Around this time of year, nostalgia for the old days of politics runs deep. Thus—bunting, whistle-stop campaigns, somber invocations of the triumph of generations past.  On the stump, everyone’s grandfather is an immigrant, everyone’s mother a saint of sacrifice.  Such paeans to the past become especially prevalent now, when party stalwarts gather for the quadrennial conventions. Sixteen-thousand journalists are expected down in Tampa and Charlotte, and it is safe to say that nearly all of them will express some form of lament over the fact that the conventions are now so scripted , so info-mercional. Where is the excitement of the conventions of yore, with their skinny ties, delegate wrangles, smoke filled backrooms and uncertain outcomes?

Is there a word for nostalgia for something that you do not really know? There hasn’t been any drama at a convention (assuming you don’t count aged Hollywood stars talking to chairs as drama) for 35 years, and the outcome of one hasn’t seriously been in doubt for probably 60, meaning that practically none of the scribblers in the press riser have living memory of the kind of conventions that this year’s are a mere pale imitation of. Read More

Full transcript:

Mr. Chairman, delegates. I accept your nomination for President of the United States of America.

I do so with humility, deeply moved by the trust you have placed in me. It is a great honor. It is an even greater responsibility.

Tonight I am asking you to join me to walk together to a better future. By my side, I have chosen a man with a big heart from a small town. He represents the best of America, a man who will always make us proud – my friend and America’s next Vice President, Paul Ryan. Read More

For your viewing pleasure:

For everyone missing the action in Tampa, the RNC is posting live video of the proceedings:

New York Republicans are gathering  for their convention in Tampa, but Brooklyn State Sen. Daniel Squadron has a message for them when they return: Disclose your ties to ALEC!

“ALEC spends thousands of corporate dollars a year to advocate for and against legislation,” said Mr. Squadron. “Legislators who are part of ALEC can call it what they want. But undisclosed lobbying by any other name still stinks. That’s why I’m urging my colleagues in New York and around the country to take the pledge to disclose if ALEC helps shape their bills.”

ALEC, short for American Legislative Exchange Council, has become a recent target of much criticism of Democrats. The Center for Media and Democracy, in a recent expose, revealed that the group is a “front group” in which “corporations hand state legislators the changes to the law they desire that directly benefit their bottom line.” Read More

During a speech to the California delegation at the Republican National Convention this morning, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie teased Golden Staters for electing Jerry Brown as their governor (although, presumably, none of the GOP die-hards in attendance had much to do with it.)

“California made the bad choice by going with an old retread,” he told the crowd, adding,  “Let me tell you this – I cannot believe you people elected Jerry Brown over Meg Whitman. … Jerry Brown. Jerry Brown? I mean, he won the New Jersey presidential primary over Jimmy Carter when I was 14 years old.”

Mr. Christie then went on to mock Mr. Brown for telling him that he didn’t want to raise taxes, and so instead would put an initiative to raise  income and sales taxes on the November ballot. 

“Man, that’s leadership, isn’t it?” Mr. Christie said. Read More

Calling it the defining economic issue of the moment, The United States Medical Marijuana Chamber of Commerce which advocates for the legalization of cannabis for medical purposes, endorsed Barack Obama for president today.

“Let’s not get distracted by the myriad of issues that will be brought to the forefront at the upcoming political conventions, the single most important election issue is getting our economy back on track,” said Thomas L. Leto III, President and Founder of the U.S. Medical Marijuana Chamber of Commerce. “The Economic Potential of the Cannabis Business in the U.S. is Limitless and President Obama understands this. It is our impression that Mr. Romney just doesn’t get it.” Read More

A Denver TV reporter scored a rare interview with Mitt Romney today, although the terms were more limited than she may have liked.

Political reporter Shaun Boyd of CBS4 told an anchor, “The one stipulation to the interview was that I not ask him about abortion or Todd Akin—he’s the Missouri Republican who created a firestorm after saying women’s bodies shut down in a legitimate rape to prevent pregnancy. I did ask him about health care, the female vote and energy.”

This created a predictably mocking response from the Obama campaign: Read More

Note to politicos: Start musing aloud about legitimate rape and watch your poll numbers sink.

That seems to be the case in Missouri, where incumbent Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill has opened up a 10 point lead over her challenger, Congressman Todd Akin in the latest Rasmussen poll. Mr. Akin, of course, burst onto the political scene earlier this week when, during an otherwise routine local TV interview, he stated his objection to abortion even in cases of rape.

“It seems to me, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare,” Mr. Akin said about the chances of getting pregnant due to rape. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let’s assume that maybe that didn’t work or something: I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be of the rapist, and not attacking the child.” Read More

Why yes, it is.

Presented without further comment [Skip to 1:40 or so]:

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