GOP convention ‘moving forward’; Santorum to hit Obama on welfare

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- A top Mitt Romney aide said Monday evening that the Republican National Convention was “moving forward” with plans to hold sessions Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, even as a likely hurricane bears down on the northern Gulf Coast.

Tropical Storm Isaac, which spared the Tampa area after forcing the cancellation of the convention’s first day, continues to overshadow activities at what was to have been a weeklong GOP gathering attacking President Obama and getting voters better acquainted with Romney.

The storm is now expected to reach hurricane strength late Monday or early Tuesday and slam into the Louisiana or Mississippi coast on Wednesday — the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated parts of the Gulf Coast. The threat is likely to come from a storm surge and heavy rain because Isaac, after making landfall, is expected to continue dumping wind and rain over the mid-Gulf Coast for the next two or three days.

Republicans are resigned to the possibility that public attention that might have been paid to their event will go instead to storm coverage. Romney is to deliver his acceptance speech Thursday night.

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“Obviously our thoughts are with the people who are in the path of the storm, and as Gov. Romney said earlier today, we hope they are spared any destruction,” said Russ Schriefer, a top Romney media strategist who is serving as producer of the convention in Tampa.

Tuesday night’s convention program will be highlighted by speeches from Ann Romney, the candidate’s wife, and keynote speaker Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey. Those back-to-back appearances will come during the hourlong news specials that the major broadcast networks will air at 10 p.m. (7 p.m. Pacific time).

Schriefer pointed reporters during a brief conference call to another convention speech, planned for earlier Tuesday evening, by a defeated Romney primary rival. The address, by former Sen. Rick Santorum, “is going to be particularly good,” said Schriefer, who has already reviewed the speech.

He indicated that Santorum, who played a key role in welfare overhaul during the 1990s, would pick up the Romney campaign’s attack against Obama on the racially tinged issue. The Romney camp has been running attack ads over a recent Obama administration effort to give states more flexibility in helping welfare recipients find work. Independent fact-checkers have rated as false the Romney camp’s accusation that the changes would “gut welfare reform.”

Schriefer dodged a question about whether the impending hurricane would force a change in the tone of the convention, which had been expected to feature a series of full-throated attacks on Obama by a parade of Republican speakers.

At least one seasoned campaign strategist said it could be helpful for Romney if the volume of the anti-Obama attacks got turned down amid scenes of suffering by storm victims.

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“I think they just need to be careful on tone, and it actually might help them if it causes speakers to not attack President Obama. This convention needs to be about who the person and leader Mitt Romney is, not about the president, and how he would manage the country,” said Matthew Dowd, who helped direct President George W. Bush’s 2004 reelection campaign.

“Also, if I were them I would have [Louisiana] Gov. [Bobby] Jindal come into the hall, remote on screen from New Orleans one evening, updating folks on things and asking for their thoughts, prayers and help. Use the convention to rally folks to help,” Dowd added.

Schriefer indicated that the convention might indeed become a vehicle to solicit donations or other aid for storm victims, but he called it premature to discuss any plans.

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paul.west@latimes.com

Twitter: @paulwestdc