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As a longtime Democrat, I am in a little bit of shock at the way the Obama campaign and fellow Democrats have been able to keep Romney and the Republicans on defense for the past 2 months. I have never seen the Democrats this organized nor the Republicans this disorganized.
Republicans On Defense and In Chaos:
Mitt Romney is continuing to have problems with the media. His campaign put pre-conditions on an interview with a Colorado reporter:
“They said, you know, ‘the only stipulation is we don’t want you talking about the Akin issue,’” Boyd recalled. She also said the Romney staffer told her the campaign didn’t want questions for Romney about ‘the whole abortion controversy.’”
When Boyd interviewed President Obama last year at the White House, she said, there were no such stipulations.
“None, none,” she said of Obama restrictions on her interview. “I was given a limit of time but I didn’t have to submit questions in advance. “
Romney is still defending his choice to not release more tax returns.
His latest excuse?
“Our church doesn’t publish how much people have given,” Romney tells Parade magazine in an edition due out Sunday (Aug. 26). “This is done entirely privately. One of the downsides of releasing one’s financial information is that this is now all public, but we had never intended our contributions to be known. It’s a very personal thing between ourselves and our commitment to our God and to our church.”
That didn't seem to stop Romney's father from releasing his tax returns and I have to wonder how Harry Reid will respond to this nonsense.
The Republican convention is less than a week away and there are already signs of division among Republicans.
Akin, the Republican's crazy nominee for Missouri Senate, met with conservative leaders in Tampa ahead of the Republican convention.
Several of the conservatives attending the conference - most of whom refused to speak on the record because of the secretive nature of the CNP – expressed resentment at the aggressive and heavy-handed treatment of Akin by Republican leaders in Washington who have pressured him to quit the Missouri race.
At least two people at the conference named Karl Rove, a co-founder of the powerful 527 group American Crossroads, as a specific source of frustration.
Rove’s relationship with the activist wing of his party has grown frosty over the years, and sources backing Akin said they might not be rallying to his side with such vigor if Rove was not among those pushing Akin to get out.
Mike Huckabee has now come out to defend Akin against as well:
The Party’s leaders have for reasons that aren't rational, left [Akin] behind on the political battlefield, wounded and bleeding, a casualty of his self-inflicted, but not intentional wound. In a Party that supposedly stands for life, it was tragic to see the carefully orchestrated and systematic attack on a fellow Republican.
Democrats Organized and On Offense:
While the DNC/Obama Campaign has significantly less money than the RNC/Romney Campaign, they have more offices open in swing states and they have already registered 1,000,000 voters in Pennsylvania.
The Obama Campaign is also making it easier to donate to them. You will soon be able to donate by text.
Democrats plan on providing contrast to the Republican Convention by having public events.
Democratic organizers also announced plans to open up the final day of the convention, when Obama will speak, to the general public. “Tens of thousands” of tickets will be made available to the public starting this week, when Obama campaign offices across North Carolina will start distributing them to volunteers who have given at least nine hours of their time. Tickets will be made available to the broader public next week.
One goal was clear from party officials: drawing a contrast with Republicans, similar to the one that Obama has sought to draw with GOP opponent Mitt Romney, about their visions for the nation. Just as Obama talks regularly about protecting middle-class programs that he says Romney would slash, the Charlotte convention will feature public events and service projects for the city — while the Republican schedule in Tampa does not feature a single event for the general public, except for a festival being staged independently by Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.).
Dems have announced
additional speakers to the DNC including:
Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin
Former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Tammy Duckworth
Sandra Fluke, Georgetown University Student
Denise Juneau, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Montana
Nancy Keenan, President of NARAL Pro-Choice America
Caroline Kennedy
Lilly Ledbetter
Eva Longoria, Obama Campaign Co-Chair
U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, together with the women of the U.S. Senate
Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Action Fund
Cristina Saralegui, the popular Latina television host who has been referred to as the “Hispanic Oprah,” will speak at the Democratic National Convention, according to the DNC and the Obama for America campaign. Saralegui as well as actress Eva Longoria will join a roster of speakers during the three-day event which takes place in Charlotte, North Carolina, September 4th through 6th.
Link to
Transcripts and Documents.