Has anyone read or seen this? Doesn't sound like good news...
http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.c...tart_sp_1.html
September 13, 2006
DNC '08: Start Spreading The...
straw.gif Could the Democratic National Convention return to New York City in 2008?
According to party sources and other Democrats who have consulted with members of the party's selection committee, NYC and Minneapolis-St. Paul are right outside the winners’ circle. NYC is said to have an edge -- at least for now.
The site selection committee had high hopes for Denver, located in a blinking-blue Mountain West state with a growing Hispanic population. But one Democrat briefed on the city's presentation and bid called it "
disastrous." Others confirmed that the general impression among site selection members of Denver was not positive. The city also lacks a union hotel, and even though the city’s labor leaders voted to table its outrage, it remains an obstacle.
The party will choose its site by the end of the year.
The Twin Cities' bid meets the party’s nominal requirements, but several Democrats involved in the process worry about extended commutes from delegate hotels to events.
Democratic donors, irate at the Republican Party’s 2004 fete in their city, have urged the party to choose New York. And that city’s bid has been the most impressive. One part of its presentation to the DNC consisted of a “lessons learned” discussion about the 2004 convention.
One unanticipated concern: the resolve of television networks to scale down their convention coverage. Holding the show in New York City would dramatically reduce the costs.
Some Democrats worry about the symbolism of choosing New York City over Minnesota and question whether the party will acquiesce to the cultural elitism of its donors. Others suggest that Sen. Hillary Clinton wouldn’t want to hold her nominating convention in her home state. But that concern is not widely shared among Democrats close to Sen. Clinton.
In New York today, a gaggle of party heavyweights are meeting at City Hall with Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s political strategist Kevin Sheekey to plot out their final persuasive push. They include Chung Seto, the former exec. dir of the New York State Democratic party, DNC member Emily Giske, Josh Wachs, an NBA official who worked under Terry McAuliffe at the DNC, and Gigi Georges, a former aide to Hillary Clinton. Madison Square Garden’s Shari Yost and top AFL-CIO official Suzy Ballantyne are representing their organizations.
The convention begins Aug. 25, 2008. [MARC AMBINDER]
Posted at 03:37 PM
Daily Kos's Take on this:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/9/13/231430/034
Come on Denver, get your act together.
Get the frackin' convention out of the coasts. I know many Democrats forget that there's a whole lot of country in between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, but that's no reason for the site selection committee to make that same mistake.
Big money New York Democrats, especially, are some of the worst. They back people like Lieberman and Bloomberg and think the universe revolves around NYC.
The networks will scale back coverage of the convention whether it's in Minneapolis, Denver, or NYC. The parties have killed conventions by scripting them to death. There is no drama, no compelling storylines. So the networks take a pass. I can't blame them.
So go somewhere where the local coverage will actually, you know, help. Colorado is a purple state moving our direction. Minneapolis is a blue state threatening to go purple. We get nothing out of having it in indigo-Blue New York.
(And to those wondering why New Orleans isn't in the mix -- the city withdrew its bid. It's not ready yet for an event of this magnitude yet.)
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It's not like the DEMS have made a good decision about anything for the past 6 years. They are just up to what they do best, 2nd guessing themselves.
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