memeorandum: What the *#@% Is Wrong With Republicans?! (Paul Ryan/The Daily Beast)

6:30 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, Politico, NationalJournal.com, CNN, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, Mediaite, Hit & Run and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »

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: ABCNEWS, Rush Limbaugh, The Moderate Voice, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Business Insider and ABCNEWS

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, Taylor Marsh and Washington Monthly

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, Gawker, Firedoglake, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The PJ Tatler, more at Mediagazer »

CNN:
Isaac eerily follows Katrina's track

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

Russell Goldman / ABCNEWS:
RNC's 1st Day Lasts Just Seconds

Discussion: CNN

Mj Lee / Politico:
Paul Ryan gets hero's welcome in Janesville, Wis.

Discussion: CNN

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

Discussion: The Huffington Post and Hot Air

New York Times:
Storm Rewrites G.O.P.'s Script for Convention

Discussion: Politico, PubliCola, The Maddow Blog, Mediaite, Daily Kos, Media Decoder, Reuters and First Read

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, Truthdig, 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, Wonkette and Taylor Marsh

Robert J. Vickers / PennLive.com:

GOP Senate candidate says out of wedlock pregnancy and rape are ‘similar’ — Struggling to explain his “no exceptions” abortion policy, Republican U.S. Senate nominee Tom Smith likened rape to having a child out-of-wedlock before walking back the remark Monday.

Discussion: Gawker, Mediaite and Runnin' Scared

Eric Kleefeld / Talking Points Memo:

Pennsylvania Senate Candidate: Daughter's Out-Of-Wedlock Pregnancy ‘Similar’ To Rape — Pennsylvania Senate candidate Tom Smith is the latest Republican to bungle a response to Missouri Rep. Todd Akin's controversial comment about rape and pregnancy. — “What that congressman said I do not agree with at all.

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette, Outside the Beltway and The Maddow Blog

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: Hit & Run, The Daily Beast, Taylor Marsh and The Daily Dish

CBS News:
Romney: My views on abortion rights are clear

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and Daily Kos

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

Discussion: CNN and Politico

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

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

Discussion: The Hill, Hot Air, The Maddow Blog, Brad DeLong, Election 2012, The Reality-Based Community and Jammie Wearing Fools

Ezra Klein / Washington Post:
Race and the 2012 election — Most of the issues dominating the 2012 election make sense.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Discriminations and The Reality-Based Community

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

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

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 — The Republican-controlled Legislature won a pair of battles over proposed constitutional amendments before the Minnesota Supreme Court on Monday. — In a pair of 4-2 decisions, the court ruled:

Discussion: Power Line and Joe. My. God.

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, Jammie Wearing Fools, Washington Free Beacon and The Right Scoop

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

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

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

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: National Review, Firedoglake, Economix and Politico

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Obama gives one-on-one to Glamour — Yet another push in President Barack Obama's soft-media strategy, unearthed this morning by WWD's Erik Maza:

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Mediaite and Riehl World News

Erik Maza / WWD:
Glamour Gets Time With President Obama

Discussion: Jammie Wearing Fools

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: A plain blog about politics, 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 …

Paul Slansky / The Huffington Post:

Paul Ryan Said Something That Should Force Him Off the Ticket, But You Probably Didn't Hear About It … Elections 2012 , Abortion , Elections 2012 , Paul Ryan , Video , Todd Akin , Method Of Conception , Paul Ryan Abortion , Paul Ryan Rape , Rape , Todd Akin Legitimate Rape , Todd Akin Rape , Politics News

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Wizbang and Blog for Choice

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, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, Politico, Political Insider, National Review and Naked Politics

John Hudson / The Atlantic Wire:

Prosecutors: U.S. Soldiers Plotted to Kill President Obama — Update (3:45 p.m.): Local NBC affiliate WSAV 3 has video footage of the alleged militia members being handcuffed and charged in connection with the killing of Michael Roark and his girlfriend Tiffany York.