Posted on 11/15/2002 6:57:07 AM PST by Brandonmark
Unforgettable images - the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Broadway theaters, Central Park - flash into focus when one thinks about what distinguishes New York City from every other metropolis in the world.
Despite a rugged history marked by soaring highs (those V-J Day hugs and kisses in Times Square) and gut- wrenching lows (terrorists striking the World Trade Center), that grand and glorious urban blend of ethnicity remains the epicenter of the free world.
Indeed, that's why it was a target back on Sept. 11, 2001, and why it now stands as a symbol of rejuvenation and determination as the United States vows to quash terrorism worldwide. Sympathy combined with American fortitude has already landed New York this country's 2012 Olympic bid and the 2008 Super Bowl in the Meadowlands - the first time the big game will be played outdoors in a Northern city.
So why should the Republican National Committee opt to come to Tampa in 2004 rather than take its quadrennial convention and crowning celebration into the heart of all that glitter and gold?
Let's start with money. For many, it all comes down to the bottom line.
New York reportedly has pledged millions in public and private dollars to host the convention and has promised to raise whatever it takes.
Tampa, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties and Florida's Legislature similarly will be asked to help with basic expenses normally incurred by such big events.
While it's a tight budget year and the state faces a difficult fiscal challenge to lower class sizes, bringing a national political convention to town should be considered an investment in the future, much as improving the state's education system is.
Area banks have signed a letter of intent to guarantee the funding, and local Republicans have pledged to privately raise the bulk of the money needed. And when the GOP's three Als - Austin, Hoffman and Cardenas - say the money can be raised here, the RNC can be confident it will be done.
Then there's the cost of visiting.
New York's hotel room rates start somewhere near where Tampa's top out. Dinner for two in Manhattan can exceed a working person's weekly wage. A terrific Cuban sandwich in Tampa costs about $3. The best of the best here - seafood, steak or sushi - is manageable on a middle-class salary.
Getting around in New York, whether by cab or subway, can be difficult for out-of-towners. Traffic woes here - bad and getting worse - pale in comparison.
So what about politics?
Even though New Yorkers just re- elected Republican Gov. George Pataki and readily embrace Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, also Republicans, it's traditionally a Democrat-controlled state.
Florida delivered the White House to the GOP in 2000. And it just renewed its commitment with an impressive win by Gov. Jeb Bush and a Republican-dominated state Legislature. Having the Republican convention here would be a well-deserved reward and increase the likelihood that the state will stay in the GOP column.
But what's the overriding, most important reason the GOP ought to pick Tampa over what many consider the sentimental favorite?
It's all about what's more important: the past or the future.
New York - and we too love New York - epitomizes the past, while Florida represents the future.
Everyone - even the experts in New York and Washington - agrees that Florida is the best bellwether for the rest of the nation. Take any issue - taxes, health care, education, property insurance, the economy, immigration, transportation, housing, tort reform or partisan politics. Florida is facing what the rest of the nation soon will.
But while New York and many other states are struggling to overcome the mistakes of a colorful past, Florida is already working on creative solutions for what comes next. Gov. Bush promised four years ago to make dramatic changes in government for the betterment of state residents, and voters agreed that he delivered.
West Central Florida and the Interstate 4 corridor - led by the University of South Florida, the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute and the University of Central Florida - are poised to become the nation's most popular high-tech destination.
A City Of The Future
The economy here is stronger and more resilient than just about anywhere in the nation. New convention facilities, upscale hotels, luxury cruise ships, sandy beaches, local attractions, the ability to host visitors and guaranteed sunshine are second to none. Our diverse history and heritage speak for themselves.
Granted, Tampa isn't New York. It isn't Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, New Orleans or Los Angeles, either. They are all great cities of the past.
Tampa represents the future.
When television cameras and news media follow the convention into town, they won't be focused on yesterday. We and the Republican Party leadership know that all eyes will be on a wider and wiser tomorrow.
That's about right!
As someone who grew up in Florida, I'm always amused at the self-confidence cities like Tampa and Orlando have. Tampa the future? My sides are hurting. There are plenty of good reasons for Tampa to be chosen, but to say USF, UCF, and other locations in the I-4 corridor are the leading ones is preposterous. The same corridor includes International Drive, The Orange Blossom Trail (definitely not as nice as it sounds), and huge stretches of flat, boring land.
You can't even say that Florida delivered the election without acknowledging that it should have been a blowout down there to begin with. Hell, if Tampa got the convention, more than half of the attendees would fly into Orlando. What does that tell you?
Pick Tampa for the weather, the golf, the very good strip clubs. But it's not the future any more than Statesboro, Georgia is.
My preference? Vegas, baby. Vegas.
Uh, they forgot to mention the world famous Mons Venus gentlemens' club! (ducking for cover)8^)
New Orleans, did someone say New Orleans? And a decision by mid-December, just after the Senate election in LA. My vote is for New Orleans, but not until after the election results are in and LA has gone GOP. Failing that, Tampa is nice that time of year.
Sarasota is fabulous!
Unfortunately, Sarasota has cut its nose to spite its face in the convention arena. The SRQ airport (about an hour from TPA) has intolerable surcharges making airfare non-competitive with tha Tampa airport.
That's only a plus for the Democrats scoping out cities...
Upon further reflection, maybe the adult entertainment establishments would appeal to the DNC organizers just a bit more than the RNC.
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