GOP primary purgatory, Charlie’s hug, charming Charm
By Chris Ingram
The Tampa Tribune
Published Tuesday, August 28, 2012
It is a painfully long trip from the Forum and all the RNC festivities in Tampa to where the Florida and South Carolina delegations are staying at the Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor. The fact that it’s such a long haul isn’t lost on the Florida delegation, many of whom were griping about the “70s décor” and architecture at the resort, as well as the travel time to downtown.
On Monday, the two delegations had a joint breakfast gathering called “Fresh Squeezed Florida,” sponsored by Florida’s agriculture commissioner, Adam Putnam, Tropicana Co. and other Florida agricultural interests. That’s how these things work — smart delegates don’t pay for much other than their rooms while they’re at the convention.
Before giving the invocation, incoming Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford quipped about Charlie Crist’s recent endorsement of Barack Obama. Of Crist he said, “I knew that hugs could be powerful, but I had no idea how much until now.” After booing at the mention of Crist, the crowd roared at Weatherford’s reference to the former governor’s ill-timed hug of Obama at a rally in Fort Myers a few years ago. The photo of that hug was the defining image of Crist during his ill-timed run for the U.S. Senate.
During Putnam’s welcoming remarks, he referred to the two state delegations as “partners in primary purgatory” for their far-flung hotel location. Both states were penalized by the Republican National Committee for presidential primary calendar changes the party bosses in D.C. didn’t like. The distant hotel was one of many punishments.
Click here to read the entire column in today’s Tampa Tribune.
Chris Ingram is the president and founder of 411 Communications a corporate and political communications firm, and publisher of Irreverent View. Ingram is a frequent pundit on Fox News and CNN, and has written opinion columns for the Washington Times, UPI, and National Review online. He is the Republican political analyst for Bay News 9, the only 24 hour all news channel in Florida’s largest media market. The opinions expressed here are those of author and do not represent the views of Bay News 9. E-mail him at: Chris@IrreverentView.com.
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Don’t be knocking Innisbrook and it’s decor…Innisbrook owner Sheila Johnson dumped a bunch of money into Obama’s 2008 campaign instead of updating the 70′s shag carpeting and wood paneled walls at the resort….word has it that she is backing Romney – so who knows when Innisbrook will ever get updated!
I know Charm from SC and she rocks!