Poor Cleveland
Poor Cleveland. Once again they try to rise above above the stigma as an ugly city and end up getting the long end of the shit stick.
It's not often that a city gets to showcase itself on the national stage, let alone on an international stage, and it was their hope that the GOP convention would do just that. Now their moment to shine is losing it's luster on an almost daily basis. It's a damned shame really. I've always had a good time on every visit to Cleveland, whether it was for concerts or football. The people are friendly, they have great working class bars and it's pretty easy to get around. The GOP convention doesn't deserve Cleveland. And Cleveland definitely doesn't deserve the crap headed it's way.
With the convention comes some Federal money for crowd control equipment and Cleveland saw this as a great opportunity for some much needed things they could use well past the convention. Congress approved $50 million for such things and Cleveland decided to set aside $30M for extra men and overtime and $20M for new equipment. (Keep in mind they're only expecting about 75,000 people, 5 times fewer than our Red,White and Boom)Things on their wish list; 300 bicycles, 15 motorcycles, 25 sets of tactical armor and two horse trailers. Since the convention falls under National Special Security Event guidelines the Secret Service also has a say in how the money should be spent and instructed Cleveland to purchase a further 2,000 sets of of riot control gear. And not just your run of the mill suits but the latest thing on the market, the Elite Defender suits,
plus 2,000 retractable 26" batons, 2,000 sets of hard-knuckle gloves and of course the bags to carry them in. (Seriously, can't you just rent that stuff?) But at least in their preparation of the shit storm headed their way they'll now be ready for the riots that occur during the Browns/Bengals games or when those Dave Matthews fans get out out of hand at Blossom. (Sarcasm alert!)
Many Republican Senators are already saying they won't be attending, coming out with lame excuses and even some flat out lies why, especially those up for reelection. John McCain said he won't attend because, “I have to campaign for re-election, and I have always done that when I’m up." Except the last time he was up in a presidential year was 2004 and he not only attended but he also had a major speaking slot. (because senators serve six year terms it only happens every twelve years) It also seems that McCain is conveniently oblivious to the fact that he and his colleagues arranged their Senate schedule for the sole purpose of attending. Instead of their normal 4 week August vacation they extended it to 7 weeks this year. That's right, the people we pay to run the government leave on break July 16th and don't return until Sept. 6th. Except for a couple of poor saps who have to stick around because they can't completely adjourn. If they did that then Obama could actually get something done, like appoint some much needed Federal Judges, including a well deserved SCOTUS judge.
Kelly Ayotte (NH), Ron Johnson (WI), Mark Kirk (IL), Richard Burr (NC) and Dan Coates (IN) have all said they won't be going, all giving the "I have to campaign" excuse. There is one Senator though, Dan Heller (NV), who just flat out said he's scared to stand up for his party,
“Things could get pretty testy, frankly my biggest concern is security, whether or not I feel it is safe enough to attend a convention.” At least he's showing a little honesty. Even our own Senator Rob Portman is having misgivings. He used the classic that we've all probably used from time to time: I'll show up but I'm not sticking around, when he said he would be spending "very, very little time there."
The best scenario for Cleveland would be for Trump to come to town with enough delegates for the nomination, but that's not entirely a given because delegates can be fickle. If it comes to a contested convention...well let's just say "contested" is the kindest word it can be called. I also hope the protesters stay away but that's not likely. When the only policies that the party brings to the table are fear and hate people are going to protest, as they should, but there's a time and place for everything and Cleveland is neither. Let the Republicans have their little freak show and show your disdain at the polls, not on the streets of Cleveland.
It's not often that a city gets to showcase itself on the national stage, let alone on an international stage, and it was their hope that the GOP convention would do just that. Now their moment to shine is losing it's luster on an almost daily basis. It's a damned shame really. I've always had a good time on every visit to Cleveland, whether it was for concerts or football. The people are friendly, they have great working class bars and it's pretty easy to get around. The GOP convention doesn't deserve Cleveland. And Cleveland definitely doesn't deserve the crap headed it's way.
With the convention comes some Federal money for crowd control equipment and Cleveland saw this as a great opportunity for some much needed things they could use well past the convention. Congress approved $50 million for such things and Cleveland decided to set aside $30M for extra men and overtime and $20M for new equipment. (Keep in mind they're only expecting about 75,000 people, 5 times fewer than our Red,White and Boom)Things on their wish list; 300 bicycles, 15 motorcycles, 25 sets of tactical armor and two horse trailers. Since the convention falls under National Special Security Event guidelines the Secret Service also has a say in how the money should be spent and instructed Cleveland to purchase a further 2,000 sets of of riot control gear. And not just your run of the mill suits but the latest thing on the market, the Elite Defender suits,
Many Republican Senators are already saying they won't be attending, coming out with lame excuses and even some flat out lies why, especially those up for reelection. John McCain said he won't attend because, “I have to campaign for re-election, and I have always done that when I’m up." Except the last time he was up in a presidential year was 2004 and he not only attended but he also had a major speaking slot. (because senators serve six year terms it only happens every twelve years) It also seems that McCain is conveniently oblivious to the fact that he and his colleagues arranged their Senate schedule for the sole purpose of attending. Instead of their normal 4 week August vacation they extended it to 7 weeks this year. That's right, the people we pay to run the government leave on break July 16th and don't return until Sept. 6th. Except for a couple of poor saps who have to stick around because they can't completely adjourn. If they did that then Obama could actually get something done, like appoint some much needed Federal Judges, including a well deserved SCOTUS judge.
Kelly Ayotte (NH), Ron Johnson (WI), Mark Kirk (IL), Richard Burr (NC) and Dan Coates (IN) have all said they won't be going, all giving the "I have to campaign" excuse. There is one Senator though, Dan Heller (NV), who just flat out said he's scared to stand up for his party,
“Things could get pretty testy, frankly my biggest concern is security, whether or not I feel it is safe enough to attend a convention.” At least he's showing a little honesty. Even our own Senator Rob Portman is having misgivings. He used the classic that we've all probably used from time to time: I'll show up but I'm not sticking around, when he said he would be spending "very, very little time there."
The best scenario for Cleveland would be for Trump to come to town with enough delegates for the nomination, but that's not entirely a given because delegates can be fickle. If it comes to a contested convention...well let's just say "contested" is the kindest word it can be called. I also hope the protesters stay away but that's not likely. When the only policies that the party brings to the table are fear and hate people are going to protest, as they should, but there's a time and place for everything and Cleveland is neither. Let the Republicans have their little freak show and show your disdain at the polls, not on the streets of Cleveland.
Well said. I am beyond disgusted..................7 WEEKS OF VACATION. That makes me sick. I hope calm will be the norm.
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