I attended both national conventions in 2008. The Democratic convention was in Denver while the Republicans held their events in St. Paul (no, not Minneapolis–the GOP was at the XCel Center).
The two events were quite distinctive in at least one respect: the Democrats walked and the Republicans drove (or were driven). Virtually every GOP delegation I knew stayed at hotels in or near Minneapolis, while the Democratic delegations stayed near downtown Denver or at locations along the light rail line.
Every night, the Democrats flooded the 16th Street Mall. That place was hopping! I assume every night, the Republicans were scattered in their hotel bars and suites–I don’t know because I never saw them.
Now I read that Republican delegations are once again frustrated by transportation problems in Tampa.
Before anyone idly maps partisanship onto these choices, the GOP held its convention in Philadelphia in 2000 and NYC in 2004; the Democrat cities were Los Angeles and Boston. And Charlotte is not exactly a walkable city (though they do have a pretty nice light rail–with great barbecue available at Bill Spoon’s right next to the Tyvola Stop on the Blue Line).
You have to wonder, though: who books a convention with 15,000 people into a city where everyone has to rely on private buses to get around?
Thoughts on Matty Yglesias’s thoughts on Portlandia
Image courtesy of IMDB
Matty Yglesias is an interesting and provocative economics and politics writer who pens the “Moneybox” column for Slate Magazine. He recently visited Portland, courtesy of 1000 Friends of Oregon and the Bus Project to talk about his new book.
I’ve read a lot of Yglesias’s stuff and generally like it, but the product of his visit to Portland was unfortunate. In his piece, “How Portland Got It’s Groove Back,” Yglesias claimed that: “Metro Portland, once a basket case, is now doing fine.” He notes that Portland suffered unemployment “nearly 50% higher than the national average” during the 2003 recession, but that during the most recent turndown, Portland unemployment
Yglesias attributed Portland’s relative success (if it can be called that!) to the politics that attracted the young and restless to the city, the policies satirized in Portlandia. Perhaps we’re not the place where young people go to retire after all?
So what’s the problem? Continue reading →