9:30 pm

    There are certain movies that are always good to quote. That is one of them.

  11. Adjoran
    August 27th, 2012 @ 4:34 am

    They can take out a surveillance camera lens.

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