The Observation Deck

Dallas and Cleveland are the last two finalists to host the GOP convention in 2016.
Unless they are TOTALLY braindead (which is possible), Republican leadership will pick Cleveland.
I'm sure Jerry Jones will make a great pitch to his fellow oil men, but it's not as if they need more votes in Texas.

How much (if at all) would Lakewood stand to benefit from this?

Would any of the convention goers wander out to Lakewood to visit our bars or restaurants?
Do any of our local businesses have a chance to get some catering or supply contracts?
(for example, do we have any large-scale balloon businesses in town?)

i believe the GOP would be braindead IF they choose Cleveland. Cleveland, in my opinion, is not only not a hotbed of republicans, it's almost hostile to republicans. I've lived here a long time and as a republican I can tell you that i'm not just in a minority around here when it comes to politics, i'm barely a blip on the political radar. when i'm not being branded a racist, i'm being branded a woman hater. I believe that city officials are being disingenuous, perhaps even dishonest, in their wooing of the GOP. I hope this is not the case because that is one long party I would love to be a part of.

If enough entities with something to gain planned early to drive convention dollars

in our direction it could be a hit. The money will be spent somewhere. Nothing

makes our area feel personal like the Observers. Maybe a special visitor guide.
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My thought would be to abandon traditional advertising and have each business

present their special offerings in an unsigned ALL CAPS email form.

Using the Lakewood Postcards in a " poker run " format by collecting one

at visited establishments might give that forward-to-everyone thrill.
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If this happens, let's give it an unforgettable spin and make everyone happy.

kate e parker wrote:i believe the GOP would be braindead IF they choose Cleveland. Cleveland, in my opinion, is not only not a hotbed of republicans, it's almost hostile to republicans. I've lived here a long time and as a republican I can tell you that i'm not just in a minority around here when it comes to politics, i'm barely a blip on the political radar. when i'm not being branded a racist, i'm being branded a woman hater. I believe that city officials are being disingenuous, perhaps even dishonest, in their wooing of the GOP. I hope this is not the case because that is one long party I would love to be a part of.

The GOP is wildly unpopular inside the borders of every major American city (except maybe Cincinnati). Even Salt Lake City has a Democratic Mayor.
It's a byproduct of the national GOP's hostility toward minorities, the poor, etc.
No matter which major city they choose, that city itself would be Democratic.

However, it's strategic to pick a swing state.....Ohio, Florida, and Colorado are most logical.
That's why Cleveland is a smart choice.
By spending a lot of money here, they might swing just enough votes to make a difference in 2016.

This is a TV event targeted to the national audience...so the population of the core city doesn't matter. It's just like hosting a Super Bowl.

Going to Dallas would do nothing for the GOP.
Texas is turning into an embarrassment for the party...not just Ted Cruz, Bush and Perry, but unregulated plant explosions and the new commitment to gay "conversion therapy".

Ohio, on the other hand, has Kasich and Portman. Kasich will win re-election easily, and has some track record of working with Democrats. He also smartly took the Medicaid money.
Portman is a potential VP candidate, which can't hurt.

Michael is spot on. The GOP would be stupid to choose Dallas over Cleveland. Ohio is a swing state. Cleveland is the most liberal big city in Ohio. If having the convention here were to sway even 5% of the voters in Cuyahoga County, that would be huge.

Texas is voting Republican no matter what. Ohio is still fungible (I love that word). The best thing for the RNC would be to get exposure to a town that historically does not lean Republican.

The "Decision" could happen as soon as Tuesday.

As I said, I fully expect the GOP to come to Cleveland.

As for the other fellow, I have no idea.

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf ... rt_m-rpt-1

Michael Deneen wrote:The "Decision" could happen as soon as Tuesday.

As I said, I fully expect the GOP to come to Cleveland.

As for the other fellow, I have no idea.

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf ... rt_m-rpt-1

I guess there is a good chance they will pick Cleveland but I think they will pick Dallas because:

1. The choice of a convention city has no affect on the general election.
2. Dallas has more hotel rooms and the logistics would be easier and less expensive.
3. Party conventions require a lot of subsidies and there is a lot more wealth in Dallas than Cleveland.
4. Dallas is a major airline hub and Cleveland is not. People don't really want to travel through two or three airports to get to their destination.

I suppose I should have made this prediction after the award was announced.

Conventions don't have any positive economic impact on cities. It's a one time infusion of money. Most of that convention money just displaces other money that would be spent in town.

Bill,

I know you hate it when conventions and tourism contributions to a city get wildly overblown, but to assert no impact is equality absurd. Consistent convention activity does indeed fill hotel rooms with folks who have expense accounts and clients to entertain, where cost is not an object. While it can't save a city, it certainly does have a positive impact of some measure. In three weeks, I am headed to St. Louis for a meeting we are hosting that will fill two hotels for four nights, with 1100 people that I can assure you would not otherwise be there. No impact? Displacing "normal" dollars? Nope.

Paul

Bill Call wrote:Conventions don't have any positive economic impact on cities. It's a one time infusion of money. Most of that convention money just displaces other money that would be spent in town.

Bill is way off the mark. This analysis can be true for sports teams, which compete with other local entertainment for local dollars.

However, conventions bring tourist dollars from out of town. Local Clevelanders aren't going to fill hotels and restaurants for a week in 2016 the way that deep-pocketed GOP conventioners can.

If the GOP picks Dallas, they will simply reinforce just about EVERY negative stereotype that America has of them.

It's official!
The circus is coming to town.
Hopefully Lakewood will benefit in some way.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/gov ... onvention/

I'm going to rent out my house to some Tea Party types. I think they will be responsible and pay me.

They were smart to announce their decision before "you-know-who" does.
The GOP announcement would have been anti-climactic had they waited until after.

Nice work by Fitz, city and county leaders to land this...it will benefit the area.

I expect the DNC to counter by going to Columbus.
Hillary will need to learn that stupid O-H-I-O thing.

Michael Deneen wrote:Nice work by Fitz, city and county leaders to land this...it will benefit the area.

I expect the DNC to counter by going to Columbus.
Hillary will need to learn that stupid O-H-I-O thing.

Mike,

Don’t forget about another Lakewoodite who helped to make this happen.

Lakewood’s very own Rob Frost is the Chairman of the Republican Party of Cuyahoga County.

And our local elected officials are already organizing cool RNC protests for 2016.

O-H!

Matt

I'm going to rent out my house to some Tea Party types. I think they will be responsible and pay me.

Just don't leave any food in the house... "Tea Party types" don't like to pay for grazing.

Matthew John Markling wrote:Don’t forget about another Lakewoodite who helped to make this happen.

Lakewood’s very own Rob Frost is the Chairman of the Republican Party of Cuyahoga County.

Great point Matt - way to go Rob Frost!

Matthew John Markling wrote:And our local elected officials are already organizing cool RNC protests for 2016.

Tom doesn't have time to get much done in Lakewood but he can start planning a protest 2 years out? Thankfully he "never reads the deck" so I don't have to worry about him seeing my criticism.

Matthew John Markling wrote:O-H!

I-O!