With Tropical Storm Isaac bearing down on Florida, Republican leaders Saturday night called off the party’s national convention activities scheduled for Monday in Tampa.
The convention will convene Monday and immediately recess until Tuesday afternoon. Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, said during a conference call that convention organizers are concerned, in part, about transportation problems as high winds and other storm conditions threaten the Tampa Bay area.
徹ur chief priority is the safety of the residents of Florida, of those visiting the convention, and all those in Gulf Coast states who may be impacted by Tropical Storm Isaac,” Republican National Convention President and CEO Bill Harris said in a prepared statement. “We have been working closely with the campaign, the party, and state and local officials for months to ensure a successful, enjoyable convention.”
Also, Gov. Rick Scott said he will cancel his convention-related activities scheduled for Sunday and Monday, pointing to the increasing likelihood of hurricane conditions in the Keys and later in the Panhandle. Scott had been scheduled to speak at the convention Monday night.
“As governor of this great state, I am responsible for all 19 million residents and visitors, and it is my duty to make sure we can quickly respond to the regions affected,” Scott said in a statement released by his office. “While Tampa Bay has gotten a lot of attention due to the upcoming convention, I will unilaterally focus on the safety of every resident and community throughout the state.”
Along with speeches by Scott and former Gov. Jeb Bush, Monday’s convention events were expected to include a roll-call vote to formally nominate Mitt Romney as the party’s presidential candidate. Russ Schriefer, a Romney strategist, said during the conference call that party officials expect to hold the roll call Tuesday.
Schriefer said officials hope to still include as many speakers as possible, as they consolidate the convention from four days to three. Romney is scheduled to speak Thursday night during the convention’s final session.
Priebus said revised plans for the convention will be released as early as Sunday.
The announcement came after Scott and Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn made statements in recent days expressing confidence about going forward with the convention as Isaac swirled in the Caribbean. About 50,000 people are expected to converge on the Tampa area, making the convention a major economic driver for hotels, restaurants and other businesses.
It was not immediately clear Saturday night how Isaac would affect the myriad other events scheduled in conjunction with the convention.
Isaac, which was in the vicinity of Cuba on Saturday, is not expected to make landfall in the Tampa area. But as it moves north through the Gulf of Mexico — likely turning into a hurricane — it will spin off heavy winds, rain and storm surges that could affect Tampa Bay.
Such conditions could cause problems for Tampa Bay area residents and convention delegates. The Florida delegation, for example, is slated to stay at the Innisbrook Resort and Spa in Palm Harbor, which is north of Clearwater and a relatively lengthy distance from the main convention activities in downtown Tampa.
–Jim Saunders, News Service of Florida
Samuel Smith says
Hmm, seems like a case of legitimate rape to me.
Lonewolf says
Apparently, God doesn’t like the Morman cult
agnese says
That is only the democratic muscles flexing…
question says
And the sane Americans will thankfully ‘shutter’
Mr. “Whatever-You-Want-Righty-loons,— I’ll-Say” Romney
on Nov. 6.
Liana G says
FlaglerLive wrote “They should have held their convention at the Hilton Garden Inn in Palm Coast.”
Why would they want to do that!
Palm Coast would not only rob these folks clean, they would also pick and eat their bones clean then use them for decoration. You see, Palm Coast have no compunction about exploiting and stealing from poor defenseless kids so imagine what they would do to adults with discretionary incomes.
And now for some George Carlin.
“Now, there’s one thing you might have noticed I don’t complain about: politicians. Everybody complains about politicians. Everybody says they suck. Well, where do people think these politicians come from? They don’t fall out of the sky. They don’t pass through a membrane from another reality. They come from American parents and American families, American homes, American schools, American churches, American businesses and American universities, and they are elected by American citizens. This is the best we can do folks. This is what we have to offer. It’s what our system produces: Garbage in, garbage out. If you have selfish, ignorant citizens, you’re going to get selfish, ignorant leaders. Term limits ain’t going to do any good; you’re just going to end up with a brand new bunch of selfish, ignorant Americans. So, maybe, maybe, maybe, it’s not the politicians who suck. Maybe something else sucks around here… like, the public. Yeah, the public sucks. There’s a nice campaign slogan for somebody: ‘The Public Sucks. F*ck Hope.'”[and Change]
“I have solved this political dilemma in a very direct way: I don’t vote. On Election Day, I stay home. I firmly believe that if you vote, you have no right to complain. Now, some people like to twist that around. They say, ‘If you don’t vote, you have no right to complain,’ but where’s the logic in that? If you vote, and you elect dishonest, incompetent politicians, and they get into office and screw everything up, you are responsible for what they have done. You voted them in. You caused the problem. You have no right to complain. I, on the other hand, who did not vote — who did not even leave the house on Election Day — am in no way responsible for that these politicians have done and have every right to complain about the mess that you created.”
initialjoe says
Everybody loves a little Carlin :)
Lonewolf says
It’s a shame we can’t cancel all these right wing blow hards
John Boy says
Bobby Jindel has already come out and asked the Federal Government to pay 100% of all costs associated with the storm. What an idiot, doesn’t he know that one of the planks of the platform of the RNC is to shrink the Federal Government until it fits in a bath tub. Bobby, suck it up, you state is already a welfare (RED) state getting back almost two times as much as it contributes to the Feds.The BLUE States are getting tired of bailing out the RED States who support the Tea Baggers, the KKK, the Birthers, the combined membership of the Republican Party.