WASHINGTON - More than two dozen cities have been invited to submit bids to explain why they would be the best choice for the 2008 Republican National Convention.
The 31 cities were announced Wednesday by the Republican National Committee, which also has asked to hear from cities not on the list but interested in playing host to the convention.
The committee's site selection committee will hold individual meetings in Washington with representatives of all interested cities to discuss the choice of a convention city. The RNC has several basic requirements for the host city.
_A main convention facility capable of seating at least 20,500.
_A city and its host committee's willingness and ability to provide and pay for security for the convention.
_City must be able to make available to the RNC's planning committee 20,000 hotel rooms and 2,000 one- and two-bedroom suites.
Cities that received requests for convention proposals are: Anaheim, Calif.; Atlanta; Boston; Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago; Columbus, Ohio; Dallas; Denver; Detroit; Houston; Indianapolis; Los Angeles; Kansas City, Mo.; Memphis, Tenn.; Miami; Minneapolis; Nashville, Tenn.; New Orleans; New York; Orlando, Fla.; Philadelphia; Phoenix; Pittsburgh; Portland, Ore.; Sacramento, Calif.; San Antonio; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; St. Louis, Mo.; and Tampa.
The RNC's site selection committee will decide on a list of finalist cities by mid-summer of this year and will visit those cities in the late summer. Final selection is expected no later than Feb. 1, 2007.
The 2004 Republican convention was held in New York City.
Now, the 2004 convention was held in New York because the Republicans wanted to politically capitalize on 9/11. The 2008 presidential election will be an election without any Republican incumbent, or vice president running for the Oval Office to replace President Bush. The field is open. The cities they've included here are big convention towns--mainly from red states, or in cities that are Republican enclaves. Although they did include such liberal cities as San Francisco, and Chicago. New Orleans is on the list? Somehow, I don't think the Republicans are going down to the "Big Easy," so soon after Katrina.
I would say that the Republicans are going to try either a southern city, to continue capitalizing on their southern strategy of courting the evangelists and wing-nuts. Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Dallas, Orlando, Miami, San Antonio are all possibilities. The Republicans may choose Los Angeles, Sacramento, or Anaheim if Governator Arnold survives his re-election campaign this November--otherwise, California is out. San Francisco, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Portland, Boston, Detroit, perhaps Seattle are probably just listed for PR.
Place your bets.
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