The Politics Thread

[Max]

I honestly don't know how well Cleveland's economy is currently doing.

From a political standpoint, Cleveland is obviously the most hostile place in Ohio that the GOP could have chosen (which is why I thought Cincinnati would have been a better idea; however, that city may very well have had certain logistical or economic problems that caused the GOP to reject it). But it's hard to get any more anti-conservative than New York City, which is why I thought it was a mistake for the Republicans to hold their 2004 convention there (although I admit that the anti-Republican protests weren't anywhere near as bad as I imagined).

[alphanguy74]

Kansas City lost out o.n the convention because they didn't have enough "Infrastructure". Really? We had enough infrastructure for the 1976 convention. And now there's the huge Sprint center for large events. Oh well... Cleveland it is! I wasn't looking forward to the traffic issues it would cause anyway.

[marceline]

Both things are true. Cleveland's economic base was steel and auto manufacturing so the last few decades have been terrible as they have for the entire rust belt. Over the last few years we've seen growth in other tech fields, especially medical (think Cleveland Clinic).

[DRW50]

Thanks, marceline.

I've always had a soft spot for Stacey Dash, all the way back to Clueless, so seeing her on Fox News talking about how she's happy that her 11 year old calls Obama a "golem" makes me kind of sad.

Whatever pays the bills, I guess.

[DRW50]

Fox News fans support transgender rights...much to the bafflement of Fox News host who'd expected them to go wild.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/fox-transgender-bathrooms-outrage

[Max]

Crazy Todd Akin writes new book, doubles down on "legitimate rape" message.

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/07/todd-akin-new-book-108745.html?hp=f3

[MissLlanviewPA]

I posted about this a bit in Marceline's recent status update, but I thought I would bring my comments here, too:

Now that we know the GOP is hosting their convention in Cleveland, as a die-hard Democrat (just so you guys know where I'm coming from upfront, right? ), I'm VERY interested to see what the DNC is going to do with their final list. Cleveland's on that list too, but obviously that isn't going to happen now (I'll admit, that was my top choice for the DNC, but I can see how the GOP was able to snag it--it actually makes some sense historically--there are definitely suburban Republicans in Cleveland--Steve LaTourette served in Congress in an area like this for years, and former Senator George Voinovich is also from there). These are the other cities in contention and my comments on each:

Birmingham--Since we just had our last convention in Charlotte, moving the convention to another region would probably be the way to go this time. I'd certainly be open to it in the future, though.

Columbus--I would LOVE to see this happen. Having both conventions in Ohio would be an economic GOLDMINE for the state, and as another bonus, it brings the DNC back to the Midwest for the first time since 1996, when it was held in Chicago. That said, having it in a different state from the RNC might be a wiser move for the party. But, on the OTHER other hand, there is no greater way to cement Ohio's status as a swing state than to hold both conventions there. We shall see, I guess.

New York City (specifically, Brooklyn)--It's been since Clinton was nominated in 1992 (albeit at Madison Square Garden) that the Dems have been here, although the GOP held theirs here in 2004. I'd be okay with this. And again, it puts the party in another region: the Northeast (the last time? Boston in 2004).

Philadelphia--The last time they held a political convention was in 2000, when the GOP nominated GWB. Another northeast city, and again, I think would be a great pick.

On a shallow note, being from Maryland, the chance to go to either NYC or Philly for the convention (If I get to go, that is) would be great on a proximity level for me, but I'll try not to focus on that now .

Phoenix--Other than Columbus, this would probably be my top pick for 2016. It puts the Dems in yet another different region--the Southwest--and given the GOP's long-term dominance in the state of Arizona, it would certainly make an interesting statement to have the opposing party hold their convention there.

When is their final decision supposed to be, anyway?

Edited July 11, 2014 by MissLlanviewPA

[marceline]

I think around September/October.

There are still people who are hoping that Cleveland can get the DNC convention too. I don't see that happening and it would be a nightmare if we did. I'm going to put my money on Philadelphia for now.

[Max]

I know of at least one instance when both parties held their conventions in the same city: in 1972, both parties held their conventions in Miami Beach. However, I doubt that this will again happen.

From an objective standpoint (keeping in mind that the site of a convention usually has zero impact on the result of a presidential race), I think that Birmingham and New York City would be the worst of the two options for the Democrats, since they are in lopsidedly partisan states. The others all have their pluses:

*Philadelphia - Even though PA wasn't considered a swing state in 2012, it surprisingly was where Obama scored his third narrowest victory of the election (behind much more hotly contested states such as CO, IA, NH, NV, and WI). The demographics of PA aren't nearly as favorable to Dems as they are in the Southwest or (more conservative leaning) Florida, so I think that this state will be a major battleground in 2016, and it would be hard for the GOP to win the White House without winning PA.

*Columbus or Cleveland - For the obvious reason that these are Ohio cities, they would be good choices. However, I am not sure if Ohio will have the same importance in 2016 as it did in 2004 and 2012. If Obama's popularity doesn't improve, and Hillary proves to be a less than stellar candidate, Ohio may be the first Obama-won state that the Democrats choose to put on the backburner. (This is what Al Gore chose to do in 2000, and it makes even more sense today, given that Ohio is not a great state demographically for Democrats. And most importantly, Democrats do not need Ohio to win.)

*Phoenix - This may be the best choice, even though there will be little chance of Democrats winning AZ in 2016. That's because Democrats cannot assume that they will do as well among Hispanics in 2016 as they did in 2012, and holding the convention in the largest city in the Southwest would boost many Hispanics economically.

Edited July 11, 2014 by Max

[marceline]

A lot of people here keep referencing Miami '72. Unfortunately, this city doesn't have the infrastructure for two conventions. As it is now, it's going to come down to the wire to fulfill half the promises we made to the RNC. It's been amazing to see what happened since the announcement came down. The city is already stepping up construction projects that were underway. My commute now has three more construction zones than it had last week.

[ThePrinceOfSunspear]

I'd love for the DNC to be in New York but at the same time hosting it in Cleveland would be quite a poke at the Republicans lol.

[Juliajms]

Any opinions on this situation in Gaza? I feel Hamas is winning the propaganda war for sure, while managing to turn down a cease fire proposal, no less.

[AdelaideCate007]

Its a long story why, but I went to the DNC in Boston in 2004! It was super fun. If you get to go to a convention, you'll have a great time.

[marceline]

I intend to leave town during the convention. The moment the dates get set I'm putting in my vacation request at work and booking airline tickets. I work just a few blocks from what will be the convention site and I have no desire to be in town when this all goes down. My only question is whether to just leave the state or the country.

[quartermainefan]

I know this will be unpopular with the typical liberal, but as a not typical liberal I gotta say it: Hamas will always win the propaganda war because everyone hates Israel and most people around the world don't like jews.

Edited July 16, 2014 by quartermainefan