In the News

Florida Democratic Party News Clips – August 29

Romney Economics: The Infomercial

The Democrats’ Tampa Counterattack [The Daily Beast] “Obama’s shock troops flouted convention by storming the GOP convention.”

Democrats infiltrate Tampa for Republican convention [Reuters] “Hanging over the highway leading into Tampa, Florida, a billboard greets the thousands of Republicans and journalists flooding the Gulf Coast city for the Republican National Convention. ‘Welcome to Tampa!’ it reads, ‘Where the mayor and all city council members are DEMOCRATS’…The Democratic National Committee has rented a storefront space just outside the Republican National Convention’s security perimeter, which party operatives have dubbed their ‘war room.'”

 

WHAT THEY STAND FOR: GOP OKs platform barring abortions, gay marriage [AP] “Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is among several Democrats in Tampa trying to get their party’s views heard, called the platform’s stances on abortion and immigration ‘draconian’ and ‘extreme’ and blamed Romney. ‘What you have seen from him is that he does one thing, he says another,’ Villaraigosa said. ‘He has taken one position after another, time and again you know, and you can’t have it both ways.'”

GOP needs an alternative to health reform [Tampa Bay Times editorial] “There isn’t a Republican leadership alternative to the health care reform law. Rep. Tom Price of Georgia, an orthopedic surgeon who chairs the House Republican Policy Committee, has introduced a bill that has attracted 42 co-sponsors but little leadership support. House Speaker John Boehner last offered a package of health care reforms in November 2009. At that time, the CBO found it would have reduced health insurance premiums by 5 percent to 10 percent and extended coverage to 3 million people. That is not close to what the Affordable Care Act would achieve”

Why Ryan was wrong to seek cuts in storm relief, forecasting [Palm Beach Post editorial] “f Mitt Romney’s vice presidential choice had gotten his way, people in Hurricane Isaac’s path would have had to worry not just about safety but money for federal disaster relief. And since the peak of storm season lasts for another three weeks, residents of Florida and other hurricane-prone states would need to worry about the same thing.”

 

THE RON PAUL RIFT 

Republican National Convention gets rowdy in rift over Ron Paul [News 10] “Feeling slighted, supporters of Texas Rep. Ron Paul’s presidential run are making their voices heard at a Republican convention intended to promote party harmony.”

Ron Paul backers disrupt intended harmony of convention’s first day [Palm Beach Post] “In the first day of real work at a convention that organizers hoped would showcase Republican harmony over nominee Mitt Romney, Ron Paul supporters sounded discordant notes on several occasions.”

 

THE DEMOGRAPHICS 

A gap the GOP can’t bridge in 2012: the black vote [Tampa Bay Times] “In the United States, roughly 85 percent of African-Americans identify as Democrats or left-leaning, according to the American National Election Studies. Only 6 percent said they were Republicans or included to the right. The Washington Post recently estimated that the Republican Party is 92 percent white and that among the remaining 8 percent, blacks were an almost imperceptible sliver.”

Mitt Romney’s convention speakers belie GOP reality with Hispanics [Tampa Bay Times] “The problem for Republicans is the diversity at the Tampa Bay Times Forum podium this week belies political reality.”

 

Jeb Bush: Republicans need to stop “acting stupid” in courting Hispanics [Miami Herald] “It’s a tall order for Republicans. GOP support among Hispanics had dwindled since former President George W. Bush was in the White House. When he was reelected in 2004, Bush garnered 44 percent of the Hispanic vote, according to some exit polls. Sen. John McCain got 31 percent in 2008, while the latest poll numbers show Mitt Romney with less than 30 percent.”

 

THE PROTESTS 

Protesters having their say in Tampa [Bradenton Herald] “Dozens of protesters from all ages and ethnic backgrounds, including groups from Manatee and Sarasota counties, gathered in Centennial Park in the Ybor City neighborhood of Tampa Tuesday, making their voices heard against voter suppression and anti-immigration laws.”

These RNC protesters are determined to be heard [Orlando Sentinel] “But Karen Clay refuses to be ignored. Too many people have tried to do that with her son.”

Voter Suppression Protest in Ybor [WUSF] “Protesters spoke out against voter suppression laws and marched in Ybor City on Tuesday, a few miles from where the first official day of the RNC took place.”

Rubio heckled at Florida delegation address [Tallahassee Democrat] “U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio addressed Florida delegates to the Republican National Convention, hitting themes of freedom and free enterprise, when his speech was disrupted by at least four protesters who shouted out that they represented working-class Floridians and demanded Rubio ‘pay his fair share.'”

  

OTHER NEWS WE THOUGHT YOU SHOULD KNOW

Fitzgerald launches anti-Buchanan website [Bradenton Herald] “To help make his case, Fitzgerald’s campaign has launched a new website, “The Buchanan Files,” which includes links to print and television news accounts of the various probes.” LEARN MORE HERE

Mitt Romney’s Tax Mysteries: A Reading Guide [FCIR] “Last week, the website Gawker published more than 900 pages of documents from Bain Capital, the private equity firm Mitt Romney founded, and headed from 1984 until 1999. The document dump didn’t reveal much about Romney’s personal investments, but it added a bit more to the pressure on Romney to release more of his tax returns”

RNC goofs, then late bus loops for hour with Florida delegation [Tampa Bay Times] “Delegates were to board buses at noon to head from the Innisbrook Golf and Spa Resort in Palm Harbor to the Tampa Bay Times Forum 30 miles away. That did not happen, however, because delegates were told the Republican National Committee forgot to send the buses.”

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