TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — This is the convention
prelude of the Republicans' dreams — their nightmares, that is.
Mitt Romney wanted to preside over a
made-for-TV gathering showcasing his economic credentials and GOP unity.
Instead, he's heading to Tampa with the national debate focused on rape and
abortion and with the divisions within his party — and with running mate Paul
Ryan — on full display.
"It's a huge distraction," Saul
Anuzis, a RNC member from Michigan and a top Romney backer, said of the
emotional quarreling touched off by embattled Missouri Rep. Todd Akin earlier
this week. "We should be talking about the economy and here we are
consumed by these side issues."
Even the weather is threatening to spoil
Romney's party. As Wednesday's rain pounded the arena and hotel complex where
the convention is scheduled for next week, Anuzis lamented the tropical storm
churning toward Florida, saying that "it could cause havoc; it could be a
chaotic situation from a transportation and security standpoint."
All this as a new Associated Press-GfK poll
showed a neck-and-neck race between Romney and President Barack Obama just over
two months before the election. Some 47 percent of registered voters say they
plan to vote for Obama, while 46 percent favor Romney. That's virtually the
same as last month — and evidence that Romney didn't get a bounce of support by
choosing Ryan as his vice presidential nominee.
Romney and Ryan sought to gain ground
Wednesday with fresh criticism of Obama on health care in separate rallies and
with a new TV ad. But Republican troubles persisted, just as the party had
seemed to be moving past deep divisions between its establishment and
conservative wings in the name of rallying behind its presidential nominee and
beating Obama.
Instead, the ticket found itself still
overshadowed by the uproar over Akin's refusal to drop out of his Senate race
after causing a stir by saying that women's bodies have ways of preventing
pregnancies in cases of "legitimate rape." He has apologized
repeatedly and has said he misspoke, but he also has bucked calls from top
Republicans — including Romney and Ryan — to abandon his bid.
"It's bad timing. Akin happening now
sort of amplifies the whole thing," Charlie Black, a veteran GOP
presidential campaign strategist and informal Romney adviser, said, referring
to distractions from the campaign's economic message.
Romney spokesman Kevin Madden tried putting
the matter to rest during a campaign stop in Arkansas, telling reporters he did
not expect the presumptive nominee to address Akin's comments further.
"We said what we needed to say,"
Madden told reporters.
As final preparations were being made for
the four-day convention, there were fears rippling through the national party
that fallout from the Akin situation demonstrated weakness by the GOP leaders
who are uniting behind Romney. But Black and others predicted that the national
conversation will shift back to the economy — and an unemployment rate above 8
percent — by the time Romney accepts the nomination Aug. 30, and certainly by
this fall.
"I can't imagine Obama running ads in
suburban Pennsylvania in October tying Mitt Romney to Todd Akin," said
Black. "If he does, it means we're winning."
For now at least, Akin's comments have
caused a furor in the Republican Party just as it's trying to narrow the
advantage Obama and the Democrats have among women voters. And the debate has
highlighted fissures within the GOP over when abortion should be legal. Romney
does not oppose abortion in cases of rape and incest or if it will save a
mother's life, while Ryan does oppose abortion in cases of rape and incest.
Underscoring the split, the Republican
National Committee is including support in its draft platform for a ban on
abortion without noting specific exceptions. The plank leaves exceptions up to
states, but also stops short of listing rape or incest.
Ryan himself stoked the debate Wednesday
when he was forced to emphasize anew that Romney is the nominee, brushing aside
differences in their records.
"I'm proud of my pro-life record. And
I stand by my pro-life record in Congress. It's something I'm proud of. But
Mitt Romney is the top of the ticket and Mitt Romney will be president and he
will set the policy of the Romney administration," Ryan told a
Pennsylvania TV station.
He also defended a bill he cosponsored in
the House to ban federal funding for abortion except in cases of incest and
"forcible" rape. That language, which was eventually changed, would
have narrowed the exception for rape victims. Akin and 225 other members of the
House, including 11 Democrats, also cosponsored the bill.
Romney's campaign rejected the idea that the
Akin issue was overshadowing the party's effort to stir enthusiasm in its base
membership. And advisers said they weren't worried that Missouri, a state Obama
lost in 2008, would suddenly become competitive when it's long been considered
a state Romney was virtually assured of winning.
But Akin's refusal to quit his race gave
rise to GOP fears in other states. Senate GOP officials were deeply concerned
that the Missouri congressman might be jeopardizing the party's chances of
winning control the 100-seat chamber in a close-fought year. Missouri Sen.
Claire McCaskill, finishing her first term, was considered the Senate's most
vulnerable Democrat until Akin's remarks this week.
Democrats were working to use Akin to go
after Republicans at all levels.
"It's not just one extreme candidate
in Missouri; it's part of a Republican pattern," says an ad supporting
Massachusetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren in her Senate race against Republican
Sen. Scott Brown. Brown is urging Akin to step aside.
There were other issues beyond Akin and
abortion threatening Romney's convention.
The RNC's platform committee has adopted
budget language similar to Ryan's House federal spending blueprint, which calls
for turning Medicare into a voucher system. That issue again spotlights the
differences between the two Republicans, and splits in the party.
At the same time, Democrats were making
plans to try to steal some of the limelight from Romney next week.
Obama has arranged to campaign in Iowa,
Colorado and Virginia. Biden is planning to campaign in Florida — including in
Tampa — early next week, and Michelle Obama is to appear on David Letterman's
show on Aug. 29, the third day of the GOP convention.
And there is one thing completely out of
Romney's control: Tropical Storm Isaac is bearing down on Florida, threatening
to reach the Tampa area just as thousands of people are pouring into Tampa.
Convention officials say contingency plans
are in place should the storm stay on its course for Tampa. They are monitoring
the storm but not yet contacting delegates about alternate plans.
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