Posted on 07/18/2014 5:26:40 AM PDT by Kaslin
You needn't be clairvoyant to deduce what the Democratic Party wants to run on in 2016. It really doesn't matter whether their nominee is Hillary Clinton or someone else. Democrats won't be campaigning on the thriving economy under President Barack Obama, global stability under American leadership, the successful routing of al-Qaida or Obamacare. No, the Democratic Party is the ladies' party now -- dependent completely on the lopsided votes of single females for their electoral success. To the degree possible, 2016 will be about women's sex lives and who should pay for IUDs.
Republicans have perfectly good responses to these juvenile arguments, starting with "buy your own blankety-blank contraceptives" and moving up to sensible health care reform. Still, Republicans (and grown-ups) are not well-served if the election revolves around condoms and morning after pills.
I take it as a good sign that the Republican National Committee has chosen to hold its convention in Cleveland. One undeniable bonus will be musical. The Cleveland Orchestra is one of the nation's finest. If good music isn't to your taste, Cleveland is also home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (Just kidding, don't write me!) In any case, both of those local institutions should coax convention planners away from the monotonous diet of country music that has so dominated recent Republican conventions.
Beyond music, the Cleveland location opens whole vistas for the Republican Party.
America's big cities are nearly all Democratic monopolies. Republicans will have to be tactful about this -- it would be very bad form to trash their host city -- but the locale does present an opportunity to stress their solidarity with the poor of America's cities who have been ill-served by Democratic government.
The poverty rate in Cleveland is the nation's third highest for cities of more than 200,000. According to the 2010 census, 53 percent of Clevelanders younger than age 18 live in poverty. The unemployment rate is an unhealthy 8.5 percent; not as terrible as Detroit (14.5), but not anything close to the other city the RNC was considering, Dallas (5.1).
The public school system in Cleveland performs poorly, though per pupil spending was $15,000 in the 2011 school year, compared with an Ohio average of $10,700. Only around 55 percent of students complete high school. During the 2010-11 school year, the Associated Press reports, Cleveland was one of six school districts found guilty of falsifying students' test scores in order to boost their standing on the state's "report card." In 2009-10, according to state data, only 40 percent of fifth-graders could demonstrate basic grade-level reading skills, and only 29 percent could do the same for math.
Cleveland is moving toward more charter schools, but results have so far been less than stellar. According to an analysis by Public Impact, urban charter students in Ohio scored just a couple of points ahead of public school students in reading and math. More thorough reform is urgent.
Cleveland is among the 11 most dangerous cities in the U.S. An estimated 76,000 housing units are empty and decaying in the metropolitan area, offering gangs and drug dealers ideal environments. And while the murder rate is not as high as in some cities, Cleveland has a very high rate of rape.
Public corruption has plagued the city and county for decades. Hundreds of public officials have been convicted of bribery, fraud and tax evasion. Jimmy Dimora, a former Cuyahoga County commissioner and Democratic Party leader, was sentenced to 28 years in July 2012 after he was convicted of awarding contracts in exchange for more than $166,000 in cash, home improvements, gambling trips and services from prostitutes. The former county auditor, Frank Russo, could serve 22 years taking more than $1 million in bribes to steer no-bid real estate appraisal contracts.
The city has strengths (aside from LeBron James), such as the renowned Cleveland Clinic. But Obamacare has forced even the Cleveland Clinic to lay off employees. "Health care reform has really changed things, and the burden of cost is going to be falling on patients," a spokeswoman told the Plain Dealer.
Will Republicans make inroads among African-American and Hispanic voters by stressing their solutions to poverty, bad schools, unsafe streets and public corruption? Who knows? They could hardly do worse than in 2012. But some emphasis on the rot that afflicts large chunks of urban America will help to change the image of the Republican Party -- and that could affect voters far beyond Cuyahoga County.
It doesn’t really matter where the republicans meet. The democrats will bus in protestors, and the media will create conflict, even if it’s held in Ted Cruz’s back yard in Texas.
I personally think Detroit would be great despite the usual ignorance spouted here.
Its where Reagan was nominated and gave one of the most inspiring speeches of his political career. Its got a lower crime rate than Cleveland. Its got a nice downtown area and riverfront. Michigan government is fully in GOP hands and it would provide a chance to showcase the good that has come about because of GOP control of the state. Also it would be a great chance to reach out to Canada after getting backhanded by Obama.
That said, I don’t have any problem with the convention being in Cleveland. I think the GOP needs to stop bitching about the cities, seize control of them and do something about them.
Heh! Like that's gonna happen with this bunch...
Plus I think Detroit has more Conservatives living within a 50 mile radius. You have to drive down to around Mansfield before Ohio turns reliably red.
Your boss's only connection to your LadyParts should be his wallet!
It's none of Hobby Lobby's business what you do with your LadyParts - they need to shut up and pay for your recreation!
Or to quote these nutcases who demand that others pay for their abortions: "6. Because your body is yours and you should be the one in control of it."
More fantasy minority outreach by the Stupid Party.
The urban poor vote for the Democrats because the Democrats are good for them. There is no responsible government possible that could improve the circumstances of the urban poor, in fact, the first step back towards limited, fiscally responsible, republican government is shutting off all the free stuff they get now.
The Republican's future (if they have one) is increasing their share of the majority vote from 53% to 65%, and if they do that, they will never lose again.
Rooting around in the slums for votes is idiotic.
They should have gone to Columbus.
...even if it means killing 1,000 (or 1,000,000) other people... After all, a woman can do what she likes with her body, including using her finger to dial a cellphone to detonate a suitcase nuke. How dare you tell women what they can and cannot do with their bodies!
You can campaign on making life better for the inner-city poor without sounding like you’re trashing the city or the city government.
The trouble is voter education: I knew a nice business-oriented Hispanic fellow who would love to run for public office in his city (not Cleveland) as a Republican, but knows the voting public there is 90% Democrat. So many believe that "This gravy train is brought to you by the letter 'D'" and do not bother to see the Republican strategy of cutting taxes and fostering growth. It's doubtful many even see the connection between the two as we're living in Idiocracy.
Good idea. Or if anything the GOP needs to outreach itself to musicians of those genres and have them perform on stage. They'll get paid for their service and perhaps become more open minded politically. Play some Johnny Ramone interview clips of why he was a Republican. Show how classical music thrives when the private sector economy isn't stagnant.
It begins with demonstrating that... conservatives are not monsters. We're normal people just like everyone else, who put our pants on one leg at a time. We can laugh and feel pain. Strange as it seems many, so inculcated in the doctrines and mantras of urban socialism, are shocked to learn this. I speak from firsthand experience.
Yeah, I’ve gone out of my way to make friends in Detroit and found a lot of natural conservatives who simply feel abandoned by conservatism.
One guy told me he would happily vote republican if any ran in Detroit who showed any genuine interest. He says he is very happy with our republican secretary of state for doing so much to clean up elections in Detroit. He said Detroit will vote Democrat for the foreseeable future but only because republicans don’t try.
Sometimes it just takes getting out of our comfort zones, being willing to enter into the ethnic culture of others and show a genuine interest in them as human beings. It's the same as in business and relationships, truth be told.
The Reagan speech I posted above is my inspiration and should be required reading for any republican seeking office anywhere.
I think Reagan was the last president who truly saw himself of president for all Americans and not just those who voted for him.
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