Zing! RPOF Chair sends DWS a "preview" of Crist's DNC speech

I've had a lot of fun following the Republican Party of Florida's communications over the past few years. They've been doing a great job with some pithy, snarky attacks on the Democrats, like Alex Sink's "iCheat" kerfuffle during the 2010 gubernatorial debates.

When the news broke that our former Governor (and World's Tallest Oompa Loompa) Charlie Crist was endorsing Barack Obama for president, RPOF was quick to respond with a press release condemning Crist's political opportunism and a detailed list of quotes Crist had said when he was still trying to run as a Republican.

Now that the Democrats have announced that Crist will speak at the Democratic National Committee, the RPOF was once again ready with a sharp response:

Rep. Connie Mack's #GOP2012 speech

Florida Congressman and Senate candidate Connie Mack gave a positive and uplifting speech to open tonight's Republican National Convention, telling the crowd that "once again, it's morning in America," a tribute to Ronald Reagan. 

Mack delivered his speech and closed with, "Thank you! God bless America!" and then, "I love you, Florida!" as he pointed at the Florida delegation and then exited the stage. 

Excerpts from Mitt Romney's speech tonight

[I'm live-blogging from the Tampa Bay Times Forum, so please forgive any errors. Also, follow me on Twitter @rumpfshaker for more updates as the evening progresses.]

The Republican National Convention concludes tonight with speeches from Florida Senate candidate Connie Mack, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, a surprise guest (widely rumored to be Clint Eastwood), and the official acceptance speech from our nominee for President, Mitt Romney.

Here are excerpts from Romney's speech that he will give tonight:

Turning Massachusetts Red, Part II

Almost two months ago, I wrote a post titled "Turning Massachusetts Red," about several of the Republican Congressional candidates running in Massachusetts, Sean Bielat, Jon Golnik, Jeff Semon, and Chris Sheldon:

Podcasts and a #GOP2012 Convention Preview

Sorry about the lack of posts the past few days. I've been busy getting ready for the Republican Convention in Tampa next week. It's going to be an amazing time and we're not going to let some stupid hurricane spoil our party.

Anyway, I may not have had much time to write, but I did manage to chatter away on some podcasts this week. I've also included some links and news about the convention below the break:

Morning Coffee Reading for May 23, 2011

Here's your morning coffee reading for today:

• In case you missed the news over the weekend, Herman Cain is in the race for President, Tim Pawlenty will officially announce he's getting in today, and Mitch Daniels is out.

• Abel Harding at the Florida Times-Union had an interesting blog post yesterday about the spread of fake Twitter accounts parodying political figures, notably in the Florida Republican Senate primary. IMHO, several of these accounts cross the line from being funny to being ugly and abusive. There's no way to completely prevent someone from creating one of these accounts, so I guess the next best thing is to spread the word and hopefully people become aware the fake accounts are out there, and know not to attribute any of the nonsense to the real candidates.

Jacksonville.com | PolitiJax Blog | Fake Twitter accounts raise eyebrows, create confusion in Florida Senate primary

• The St. Petersburg Times and POLITICO are teaming up to cover the 2012 elections. They'll be sharing content in both their respective print and online editions. This new arrangement is partially due to the 2012 Republican Convention being in Tampa.

St. Petersburg Times | The Buzz Blog | Times, POLITICO team up for 2012 coverage

• Gene Simmons from the band KISS had some harsh words for President Obama over the weekend. Simmons, whose real name is Chaim Witz, was born in Israel and let's just say he strongly disagrees with Obama's suggestion that Israel go back to its 1967 borders. Added bonus: he discusses the United Nations as well (Spoiler: he doesn't like them, either). Video of Simmons' interview is included with the article (warning - NSFW language):

Real Clear Politics | KISS' Gene Simmons: Obama "Has No F***ing Idea What The World Is Like"

• Here's Erick Erickson, making a lot of sense, as usual, in a brief post about the current crop of Republican Presidential candidates: "I can live with the field and I hope you can too."

RedState | Off to the races with the horses we have

•  George Soros-funded Media Matters apparently started a campaign to target companies that advertise on the Fox News Channel (keeping with their usual theme of "free speech for me but not for thee"). One thing they didn't count on was a corporation that had a backbone. Travel website Orbitz responded to the call for a boycott from "DropFox.com" with force and confidence. Well done, Orbitz. The boundaries of free speech should not be set by bullies.

Big Journalism | Travel Giant Orbitz Stands Up To Soros "Smear Campaign"