The Teapublicans are already partying like it's 1999 in Tampa, going to the poles that make them feel good, as opposed to er, those other polls. Women's disapproval polls will have no effect on their antics at this pre-hurricane party.
"This week, as we all well know, the Republican National Convention comes to Tampa, bringing people from all over the country -- and the people who cover those people -- to an unfamiliar city filled with people unfamiliar with hosting such an event (well, if you don’t count Gasparilla). Let’s meet each other, shall we? " (Linkins 2012)
The strippers' opinion that Republicans in general spend 2/3 more than that of Democrats is partially explained by some statistics from the 2008 conventions (Bryan 2012):
"A CBS/New York Times poll of convention delegates revealed that males constituted 51% of DNC delegates, compared with 67% of RNC delegates – a difference in sex ratio between parties attributable to the Democratic Party’s charter requiring gender parity. Surveys conducted on-site at each convention found the average age of delegates was 54 and 80% of all delegates were college-educated. Furthermore, 34% of RNC and 22% of DNC delegates reported a net worth of at least $1 million." (Cunningham & Kendall 2011)
This of course, nearly matches the percentage of Republican Congressmen who are themselves millionaires, well, not quite:
“About 47 percent of Congress, or 249 current members are millionaires. … In 2010, the estimated median net worth of a current U.S. senator stood at an average of $2.56 million,” according to the Center’s research." (Shine 2011)
(Shine 2011) “Despite the global economic meltdown in 2008 and the sluggish recovery that followed, that’s up about 7.6 percent from an estimated median net worth of $2.38 million in 2009 … and up 13 percent from a median net worth of $2.27 million in 2008. … Fully 36 Senate Democrats, and 30 Senate Republicans reported an average net worth in excess of $1 million in 2010. The same was true for 110 House Republicans and 73 House Democrats".
"The number of Americans who are millionaires is pretty low — about 1 percent of the population. Members of Congress who are millionaires? Nearly 50 percent" (Seabrook 2011). However, this convention is bringing some of the richest men in America to special "bundlers" VIP receptions, which brings up the average wealth of the entire contingent to levels that the Democrats can only dream about.
"Tampa, Florida is the place to be if you are an Israel-first warmonger who dreams of sending US soldiers to fight more wars in the Middle East. The Neo-conservatives who dominate the leadership of the Republican Party are gathering there and they will honour the wife of one of their richest benefactors, Sheldon Adelson." (Michael 2012)
"Now, a conservative group with ties to Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is putting the spotlight on Adelson's wife by naming a women's issues-themed pavilion on the sidelines of the party's Tampa convention after Dr Miriam Adelson." (Knox 2012) This too little, too late gesture in an effort to appear inclusive of women's issues regardless of the draconian 12th century Party Platform Plank to deny all women any choice by anti-abortion factions of the so-called "family values party" is meaningless because of the daylight shown on their true agenda by forsaken Akin.
"It's a mega-fundraising, lobbying extravaganza. Everybody is in one place at one time,' says Jack Abramoff, the onetime kingpin lobbyist whose 2006 conviction for corruption led to reforms aimed at cracking down on lobbyist influence peddling." (Isikoff 2012)
(Isikoff 2012) "Abramoff, who was released from prison last year and will be attending this year's GOP convention as a commentator for 'Inside Edition,' said that, as far as he can see, lobbyists and their lawyers have merely figured out creative new ways to skirt the rules -- a point underscored by the dizzying array of parties all week in Tampa. 'Nothing has really changed,' he said."
(Isikoff 2012) "A 'salute' to oil baron David Koch. A fete bankrolled by casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. And gala bashes for GOP super PAC donors and bundlers featuring rock stars like Kid Rock and ex-Eagles guitarist Don Felder."
(Isikoff 2012) "Craig Holman, a lawyer for Public Citizen, a campaign watchdog group that plans to 'bird dog' the parties , says that this year's convention is showcasing new ways that lobbyists are bypassing ethics rules. Those rules -- enacted in 2007 after the Abramoff scandal -- barred lobbyists from throwing parties honoring 'a member of Congress.' So this year's parties don't honor individual members; they honor groups of members such as 'A Salute to the House and Senate Energy and Commerce Committees' being thrown by a new consulting firm called GOP Convention Strategies at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg."
"The Tampa City Council voted to ask Gov. Rick Scott to issue an executive order banning guns within the convention perimeter. But Scott, a Republican who was, er, gunning for a speaking role at the convention, shot down the idea. The only type of gun that will be banned from the perimeter is the dreaded Super Soaker – because that's the only type of gun the City Council was allowed to ban." (Sacbee 2012)
(Sacbee 2012) "The council did take the precaution of banning hatchets; there's always a lot of backstabbing at conventions, and that's one category of weapons the NRA isn't much worried about protecting. Where's the party?"
(Sacbee 2012) "The presence of so many guns at the convention might worry the Secret Service. Fortunately for them, Tampa has something that will keep the agents otherwise occupied: strip clubs. The area has 50, making flesh one of the most visible industries." And one of the only cities with an all-nude variance nationwide, I might add, speaking of visible.
Strip club owners are even following the lead of the current Republican campaign in laying down fables like a Playmate on a bear rug, claiming to have invested in recent improvements such as the 2001 Odyessy club (Bryan 2012) which built that "flying saucer" VIP addition many years ago. I stayed at the family style Howard Johnson's down the block from that club once. When I popped my head in to survey the place, 2 dancers immediately offered "companionship" for $400 up in the saucer. And I in no way, shape, or form resemble the shape that Paul Ryan is in, although I was born in Wisconsin and cheese and bratwurst also run in my clogged arteries. Needless to say, I had one beer and returned to watch CNN at the motel, since I neither worked for the Congress or Bain capital at the time.
"Another adults-only perk for conventioneers are scheduled appearances at clubs by well-known female adult film stars. Agent Brian Gross, who represents actresses Joanna Angel, Ryan Keely and Alexis Ford told HuffPost that "large events … give big name adult stars who dance on the circuit a great opportunity to get in front of a large crowd for their on-stage performances." (Wilkie & Alff 2012)
It now looks like this will be a three-day weekend of party hardy for the party faithful because the RNC has shuffled their party star line-up to make Monday their nominating day (zzzzz), shifting Ryan's appearance to Wednesday, and Mrs. Romney to Tuesday, I believe. This will diminish the effect of the Ron Paul fanatics because there's a blackout for broadcast TV on Monday, and only cable will be covering it." (March 2012) (Maddow 2012)
"In what looked like an effort to offer symbolic consolation to Paul's supporters, the Romney campaign announced that a short video paying tribute to the retiring Texas congressman would be shown Tuesday night. Paul's son and presumed heir, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, has been granted a convention speaking slot, but Rep. Paul himself has not." (West & Mehta 2012)
"Also: enough about what a brainy wunderkind he is. Ryan is an intellectual in the same way that people well-versed in specious vaccination theories are 'intellectuals." (Sorensen 2012)
While the Family Research Council & Tony Perkins are gearing up for a fight with Log Cabin Republicans and GOProud members over the party platform (Johnson 2012), local gay commercial establishments are no slouches in catering to the Republican crowd either, with one Spa offering free admission for RNC delegates and someone has been recruited as a Paul Ryan "look alike":
"For those unaware, Ybor City is a homo-heavy entertainment district famed for its riotous nightclub scene, which is often described as Tampa's version of Bourbon Street,' Jervis notes." (Jervis 2012) While I believe this is wholly unrepresentative of Ybor City, a historic Cuban community with a wide variety of restaurants and entertainment including family movie theaters, it's an interesting aside. I'm certain there must be gay bars somewhere that are likewise gearing up (no pun intended) for the festivities. (Periscope post 2012)
And last, but not least by any intonation, protest groups organized by a Coalition To March On The RNC are beginning to arrive, and have not been deterred by weather reports either at this time. (Lush 2012)
"As of now, we are a Coalition uniting groups from around the country to say NO to this political system that only works for the 1% and therefore are marching at the Republican National Convention to let our voices be heard. Together we stand to march for good jobs, healthcare, affordable education, equality and peace. (...) Together, we are planning a 5000 strong march at the first day of the convention on Aug 27th. We have hundreds of national and local organizations such as Code Pink, Veterans for Peace, Get EQUAL, Dream defenders, United National Antiwar Coalition, Occupy Tampa, Occupy USF, Occupy Pensacola, Occupy Tallahassee and more (See here for full list) endorsing us and we would love for all Occupy Assemblies to come down to Tampa to join and/or endorse our coalition. Only through unity is there strength.We will be encouraging people to sleep at Occupy Tampa's Voice of Freedom park or at these parks that allow camping for a nominal fee." (OccupyWallSt 2012)
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