Overnight Reuters broke the news about the second wave of officials who have been invited to speak at the Republican National Convention in Tampa later this month.
They include Jeb Bush, Rick Santorum, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, who now join Condoleeza Rice, Rick Scott, John McCain, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez as the announced speakers so far to speak at the four-day event scheduled to begin August 27.
The inclusion of Rand Paul is significant on a number of fronts; He is by far the only listed speaker who has his roots inside the Tea Party, though he surely won't be the last. He's also considered to be an important factor in why his father, Texas Congressman Ron Paul, opted not to bolt the party after losing in the primary to Mitt Romney and going rogue as a third-party candidate, either on the Libertarian ticket or just on his own independently.
