memeorandum: Republican Talking Points (Daniel Halper/Weekly Standard)

5:35 PM ET, August 27, 2012

Top Items:

Glen Johnson / Boston Globe:

While Romney campaign talks of forging ahead, Isaac may prompt convention cancellation — TAMPA - There is a distinct possibility that the 2012 Republican National Convention will be cancelled. — The decision may come not so much because the Tampa-St. Petersburg area will suffer a direct hit from Isaac …

Discussion: ABCNEWS, New York Times, CNN, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, NationalJournal.com, Hit & Run and The Daily Caller

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:

Republican Talking Points — Here are the official Republican talking points, being circulated to surrogates speaking on behalf of the party here: — Surrogate Message Points: — 2012 Republican National Convention - A Better Future — Top Line Message Points:

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Washington Monthly and Taylor Marsh

Kevin Robillard / Politico:

Rush Limbaugh: Hurricane Center is ‘Obama’ — Rush Limbaugh, while repeatedly insisting he is “not alleging a conspiracy,” suggested Monday that the National Hurricane Center's forecast models for Tropical Storm Isaac were altered to help President Barack Obama and “cast a pall” over the Republican National Convention.

Discussion: Rush Limbaugh, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Business Insider

Brian Tashman / rightwingwatch.org:
Christian Broadcasting Network Wonders if Prayer Moved Storm Away From Tampa to Protect the RNC

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Raw Story, Firedoglake, Gawker, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The PJ Tatler, more at Mediagazer »

CNN:
Isaac eerily follows Katrina's track

Discussion: Mashable!, This Just In, SciGuy, American Prospect and Taylor Marsh

CNN:
CNN's GUT CHECK for August 27, 2012

Discussion: Politico, The Huffington Post and Hot Air

Politico:
Low turnout at RNC protest expecting thousands blamed on Isaac

Discussion: Tampa Bay Times and The Daily Caller

Mario Trujillo / The Hill:
FEMA: GOP convention, Katrina overshadow storm's threat to Gulf Coast

Discussion: CNN

Associated Press: 1 Arrest During GOP Protests in Tampa

Ron Fournier / NationalJournal.com:
GOP Mulls Truncated Convention

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Daily Kos and Outside the Beltway

David Taintor / Talking Points Memo:
Jindal Cancels Plans To Attend GOP Convention

Discussion: The BRAD BLOG

Dylan Byers / Politico:
CNN moves O'Brien, Cooper to NOLA

Discussion: ABCNEWS and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Keegan Gibson / PoliticsPA:

Smith Makes Abortion Gaffe (Listen to Audio) — Harrisburg — Republican Tom Smith spoke at the Pennsylvania press club luncheon Monday afternoon The defining moment occurred a few moments after the formal program when, asked about abortion amid a group of reporters, Smith seemed to suggest …

Discussion: Philly.com, Daily Kos, Business Insider, The Raw Story and Hullabaloo

Tara Culp-Ressler / ThinkProgress:

Pennsylvania GOP Senate Candidate: Getting Pregnant From Rape Is ‘Similar’ To Having A Baby Out Of Wedlock — In the aftermath of Rep. Todd Akin's (R-MO) offensive and medically inaccurate comments that “legitimate rape” doesn't often lead to pregnancy, Republicans have been scrambling to distance themselves from Akin.

Discussion: Booman Tribune

Eric Kleefeld / Talking Points Memo:
Pennsylvania Senate Candidate: Daughter's Out-Of-Wedlock Pregnancy ‘Similar’ To Rape

Discussion: PennLive.com, Gawker, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway and The Maddow Blog

Pema Levy / Talking Points Memo:

Chris Matthews Calls Out GOP: You Are Playing The ‘Race Card’ — Political observers have noted for a while that Mitt Romney's claim that President Obama gutted the work requirement in the 1996 welfare reform law is false. But few in the mainstream media have have gone so far as to accuse Republicans of playing the ‘race card.’

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Balloon Juice and The Hinterland Gazette

Thomas B. Edsall / Campaign Stops:
Making the Election About Race

Discussion: Firedoglake, Washington Post, The Huffington Post, Mother Jones, The Reality-Based Community, The Maddow Blog, Washington Monthly, Balloon Juice, The Daily Beast and emptywheel

Elspeth Reeve / The Atlantic Wire:
Race Takes Over the Race — Mitt Romney says that Obama allowed …

Discussion: The Maddow Blog, The Reality-Based Community, Brad DeLong, Hot Air and Jammie Wearing Fools

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Chris Matthews: RNC chairman, Romney playing ‘the race card’

Discussion: Pundits Blog

BuzzFeed:

Trial Judge Orders Prop 8 Case Closed — Judge James Ware issues an order under which same-sex couples should be allowed to marry immediately in California. Supporters of the initiative could ask the Supreme Court to stop weddings. — The trial court judge in California who has taken …

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay and Joe. My. God.

Jim Ragsdale / Hot Dish Politics:
Supporters of proposed constitutional amendments win both Supreme Court cases

Discussion: Power Line and Joe. My. God.

Politico:

Mitt Romney outlines his governing plan to POLITICO — POWELL, Ohio — Mitt Romney conceded President Barack Obama has succeeded in making him a less likable person, but he offered a defiant retort to those hoping he will open up this week: “I am who I am.”

Discussion: theGrio, The Lonely Conservative, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Daily Kos, The Hinterland Gazette, bustardblog, Right Wing News, TheBlaze.com, CNN, Lawyers, Guns & Money, No More Mister Nice Blog and Saint Petersblog

Jim Treacher / The Daily Caller:

We all know the world revolves around The Greatest President in the History of Everything. So it makes sense that all the other celestial bodies were placed in the sky to shine down upon him. — This is not a Photoshop. This was actually posted on Obama's official Tumblr page:

Discussion: SOOPERMEXICAN, Sense of Events, Ed Driscoll, Wizbang, TheBlaze.com, The Lonely Conservative, The Jawa Report, Obama for America, Atlas Shrugs, Ricochet Conversations Feed, small dead animals and Doug Ross

Michael Warren / Weekly Standard:

Elizabeth Warren Aide Knocks Around Republican Cameraman — An aide to Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, appears to have knocked the video camera of a Republican tracker after an event this weekend in Martha's Vineyard. Watch the video below:

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Right Scoop, Washington Free Beacon and Jammie Wearing Fools

www2.tbo.com:

Crist to speak at Democratic National Convention — Florida's former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist will be a speaker at the Democratic National Convention. — An official with President Barack Obama's campaign said Sunday that Crist will speak at next week's convention in Charlotte, N.C., but the day hasn't been worked out.

Discussion: Power Line, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, Political Insider, Politico, National Review and Naked Politics

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Poll: Majority of Floridians would vote for Obama-Biden

Discussion: CNN and Politico

Rob Portman / CNN:

TRENDING: First on CNN: Portman to play Obama in Romney debate prep — Tampa, Florida (CNN) - Ohio Sen. Rob Portman has agreed to play the role of President Obama in debate prep sessions with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, two GOP sources tell CNN.

Discussion: USA Today and The Fix

Karl Rove / CNN:
Rove unloads on Todd Akin on eve of GOP convention

Discussion: Politico

Kim Parker / Pew Social & Demographic Trends:

Yes, the Rich Are Different — As Republicans gather for their national convention in Tampa to nominate a presidential candidate known, in part, as a wealthy businessman, a new nationwide Pew Research Center survey finds that many Americans believe the rich are different than other people.

Discussion: Firedoglake, National Review, Economix and Politico

Paul Ryan / The Daily Beast:

What the *#@% Is Wrong With Republicans?! — It's not just Akin. By pushing some of the most invasive state policies in modern history, the men of the GOP are driving their party off a cliff. — Blame it on the “idea cloud”—that cumulus cartoon bubble that dumps the same idea on diverse populations at once.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh and The Daily Dish

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:

Republicans Worry About Keeping Factions Reined In — TAMPA, Fla. — Mitt Romney arrives here this week to accept his nomination from the increasingly disparate coalition of factions known as the Republican Party, confronting the challenge of unifying them behind him and — should he win …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Wonkette, Guardian, Talking Points Memo, Outside the Beltway, The Mahablog, The Caucus, Washington Wire, Taylor Marsh, American Power, TheBlaze.com and Connecting.the.Dots

Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:

RNC swag bag has Romney book with unaltered health care section … TAMPA — All credentialed media checking into the Republican National Convention are being given a swag bag featuring brochures and items from various sponsors such as sunglasses and a pocket fan.

Discussion: The Buzz Florida Politics Feed, The Raw Story and Daily Kos

Zack Beauchamp / ThinkProgress:

GOP Draft Platform: ‘Homosexual Agenda’ Advanced By Obama Foreign Aid — The subsection on foreign aid contained a rather peculiar criticism of President Obama's policy in the area: … The phrase “homosexual agenda” is, historically speaking, a term used by anti-gay crusaders to imply …