WATCH LIVE: Republican National Convention - Day Three

Interesting Quote: Frank Bruni

Several gay Republicans with whom I spoke in Tampa said that the near-complete absence of any talk onstage about gays and lesbians was in fact a hopeful sign that the party’s extremists on gay issues had lost the war to moderates. At least gays and lesbians weren’t being cast in a negative light, as a way of riling the worst of the base.

“Our messaging within the party has been: if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all,” said R. Clarke Cooper, the executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay advocacy group.

But that’s not progress enough. Silence does nothing for gay and lesbian teenagers racked with self-doubt and anxiety about what the world has in store. Or for committed same-sex couples who lack the legal protections that their straight counterparts have. Silence is a stalling tactic, and silence is a cop-out.

On the convention stage in Tampa, where estrogen was platinum and melanin was gold, Republicans spoke eloquently about a country that valued every person’s worth and was poised to reward each person’s dreams. Those words would have carried much more weight if coupled with even a glancing recognition of gay and lesbian Americans. Instead speakers tacitly let the party’s platform do the talking. It calls for the kind of constitutional amendment that Romney now supports.

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Al Sharpton calls Clint Eastwood's Speech 'Embarrassing'

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President Obama responds to Clint Eastwood and the GOP

Here Comes Honey Boo Boo topped the RNC convention in ratings

One of the worst reality shows, beat one of the worst reality shows.
Here Comes Honey Boo Boo topped the RNC convention in ratings.

E! News has the scoop

TLC's spinoff starring Toddlers and Tiaras' Alana Thompson and her family, hit a series-high yet again with almost 3 million viewers, effectively topping cable news and broadcast network coverage of the Republican National Convention. 

Even though it's in its fourth week, Honey Boo Boo's ratings continue to rise, growing 30 percent from last week's 2.3 million viewers. How else did the self-proclaimed redneck family beat the coverage of the RNC? In the 18-49 demo, of course! With a 1.3 rating, the only competition Honey Boo Boo had in the time period was the Fox News' 1.2 rating.

A hillbilly baby was the biggest catch? Sad, but funny

Black CNN Camerawoman speaks out about the Racial Incident at the RNC Convention

Patricia Carroll is the CNN camerawoman who was assaulted with peanuts and called an animal by two folks at the RNC Convention. She has decided to speak out about the incident, but she doesn't want to make this a political issue.

Carroll, who agreed to be named for the first time, said she does not want her situation to be used for political advantage. "This situation could happen to me at the Democratic convention or standing on the street corner. Racism is a global issue," she said by telephone from Tampa.

Carroll said no one took the names of the attendees who threw peanuts at her Tuesday on the convention floor and told her, "This is what we feed animals." She alerted fellow camera operators, producers and CNN security. The head of the delegation — she was not certain of the state — told her the perpetrators must have been alternates, not delegates.

But Carroll, 34, said that as an Alabama native, she was not surprised. "This is Florida, and I'm from the Deep South," she said. "You come to places like this, you can count the black people on your hand. They see us doing things they don't think I should do."

She has said that CNN has been 100% supportive and the convention spokesman Kyle Downey was ashamed of this incident.

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100 Minutes of the RNC Convention: Day Two

The Media on Paul Ryan's Acceptance Speech

From HuffPo:

"I marked seven or eight points I'm sure the fact checkers will have some opportunities to dispute if they want to go forward," Blitzer said. "I'm sure they will." He did not specify what the points were.

After a correspondent's interview with Ryan's family — and a fair amount of criticism — Blitzer noted that he had been getting emails from Democrats and others about what, in his words, "they claim were falsehoods, misleading statements, lies, if you will, that were made by Paul Ryan. And I guess that fact-checking is only beginning."

John King then made the point about the GM plant, and Gloria Borger brought up the debt commission issue.

Panelist David Gergen took a different tack.
"I think these factual checks are really important," Gergen said. "But this was a speech about big ideas."
 
The Washington Post flatly said, "Ryan misleads on GM plant closing."

This is not to say that Ryan got overwhelmingly negative reviews. CNN's Candy Crowley said he brought a "spark" to the convention hall. "This was the speech they were waiting for," she added. Burnett called the speech "precise, clear and passionate."

Chris Wallace on Chris Christie's RNC Speech - It was Off-Key

Fox News host Chris Wallace wasn't feeling Chris Christie's I want to be President speech last night.

HuffPo reports:

"I have to say, personally, I thought it was one of the most off-key keynote speeches I ever heard," Wallace said.

He noted that Christie said the word "I" 37 times, "Romney" seven times, and "jobs" one time.

"[I]t seemed sometimes as if he was promoting his own candidacy more than he was Mitt Romney's," Wallce added. "People liked the speech, but not nearly the kind of intense reaction to it and intense listening to it that there was for Ann Romney."

You know, Wallace is right.

100 minutes of Day One of the RNC Convention