Republican National Convention May Be Canceled Because of Image Problem

n Tampa, it’s being called “the biggest event ever,” but the Republican National Convention may not even happen.

With Tropical Storm Isaac looking to become Hurricane Isaac and roll through the gulf coast, organizers at the Republican National Committee are considering scrapping the convention altogether.

It’s not because they’re afraid Isaac poses any real danger to Tampa, it’s because it may pose a real danger to New Orleans.

Wednesday is the seven-year anniversary of Huricane Katrina hitting New Orleans and Isaac is on track to hit the city and make its presence felt for 36 hours, according to Weather.com. As for Tampa, the storm that has killed 24 in Haiti and the Dominican Republic appears to pose no danger, except for hard rain and gusty winds there.

What RNC organizers are really worried about is how it will look if a disaster hits New Orleans while they’re partying and making speeches.

The Boston Globe, citing senior Romney advisers, said that "there is a distinct possibility that the 2012 Republican National Convention will be cancelled."

That’s unfortunate news for Republicans because this year’s RNC was supposed to be Mitt Romney’s coming out party. The RNC has also already raised $55 million for the convention and additional funds have been cultivated from the city of Tampa. But holding the convention could turn out to be a public relations disaster.

"Even if the storm largely bypasses this region, it holds the risk of creating an uncomfortable split-screen image, especially if it continues barreling toward New Orleans," the New York Times said.

Huffington Post is reporting that Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has already pulled out of the convention saying, "There is no time for politics here in Louisiana." Florida Gov. Rick Scott has also said he will not be there.

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu has taken the opposite approach.

"I know the anxiety level is high," he told CNN on Sunday. "We are much, much better prepared structurally than before."

Let’s hope so. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina caused $108 billion in damages and a confirmed 1833 deaths.

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