Wednesday, August 23, 2006

For New York, it's about the money, not the politics

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

New York is mercenary about its bid to host the 2008 Democratic and Republican National Conventions:

Last week Mayor Bloomberg crossed party (and state) lines in favor of a much stronger allegiance: money.
...
the Mayor attended the Democratic National Committee’s annual summer meeting in Chicago, where he rubbed elbows with his former party’s brass and made a case for holding the 2008 Democratic National Convention in the Big Apple.
...
Bloomberg, however, seems colorblind when it comes to party (NYC is also on the short list to hold the RNC gala the same year). Rather than hoisting a candidate to the presidency, as NYC conventions did for both Carter and Clinton, Bloomberg sees only the financial boost. Along with plenty of protest and general bellyaching, the 2004 event reaped about $255 million.
Well I don't know about that $255 million, but the whole New York bid seem just seems mechanical. And yes St. Paul/Minneapolis has also bid for both conventions, but the attitude about the bids is different, not to mention, from the Democratic side, two Democratic mayors are pushing the bid for St. Paul.

Hat tip to the commentor below who referenced the above article.