dole alone in not shunning gop convention

From:HelmstetterT@dnc.org To: Comm_D@dnc.org Date: 2016-05-05 15:08 Subject: dole alone in not shunning gop convention

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/278871-dole-alone-in-not-shunning-gop-convention Dole alone in not shunning GOP convention By Ben Kamisar<http://thehill.com/author/ben-kamisar> Only one former Republican presidential nominee is slated to attend this summer's GOP convention, leaving the party with few elders to preach unity around presumptive nominee Donald Trump<http://thehill.com/people/donald-trump>. Bob Dole, the party's 1996 nominee who lost to President Bill Clinton<http://thehill.com/people/bill-clinton>, has confirmed he expects to attend the convention. His law firm Alston & Bird plans to hold a reception at the event. ADVERTISEMENT Both George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush announced Wednesday night that they would not attend the Cleveland convention, while Sen. John McCain<http://thehill.com/people/john-mccain> (R-Ariz.) revealed weeks ago he will skip it. Aides to Mitt Romney confirmed to The Hill on Thursday that he too would not attend. The lack of former nominees reflects the divisions between establishment party leaders and Trump, who Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus referred to Tuesday as the party's "presumptive nominee." "It sends the message that there's a split in the Republican Party at the highest levels on their disapproval for Trump. That isn't helpful for enthusiasm," GOP strategist Ron Bonjean said. "It's very clear that this is because they disagree with Trump on his policies and politics, and they don't want to be associated with him either for political or legacy reasons." Trump has certainly not played nice with the three most recent nominees. He warred with Romney earlier this year after the 2012 GOP nominee bashed Trump in a speech. Last summer, he mocked McCain's war hero status. And earlier this year, he blamed George W. Bush for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. While an aide to George H.W. Bush noted that the former president's mobility issues would prevent him from attending, other aides didn't specifically elaborate on why the former candidates wouldn't be traveling to Cleveland. Romney's absence breaks a long trend of former nominees handing the torch off to the party's new standard bearer. The the most recent previous nominee has spoken to the convention audience in each of the last five conventions. The only one not to attend personally was President Bush in 2008, as he was in the midst of responding to Hurricane Gustav. TJ Helmstetter Deputy Director of Regional and Specialty Media Democratic National Committee 202.863.8022 - desk 973.464.9224 - cell HelmstetterT@DNC.org<mailto:HelmstetterT@DNC.org>