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Democrats' Guide to the GOP Convention: Wednesday

Here's everything you need to know about the speakers on the second night of the RNC

August 29, 2012 RSS Feed Print
RNC

Workers prepare for the Republican National Convention inside the Tampa Bay Times Forum, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012, in Tampa, Fla.

The Republican National Convention continues this evening with another lineup of party personalities. Here's who will be speaking tonight:

Mitch McConnell
You know him because: He's a senator from Kentucky and the Senate minority leader.
He doesn't want you to remember: He was named one of the 15 most corrupt members of Congress by a liberal government watchdog group for allegedly seeking earmarks in exchange for campaign contributions.
Republicans love him because: When asked what his main priority was for the 2008-2010 Congress, McConnell said, "The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president."
Democrats don't like him because: McConnell opposes campaign finance laws because he believes they violate the First Amendment.

[The 11 Most Memorable Political Convention Speeches]

Rand Paul
You know him because: A senator from Kentucky, Paul is most famous for following in the footsteps of his father Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, who has pushed libertarian ideals into the Republican conversation with his spirited run for the Republican presidential nomination.
He doesn't want you to remember: After he'd won the Republican primary but before he was elected to the Senate, Paul refused in an interview to say he believed in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, suggesting he may not have voted for it.
Why Republicans love him: Paul supports the libertarian ideals of an extremely limited government and a balanced budget, and could be the future of the grassroots movement his father helped build.
Democrats don't like him because: Paul opposes abortion rights, campaign finance reform, same-sex marriage, and federal involvement in healthcare, to name just a few. He also opposes gun control legislation and energy subsidies.

Christopher Devlin-Young
You know him because: He's an American ski racer.

Jeanine McDonnell
You know her because: She's the daughter of Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell
Republicans love her because: After her father came under fire for writing that he opposed women working outside the home in his Master's thesis, his campaign used her career to prove his views had changed.

[See a collection of political cartoons on the 2012 campaign.]

John McCain
You know him because: He's a senator from Arizona and was the 2008 Republican presidential nominee.
He doesn't want you to remember: McCain was one of the "Keating Five," a group of senators accused of corruption for improperly intervening on behalf of a loan company that was under investigation.
Republicans love him because: He vehemently opposed the Affordable Care Act.
Democrats don't like him because: He led Republican opposition to Obama's 2009 stimulus bill.

Pam Bondi
You know her because:
She's the attorney general of Florida.
Republicans love her because: Florida, under her direction, was one of 27 states that sued the federal government on the grounds that the individual mandate provision of the Affordable Care Act was unconstitutional.

Sam Olens
You know him because:
He's the attorney general of Georgia.
He doesn't want you to remember: After talking tough on government ethics during his campaign, he accepted a $1,500 plane ride from a tobacco industry lobbyist.
Republicans love him because: He is the first Jew elected to statewide office in Georgia, a heavily Christian state. The Republican Party does not traditionally have a strong Jewish base.

[Photo Gallery: First Day of the Republican National Convention Cut Short]

Bobby Jindal
You know him because: He's the governor of Louisiana and the first Indian-American governor in the country.
He doesn't want you to remember: He gave the official Republican response to Obama's address to a joint session of Congress in 2009 and was criticized by other Republicans for mentioning the government's failing during Hurricane Katrina, a disaster many Republicans are keen to forget.
Republicans love him because: Jindal has cut taxes a total of six times while governor, including the largest income tax in the state's history, $1.1 billion over five years.
Democrats don't like him because: He opposed the American Recovery Act, rejecting $98 million in funds to increase unemployment insurance funding in Louisiana. This led the state to raise taxes on businesses because they did not have enough money in the unemployment trust fund.

Tags:
Republican National Convention,
John Thune,
Mike Huckabee,
Tim Pawlenty,
Bobby Jindal,
John McCain,
Condoleezza Rice,
Paul Ryan,
Mitch McConnell,
Republican Party,
Rand Paul,
Rob Portman

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