GOP Convention Not Generating Much Excitement Among Republicans

With a sold-out stadium full of Coloradans planning to hear the Obamessiah's acceptance speech, the GOP may be lucky to get some of their own officeholders to attend the bash in Minneapolis:

While excitement is building for a Democratic Party convention capped by Barack Obama’s historic acceptance speech before a sold-out, 75,000-seat football stadium, the GOP convention the following week is shaping up to be a considerably more staid affair, marked by the conspicuous absence of many of the usual convention attendees.

Republicans aren’t exactly planning to avoid the convention in droves. But compared to past conventions, lawmakers, lobbyists and candidates aren’t beating a path to St. Paul either.

Of the 12 Republicans running in competitive Senate races—five of whom are incumbents—- only three have said they will be attending convention. Six are definite no-shows, and three are on the fence.

“Nobody likes a funeral,” said a Senate Republican press secretary who declined to be identified, citing “the overall climate of general malaise about the party” as the reason for hesitance on the part of Republicans.

On the House side, according to a report in The Hill, during a July 31 conference call National Republican Campaign Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) discouraged congressional hopefuls from attending, saying that doing so would potentially be a “waste of time.”

At least a handful of Republican incumbents, ranging from vulnerable incumbents such as Jon Porter and Dean Heller of Nevada to safe veteran members such as James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin and Sue Myrick of North Carolina, have also decided to stay home this year.

“While the congressman believes spending time with the delegates and the party faithful is productive, he is focused on campaigning in his district and ensuring that we keep Nevada red,” said Matt Leffingwell, press secretary to Porter.

The political environment is just one explanation behind the absence of convention fever. Many GOP lobbyists also have decided the convention isn’t worth the trip—despite the seemingly limitless networking and schmoozing opportunities—in part because of logistics and location.

In 2004, D.C.-based conventioneers could zip in and out of New York City by train. The 2000 convention in Philadelphia was an even shorter ride.


St. Paul, by contrast, requires a flight halfway across the country from Washington—and, of course, the maddening hassle of air travel. The convention dates aren’t great either since opening day falls on Labor Day, which for parents marks the beginning of the school year.

That’s asking a lot of attendees, some of whom question whether, as a destination, the Twin Cities will be worth the aggravation.

“I would definitely say that people aren’t as excited about going to Minneapolis as they were about going to New York City,” said Matthew Keelen, president of the Keelen Group, a D.C.-based lobbying firm. “Minneapolis is a nice city, but it doesn’t quite have the environment and reputation of a New York City, and I think 2004 was a unique convention and a lot of it had to do with where it was,” he said.

“Overall, Republicans have an intensity problem,” added a top Republican lobbyist who requested anonymity. “I have a lot of friends that are just not going that have gone in years past.”

I gotta tell you, watching McCain give another stilted teleprompter speech wouldn't inspire me to go to Minneapolis either. The whole event has the potential to be a real snoozer, and you know the media is going to spend the entire four days making comparisons to the Dems in Denver. The GOP isn't going to win that comparison.