The Brief: Philly’s DNC Bid Gains Mo’
Could this party be coming to Philly in 2016? Roll call DNC 2008 by Qqqqqq at en.wikipedia. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Does Philadelphia have The Big Mo in the fight to bring the Democratic National Convention to Philadelphia? Honestly we have no idea. But it’s starting to feel a little like Brooklyn isn’t a slam dunk.
Philly and Brooklyn are two of three finalists for the convention. The third city in the running is Columbus, but somehow this keeps being framed as New York vs. Philadelphia. Sure, New York has the money, and the hotels, and the brand new venue and so forth.
But Philadelphia rolls New York on the intangibles, writes Chris Matthews in the Washington Post. All that history. All that freedom and all that declaring… It’s a great backdrop, Matthews argues, for a political convention: “By gathering in iconic Philadelphia, Democrats could lay claim to not just the flag but what it stands for. A week there, sparkling with American values, could produce the kind of inspiring national convention we’ve missed in recent years.”
But Matthews is a homer. You expect that sort of thing from him. But here’s Jonathan Capehart—New Yorker, Washington Post editorial board member—making the same arguments:
The DNC will make its selection known in the coming weeks. But to my mind the choice is pretty clear. Democrats have an opportunity to remind the nation that love of country, the flag and the ideals we hold most dear are not the sole province of the Republican Party. If Democrats want to propel their nominee out of their convention armed with the best argument for a third term in the White House, they will do so from Philadelphia.
Also, Philly cops and City Hall aren’t symbolically and literally turning their backs on one another, and our venue isn’t half-owned by a Russian oligarch (just Comcast-Spectacor, which is at least a little better, right?).
Don’t Miss…
- The gross, desperate-seeming details of Rob McCord’s extortion of potential campaign donors from the Inquirer’s Jeremy Roebuck and Angela Couloumbis.
- News of potentially looser regulations on city food trucks from PlanPhilly’s Jared Brey.
- The first whiff of an independent expenditure effort in the mayoral campaign from Newsworks’ Dave Davies.
On Twitter…
Starting as contributing writer at The Atlantic's @CityLab in April & moving to Providence, RI in August. I will miss Philly and @citypaper.
— Daniel Denvir (@DanielDenvir) February 2, 2015
Interesting Q: what would a #PHL2015 Mayor's race look like that wasn't flush with cash? 1. IE's 2. Less TV? 3. A better campaign?
— David Thornburgh (@davidthornburgh) February 2, 2015