Excitement isn’t exactly building for the Republican national convention, which is shaping up to be a “considerably more staid affair” than the Democrats’ gathering, writes Richard T. Cullen of Politico. The Republican gathering in Minneapolis-St. Paul will, among other things, be marked by “the conspicuous absence of many of the usual convention attendees.” Specifically: “Of the 12 Republicans running in competitive Senate races — five of whom are incumbents —- only three have said they will be attending the convention. Six are definite no-shows, and three are on the fence.” On the House side, Cullen notes,
The Hill newspaper has reported that during a July 31 conference call, “National Republican Campaign Committee Chairman Tom Cole of Oklahoma discouraged congressional hopefuls from attending, saying that doing so would potentially be a ‘waste of time.’”http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/08/12/political-perceptions-buzz-not-growing-for-gop-gathering/