The GOP will suspend most of its activities tomorrow, except “those that are absolutely necessary,” according to Sen. John McCain, who spoke to media in St. Paul from St Louis, Missouri. He recommended to organizers today that they scale back Monday’s opening events.
McCain said he’s asked organizers and delegates to “take their Republican hats off and put their American hats on.” He said the region’s search and rescue capabilities aren’t where he’d like to see them, and that communication among first responders was also a concern. But, he added, “I have every expectation we will not see the mistakes of Katrina repeated.”
The party’s delegates will meet to open the convention as scheduled at 3 p.m. Monday. They’ll adopt the convention rules, elect officers and adopt a party platform, according to McCain campaign manager Rick Davis. They’ll wrap up business as quickly as possible, probably by 5:30 p.m., to assess events in the Gulf “and see what we will do on Tuesday, if anything.”
Throughout the week, organizers will be taking it day by day. They’ll communicate by email and text messaging with delegates, holding a noon press briefing laying out that day’s events. “We want to be respectful of the situation that exists in the Gulf. By nature, it is an unpredictable event,” Davis said.
“As a campaign, we’ve offered to fly Louisiana delegations and other delegation from the Gulf area to their homes,” Davis said. “Some will return to their homes and others will be getting their family members and returning.”
They’ll also be doing what they can to raise money for charities operating in hurricane-affected areas. They’re asking people hosting parties this week to transform them into charitable fundraisers on behalf of those affected by the hurricane.
Later this week, the party must officially nominate McCain, a move that requires a quorum of delegates. McCain has not yet decided whether he will attend. “We’re not going to do anything deemed to be inappropriate,” Davis said, although he declined to parse the political ramifications.
“We don’t have the luxury to assess the politics of this situation,” Davis said. “We have a horrible storm bearing down on the Gulf, and that’s where people’s attention should be.” However, he said the campaign is trying to figure out whether it is able to pull some campaign ads scheduled to start airing this week.
Christie Findlay is managing editor at Politics magazine. Your blogger reads her publication religiously.
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