There are rules around this place, you know:
Posted on 08/23/2012 3:39:59 AM PDT by markomalley
Bucking protocol, President Obama and the Democrats are planning a full-scale assault on Republicans next week during their convention.
Bucking protocol, President Obama and the Democrats are planning a full-scale assault on Republicans next week during their convention.
Presidential candidates have traditionally kept a low profile during their opponent's nominating celebration, but Democrats are throwing those rules out the window in an attempt to spoil Mitt Romney’s coronation as the GOP nominee.
President Obama, Vice President Biden and leading congressional Democrats have all scheduled high-profile events next week to counter-program the Republican gathering in Tampa.
Even first lady Michelle Obama is in on the act, scheduling an appearance on the “David Letterman Show” smack in the middle of Romney's nominating bash.
Political historians say the high stakes of this year's elections — combined with the rise of today’s 24/7 media culture — has forced leaders on both sides of the aisle to get more aggressive.
"Traditionally, there was a kind of courtesy extended to the party having the convention — the [other] party would basically stay out of the public eye," said Ross Baker, political scientist at Rutgers University.
But that "gentleman's agreement," Baker said, has been largely abandoned as "a consequence of the polarization of American politics." He characterized the old tradition as a "quaint code of etiquette" destined to become a "remnant of the 20th century."
Julian E. Zelizer, a congressional expert at Princeton University, agreed that the change is coming in large part because of the modern media environment.
"In the current age saturating the media seems to be the strategy — get the message out as many times and in as many places as possible," Zelizer said in an email. "So this fits contemporary pattern where the convention is just one part of a bigger media blitz."
Democrats have made clear that they don't intend to fade into the background as the GOP's message machine cranks away in Tampa.
Obama announced this week that he's hitting the road next Tuesday for a two-day tour through the battleground states of Iowa, Colorado and Virginia. The first lady's sit-down with Letterman is scheduled to air Wednesday.
The most aggressive attack was left for Biden, who is heading behind enemy lines for campaign events in Tampa on Monday and Tuesday. Leading congressional Democrats, including Reps. James Clyburn (S.C.) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.), will be joining the vice president to help crash the party.
With the media glare certain to be intense, Democrats say they're approaching the GOP convention as an opportunity as much as a challenge.
"We'll have so many members of the press [here] from all across the country," Rep. Kathy Castor (D), who represents Tampa, said Tuesday by phone. "I'm going to have a very active schedule."
While both parties have customarily set up messaging war rooms in their opponent's convention city, Democratic operatives say they're taking that effort to another level this year.
"It's gonna be the strongest yet," a Democratic leadership aide said Wednesday.
The purpose of the Democratic blitz is clear: With Romney and the Republicans scrambling to defend Romney's tax history and undo the damage from Rep. Todd Akin's (R-Mo.) recent comments on rape and abortion, Obama and the Democrats don't want to give the GOP a week-long opening to shift the discussion back to jobs and the economy — Obama's chief vulnerability heading into November's elections.
The Republicans' convention messaging will be thrown off, Baker said, "If Joe Biden goes to Tampa and says, 'Where's Todd Akin?'"
Brad Woodhouse, spokesman for the Democratic National Committee (DNC), said the Democrats in Tampa would focus on "how the Republican Party Mitt Romney is being nominated to lead is outside the mainstream on issues of importance to Americans — particularly as it relates to women, Hispanics and African Americans."
Republicans, meanwhile, are also setting up a war room in Charlotte, N.C., to hobble any momentum the Democrats might gain when they stage their convention there in the first week of September.
GOP operatives have released very few details about that effort, however, and have given no indication they will counter Biden's Tampa visit by sending anyone as high profile — such as Romney’s running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) — to campaign in North Carolina.
Sending Biden out to cause trouble? ........BWWWAAAHHHHHH!!!
These are the last gasps of an administration that has insider information about how soundly they are going to be beaten, despite the influence of what the Democrat oversampling pollsters are producing.
The Repubs have the spotlight; they should have every conspiracy theorist they can dig up fire away at The Sultan from the convention floor.
And guess who the MSM is going to give more coverage to.
For all the vast ignorant public will know, no convention took place.
Can we please stop with the “oversampling” meme? There ARE more dems than repubs and the over sampling is what has always occurred. And while some polls are probably off they all still have Obumer winning and that sucks!
It’s only a high profile event if the press reports it - which we know they will.
Anything to help the libs.
This regime is the most despicable, low-life, bottom-feeding, cretins this Republic has ever had the misfortune of being saddled with.
As King Henry II said of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, who will rid us of this troublesome commie, rat bast*rd?
We the voters will, I hope or our country will cease to be as we have known it for over 200 years.
PS: For the DHS, Jack-booted thug trolls, don't bother trying to make a fed case out of these comments as I was referring to getting rid of your A-hole boss "figuratively" and not literally.
If Obambi’s campaign had a face, it’d look like Maureen Dowd: Desperate for love.
A babbling gaffe machine, a racist and a woman who contradicts and equivocates on her own lies in the same interview. DWS has also been rated as Obama's least effective surrogate. Not sure how you beat Stephanie Cutter for that distinction, but what a team!
So the democrats will be outside when the hurricane hits?
BS. Many of these polls are giving Dems a bigger turnout and GOP a lower turnout than in 2008, when their voter rolls were much larger than now, and their enthusiasm was high. If you think polls are not manipulated to generate a ‘close race’, and that many in the media are using their polls to push their guy, you probably should take your head out of the sand.
Romney is doing quite well and Obama is in terrible shape, way below 50 percent almost everywhere he needs to win. Obama is losing right now. Romney wins if he closes the deal. He has not yet.
There are rules around this place, you know:
While I agree in theory with counter-protests, I think they’re kind of silly. I remember several times going to see a Pubbie candidate (Bush, McCain) speak at a local place, and seeing protesters across the street squawking about something. I don’t know if they thought they were going to influence the people filing in waiting to hear the speech, or they were just trying to draw attention to themselves. I think if the opposition wants to give a speech, they should able to do so without being interfered with. I guess holding up signs is fine, harassing attendees, verbally or physically, is not.
BS. Many of these polls are giving Dems a bigger turnout and GOP a lower turnout than in 2008, when their voter rolls were much larger than now, and their enthusiasm was high. If you think polls are not manipulated to generate a ‘close race’, and that many in the media are using their polls to push their guy, you probably should take your head out of the sand.
Romney is doing quite well and Obama is in terrible shape, way below 50 percent almost everywhere he needs to win. Obama is losing right now. Romney wins if he closes the deal. He has not yet.
Who knew the DNC would be providing the free entertainment for the RNC event? Jackass party for sure.
I can take any large database of information and create a report to give the results I want. The sampling is just a ruse to give a modicum of credibility to it. The other fact is that these are telephone polls and in no way has credibility to whether the person on the phone is registered one way or the other.
They are shaped to suit the needs of the customer, you know, the one paying for the result. Stupid businessmen don’t piss off their customers by giving them lemon juice when the order was for apple. The 1980 election cycle polling ought to be a stark reminder.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.