Dems To Hold 2016 Convention In Philly

The Western Hemisphere’s own Cradle of Democracy will host the next Democratic National Convention:

Maybe it was the private nighttime visit to Independence National Historical Park, where the Democrats’ top national official got to touch the Liberty Bell.

Whatever it was that sealed the deal, Democrats on Thursday chose Philadelphia for their 2016 national convention, looking ahead to Independence Hall and other symbols of America’s birth bathing their presidential nominee in a patriotic aura.

“In addition to their commitment to a seamless and safe convention, Philadelphia’s deep-rooted place in American history provides a perfect setting for this special gathering,” Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, who had caressed the Liberty Bell, said in her announcement.

Philadelphia, which beat out New York and Columbus, Ohio, was widely seen as the favorite throughout the selection process, in part because it was a safe pick both financially and politically. It had the individual and corporate backing to fund a convention — it hosted the Republicans in 2000 — and it offered a less risky backdrop than New York, a liberal epicenter and home to a polarizing mayor, Bill de Blasio.

Leave it to the “liberal” New York Times to label the mayor, who is more popular than his predecessor judging by recent polls, as polarizing. But I digress, and the party chairman dissents:

Pressed on whether New York had been sidelined because of questions about Mr. de Blasio, including a nasty recent dispute with city police unions, Ms. Wasserman Schultz said that was not true. “The only three factors we considered when deciding which was the strongest city were logistics, security and resources,” she said in a conference call with reporters. “Extraneous issues were not a factor whatsoever.”

But New York apparently did lose points by proposing the Barclays Center in Brooklyn for the convention, which posed logistical hurdles.

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