Hotline Sort: DSCC Attacks Akin on Entitlements
Welcome back to Hotline Sort. Both sides aggressively seek to define the Ryan pick, the DSCC is up with an IE ad in Missouri, the NRCC targets four Democrats, and Hirono and Gabbard win their Hawaii primaries.
10) Shouldn't be awkward at all: Mitt Romney, on the campaign bus, after being told he's going to Ohio: "Oh! Interesting, going to see Rob Portman."
9) Let's remember what's really important: Celebrity reactions to Romney's pick of Paul Ryan as his VP candidate. USA Today has a rundown. Kal Penn: "This is awful. I was hoping it would be Jindal so I could play him in a HBO movie."
8) One person who won't be speaking at the GOP National Convention: Sarah Palin.
7) On Friday, National Republican Congressional Committee starts airing ads against four House Democrats representing conservative districts. The spots will target Democratic Reps. John Barrow (Ga.), Ben Chandler (Ky.), Mike McIntyre (N.C.) and Mark Critz (Pa.), Roll Call reports.
6) Arizona GOP Senate candidate Wil Cardon is back on TV -- but in a very small way. On Friday, the Cardon campaign made a $52,000 cable buy that will air Wednesday through the August 28 primary, according to the Arizona Republic.
Meanwhile, Cardon's opponent Jeff Flake told a group of party activists that he's in favor of repealing direct election of U.S. senators.
5) The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is up with an IE ad in Missouri. The ad says Rep. Todd Akin would "undermine" Social Security. "Akin would risk your retirement savings with a private investment program that benefits Wall Street," says the ad's narrator. "He's already taken almost half a million dollars from Wall Street. He'd give them your Social Security money."
The ad buy is $1.1 million, and the spot is running statewide on cable and broadcast.
As Democrats tell it, Paul Ryan's name on a national ticket crystalizes the choice in congressional elections everywhere because Republicans won't be able to distance themselves enough from the Wisconsin Republican's controversial Medicare reform proposals. Even some Republicans have reacted in ways that show they too expect to be playing defense in the fall as the political debate begins to focus tightly on still relatively obscure details of Ryan's plans to slash public spending.
The state GOP has already run an ad underscoring he is among the few House Republicans who have opposed Ryan's budget plans, noting Rehberg refused to support "a Republican budget plan that could harm the Medicare program so many of Montana's seniors rely on." But Rehberg did not mention that on Saturday. Rather, he simply praised Ryan as a public servant, and said he appreciates "his character, intelligence, and creativity -- not only on the vast majority of issues on which we agree -- like controlling government spending, developing our natural resources, and providing tax relief for families and job creators -- but also on the few occasions where we haven't."
Democrats moved aggressively on Sunday to wrap Mitt Romney in the politically charged details of budget-cutting proposals championed by his new running mate, Representative Paul D. Ryan, as Mr. Romney sought to capitalize on conservative enthusiasm for his choice without having to defend every element of Mr. Ryan's positions.
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