I showed up in Minneapolis at the same time Hurricane Gustav showed up along Louisiana's coast.  Gustav is  prepared to bring the pain to the Gulf Coast, but am I ready to reign over the RNC?  Everyone knew this was coming, so the Republican Party planned accordingly, going into anti-natural disaster mode, aka anti-National Party disaster mode.  A party atmosphere of a Convention just wouldn't be a good look for the Party with such a recent unfavorable track record when hurricanes attack America. 

With this in mind, the theme of the Convention has turned to "America First" with headline speakers deciding to not show up in order to handle the business of the country, in an attempt to prove that George Bush does care. 

This altered Convention has brought with it a subdued feeling and a lack of energy so far.  As the week goes on an as Gustav (hopefully) loses steam, we can settle in and get a real sense of what John McCain and the Republicans have planned for this event. 

So as I stroll the aisles of the Excel Center donned in a USC Football T-Shirt, (my travel gear) looking a bit sloppy, The Young Turks is like a rebel group dropped in the middle of a jungle of enemy fighters. 

Conservatives that are prepared enough to know the angle of our show and the facts we bring to interviews are avoiding us like the plague.   Although there are no tricks and schemes pulled, the natural thought is that we have something up our sleeves.  Some Senators and Representatives that almost walk into the fact-laden den of our remote Rebel HQs in Minnesota get advised otherwise immediately. 

Our guest booker and Associate Producer Ana Kasparian has been tirelessly chasing potential guests down and has been at odds with members of the radio booking team that is supposed to help book guests on radio shows granted a place in radio row.   A couple of these employees have instead been "counseling" each guest about their decision to have an adult conversation with us. 

As she gets shunned, our small rebel army's determination grows.  Ana's wounds are healing in the medical tent right now.  We're hacking through some serious jungle brush, setting trip wires and keeping the large "coalition of the unwilling to talk" in front of us.  Day 1 has been a bit brutal, but no casualties to report.  We're waiting until the end of the week to unleash the secret weapon: JJJ. 


HA!  We'll see if I crumble under the pressure...


--JJJ

1 Comment