Today on AirTalk we're broadcasting LIVE from Tampa Bay Florida where the Republican National Convention is taking place. We'll set the table for what to expect in the next week as well as discuss the Republican party in the state of California, the Ron Paul rallies and tribute videos and what that means for the Congressman, we'll take a look at the news of the day and over the weekend, what the GOP's platform on abortion is and who is taking control of the immigration policy. Plus, the latest news.
Live from Tampa: Day 1 of the Republican National Convention
Today marks the beginning of the Republican National Convention in Tampa Bay, Florida. While Mitt Romney has long been the GOP nominee, this event will serve as the formal coronation of his candidacy as the Republican standard bearer and chief opposition to President Barack Obama.
It will also provide Americans with a more pointed view of his chosen running mate, Congressman Paul Ryan from Wisconsin. Additionally, the official party platform will be adopted and presented to the American people. Republicans are wasting no time and hope to immediately start attacking Obama on his perceived failures with the theme of tonight being “We Can Do Better.” The following themes for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday respectively are “We Built It,” “We Can Change It,” and “We Believe in America.”
AirTalk is live at the convention hall to give listeners a peek into this momentous political event and set the tone for what’s happening on the ground in Tampa.
What issues will arise on each themed night? What specific points will the speakers at the convention raise not only about the difference between Romney and Obama, but between the two parties themselves? What will America’s future under the GOP look like? With a roster including House Majority Leader John Boehner, Senator Rand Paul and Ann Romney, who are you looking forward most to seeing on the dais? Who will make the biggest splash?
Guests:
Rob Lorei, News Director, WMNF Radio Tampa
Shawn Steel, Deputy Permanent Co-Chairman for the Republican National Committee’s quadrennial convention; California national committeeman, RNC; former California Republican Party chairman
Frank Stoltze, KPCC Reporter covering the RNC; Stoltze was at the California delegation which had some significant political figures in attendance
Is the Golden State losing its luster for Republicans?
California sent two Republican presidents to the White House this century, but in recent years, the party of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan has seen a major decline in the Golden State.
Republicans have shrunk to just 30 percent of the state’s votership. No Republican holds statewide office, and to make matters worse, several prominent Republicans have recently deserted for independent status.
In short, the GOP is in danger of becoming a third party in California.
Moderates are key
The Republican hard-line stance on social issues, such as abortion, same-sex marriage and immigration, has driven social moderates out of the fold. And California’s budget woes have led to strife as well; Assemblyman Brian Nestande recently stepped down from his post as Republican Caucus Chair after casting his vote with the Democrats on tax reform.
But talking to the Chairman of the California Republican Party, Tom Del Beccaro, it’s clear he remains optimistic. He told AirTalk that predictions the Republican Party would lose multiple seats to Democrats this election cycle would not come to fruition.
“You’re going to find we’re in an even match with [Democrats], maybe gain a seat, maybe tie, or maybe lose one seat,” Del Beccaro said. “We’re going to gain assembly seats, Jerry Brown’s tax increase will fail, and Prop 32 will pass. In reality, the party and its ideals are doing well. … We’re going to have a good year in California.”
But how will the party, which is often seen as out of touch, fare when it comes to communities of color, women, and college-age voters?
Reaching the Asian-American community
Del Beccaro has been working with people like Korean-American Michelle Park Steel — the vice chairman of the Board of Equalization and a Romney pledgee — to reach out to the Asian American community.
Steel, who is an elected official herself, says the Republican Party needs to focus on mobilization at the community level where there is a surprising number of up-and-coming Republican Asian Americans. In the past, elected Asian American officials have overwhelmingly been Democrats.
The Republican Party, Steel explained were weak in areas of immigration, which affects large pockets of the Asian American community. Their messages needed to become more “detail oriented,” she said.
“Our message to each community has to be different, especially with Asian Americans. The polls came out [and showed Asian Americans] think family comes first, and … education is the most important thing for their lives and their children,” Steel said. “[The Republican Party] is not really relaying those messages to each community.”
For the Republican Party to make waves in California, they need to better relay their message and tap into voting blocks that have historically gone Democratic. For one thing, the Republican Party needs to appeal to the over 500,000 Asian American business owners in California, Steel explained.
Those voters want less regulation and lower taxes, which the Republican Party supports.
Del Beccaro says he believes his party’s ideals will appeal to many voters, especially those who feel disenfranchised or neglected by the government in times of economic recession, such as unemployed and underemployed graduates and small business owners.
“We need to have more consistent communication,” he said. “[Asian Americans are] very family oriented and small business minded. The policies in Sacramento are hurting them. The EPA … is hurting them. We’re the ones trying to help them.”
For now Del Beccaro, Steel, and others are focusing on the ground — they’re looking for young Republican talent and shaping them into political contenders for the national stage.
“There are more locally elected Republicans in California than Democrats. The question is, how do we get it to the next level?” Del Beccaro said. “The Democrats in the past perhaps had a leg up because they’ve been more engaged.”
The solution for the party lies in finding new tactics when addressing ever-changing, continually diversifying communities in California.
“Republicans ... have got to provide practical solutions to voters and they have to talk to more voters,” Del Becarro said. “That’s the key to the return.”
Weigh In:
What does this mean for the party? Can Republican leaders turn things around? Or is California lost to the GOP forever?
Guests:
Tom Del Beccaro, Chairman, California Republican Party
Michelle Park Steel, California Delegate Pledged to Mitt Romney; Vice Chairman, Board of Equalization
Rah-rah for Ron Paul: rallies and a video tribute celebrate the defeated presidential candidate
Ron Paul isn’t staging a floor fight for delegates at the Republican National Convention, although some of his supporters wish he would.
The Texas Congressman will be celebrated in two major events before the convention’s official start. Fans flocked to PAUL Festival, a grassroots event in Tampa sponsored by the Libertarian Party. Though perhaps more sparsely attended than the party would have wished, the festival still boasted a few thousand supporters. And the man himself appeared at a rally on Sunday hosted by his own presidential campaign committee.
At this rally, held at University of South Florida’s Sun Dome, Paul urged around 10,000 supporters to stay strong in the Republican Party. He won’t be speaking at the convention because of his refusal to publicly endorse Romney, but the GOP has made provisions for getting Paul fans on the Romney bandwagon. The party will toast Ron Paul in a tribute video on the convention floor.
Will that be enough to turn Paul die-hards over to Romney in November? And do staunch proponents of small government feel represented by today’s GOP?
Guest:
Roger Pruyne, Ron Paul supporter who traveled from L.A. for Paul Fest in Tampa
GOP convention convenes for abbreviated session
As Tropical Storm Isaac proved to rear its ugly head, GOP convention officials in Florida acquiesced and canceled Monday's events. However, the spirit of the convention is still alive and well and Republicans are going strong on the ground.
They're staying on message with today's theme being "We Can Do Better," and the media and journalists are still providing coverage and analysis of the goings on despite a few raindrops here or there. The stalwart GOP is saying that the loss of a day won't have an adverse effect on them getting their message out to the American people. But it did already have an effect on the welcoming party last night at Tropicana Field, which was expecting 20,000 and only garnered half that.
How will the GOP manage to get its word out despite these environmental circumstances? Will the gamble to hold the convention in Tampa end up affecting the election?
Guests:
Jonathan Collegio, Communications Director for American Crossroads, Karl Rove's super PAC
Jonathan Wilcox, Republican Strategist; former speech writer for Governor Pete Wilson
GOP abortion platform gets a full examination
When Todd Akin uttered those ill-fated words about “legitimate” rape and women’s uncanny ability to prevent pregnancy in most rape cases, he triggered a firestorm of rebuke from Democrats and Republicans alike.
Unwittingly, the comments of the House Representative and Senate candidate threw the political floodlights back onto abortion. High-level Republicans have asked Akin to step down, but those moves don’t change the strict anti-abortion platform of the GOP.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney and his running mate, Paul Ryan, have distanced themselves from the incendiary remarks, but Ryan’s a strong pro-lifer who thinks abortion should be banned even in cases of rape and incest.
Ironically, Akin’s gaffe to put all gaffes to shame may help the Romney campaign, Bloomberg View columnist Margaret Carlson explained, pointing out Ryan’s “no exceptions policies” are not a “politically popular position.”
“There’s not a way to close the gender gap if you’re going to split hairs on rape and you’re going to have no-exceptions,” Carlson said on Patt Morrison. “Now, Mitt Romney gets to come out and say, ‘I believe in exceptions and I want Todd Akin to get out of the Party.’ It’s a way ... to get back on a path that is more appealing to moderate women.”
But even if Romney seizes the opportunity to separate himself from Akin, will it be enough to sway more women to vote for the Republican candidate when their platform remains ardently pro-life?
“The Republican Party and its platform and its members affirm that all innocent life deserves to be protected and they also affirm the dignity of women,” said Kellie Fiedorek, a staff attorney and Capitol Hill liaison with Americans United for Life. “That’s where the party stands since 1976.”
Fiedorek described the current national policies on rape “radical.” She also disagreed that pro-choice advocates were advocating for women’s rights.
“Unfortunately, right now people fail to understand that true empowerment of women is recognizing abortion harms women, especially late-term abortion causes significant physical and mental complications for women,” Fiedorek said. “We really need to prioritize women’s health above all else and it’s the Republican Party that is doing that — and that’s what the platform affirms, that abortion does in fact harm women, it is not health care.”
She said her beliefs were based on “scientific fact” not necessarily morals. Fiedorek later explained that she didn’t believe this was a debate on exceptions, that the question of exceptions were a “red herring” meant to distract what the heart of the debate was -- which is, in her opinion and the stance of the Republican platform, the continued protection of all innocent human life.
“I don’t think people agree that all human life should be protected. We wouldn’t have abortion in America if all people agreed on that principle,” Fiedorek said. “Unfortunately, it’s the way we are right now in America, that we don’t all agree that all human life should be protected from the moment of conception. And that is a debate we need to have publicly in America.”
Weigh In
Will this stance hurt the GOP’s appeal to women? Will it energize the conservative base to benefit the Republicans? How will it affect the races for the U.S. House and Senate? How will Democrats maneuver to capitalize on the issue?
Guests:
Kellie Fiedorek, Staff Attorney and Capitol Hill Liaison, Americans United for Life
Margaret Carlson, Bloomberg View Columnist
Who owns immigration policy on the right?
It’s one of the most contentious issues out there, and the rift isn’t just between Democrats and Republicans.
Even within the GOP itself exists a spectrum from conservative to progressive regarding immigration reform. The Supreme Court’s ruling on Arizona’s immigration enforcement law highlighted this problem for the party, as it placed more pressure on Congress to come up with a unified plan regarding how to handle the situation.
Some Republicans, speaking to the GOP base, are absolutely opposed to any form of illegal immigration and believe that those who are here illegally should be sent home and not allowed to work.
On the opposing side, some don’t wish to come across as so virulently anti-immigrant, especially since many illegal immigrants are Hispanic, which also happens to be one of the most coveted voting demographics, specifically in a presidential election. George W. Bush captured enough of the Hispanic vote in 2000 and 2004 to push him over the top, something John McCain failed to do in 2008.
Mitt Romney, who needs a sizable portion of Hispanic voters to choose him over Barack Obama, has struck a somewhat moderate stance on immigration. He wants to put an end to illegal immigration and is completely opposed to amnesty, stressing his policy of an employee verification system to assure all American workers are of legal status and an end to any federal or state benefits to illegal immigrants.
Congressman Brian Bilbray (CA-50) and Chairman of the Immigration Reform Caucus, supports establishing a guest worker system and the use of an employee verification system.
Bilbray argued such systems benefit both the worker, who can maintain a family life in their home country and a higher standard of living through legal employment, and the business who can hire migrant labor without risking breaking the law.
“The biggest issue is how do you create an environment that defends our foundation of freedom of prosperity, the enforcement of law but create a system that allows those workers in ag and dairy to visit the country, be able to make a decent living without coming in and undercutting the fair labor price for a lot of laborers,” he said.
Bilbray pointed to what he believed was the biggest roadblock in comprehensive immigration reform of any kind: businesses continually benefiting from undocumented labor without any significant consequences.
“There is a hidden agenda within both sides of the party that has a vested interest in not seeing the immigration issue addressed appropriately,” he explained. “Before we can even discuss those who are illegally present now, we’ve got to discuss [the question]: Are we willing to do the minimum of telling employers we’re going to stop giving them tax deductions when they’re employing illegals?”
Attorney and executive director of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles, Alfonso Aguilar has worked extensively in immigration policy. Like Bilbray, he believes there does need to be a guest worker program established.
“In our economy there are certain industries, like agriculture and construction, that need foreign workers,” Aguilar explained. “We are a rule-of-law country but we have to understand our immigration system is broken, dysfunctional, and encourages illegality because we have a labor market that needs foreign workers and we don’t have an effective work visa programs so they’re coming illegally.”
He argued that the challenge the GOP faced was within its own Party: “The issue of immigration within the GOP has been hijacked since 2006 by a minority of restrictionists who I don’t believe represent the Party.”
Aguilar continued, saying, “More and more we’re starting to see the majority of conservatives, a majority of Republicans saying, ‘You know, enough listening to this restrictionist minority -- we’re the party of the family, we’re the party of the free market, we’re going to stand up, reclaim this issue and go back to the principles outlined by Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.”
Weigh In:
How can Republicans effectively come to terms with the prevailing disparate views on immigration within their own party? How can they do so while also combating the message on the Democratic side? Is Romney’s plan a happy marriage of the two? Why or why not?
Guests:
Congressman Brian Bilbray, (CA-50) Chairman of the Immigration Reform Caucus
Alfonso Aguilar, Executive Director, Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles; Appointed by President George W. Bush in 2003, Alfonso Aguilar was the first Chief of the Office of Citizenship within U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; Attorney with the law offices of James G. Roche, offices throughout the U.S. including L.A. and Orange county.