Republican National Convention in Charlotte

[kermit]

Sounds like no RNC in Charlotte. 

I am glad about two things. First, that the state did not cave to pressure to compromise our public health strategy (which is what the RNC was asking for). Second, that we will sidestep the tinderbox that was going to become. 

My sympathies for the local hospitality industry that will take a big hit from this.

 

 

Edited June 2, 2020 by kermit

[FrankNash]

^^^ Nashville is a progressive city that will not want it's city to be destroyed for the RNC and Trump.

[sclark]

I now tend to believe that the risks outweigh the benefits in hosting the RNC. 

[tozmervo]

22 minutes ago, kermit said:

Sounds like no RNC in Charlotte. 

I am glad about two things. First, that the state did not cave to pressure to compromise our public health strategy (which is what the RNC was asking for). Second, that we will sidestep the tinderbox that was going to become. 

My sympathies for the local hospitality industry that will take a big hit from this.

There's going to be a very fine line of narrative to walk in terms of permitting large-scale protests but not the convention. I personally feel Cooper has handled this specific issue very reasonably and the RNC has not, but that's the political line. 

[Crucial_Infra]

Charlotte has dodged a bullet. This is a relief. 

[KJHburg]

well I guess no NFL football at the Bank either how can you allow that 2 weeks later or the entire NBA season should be cancelled as well for next fall possibly too.  No publicly attended preseason games in August and first home game 9/13 with the Raiders I guess as well.  

[kermit]

8 hours ago, tozmervo said:

There's going to be a very fine line of narrative to walk in terms of permitting large-scale protests but not the convention. I personally feel Cooper has handled this specific issue very reasonably and the RNC has not, but that's the political line. 

I dunno, I think there is a pretty big difference between our rights to free association verses public health restrictions on the capacity of publicly and privately owned  buildings. The republicans were looking for NC to say "its safe for you to gather 50,000 people together inside in August". NC (very sensibly) was not willing to make that promise based on our current knowledge of Corona. Republicans certainly still have the right to gather in Charlotte, but they were not promised that they would be able to occupy hotels, restaurants and gun shops above their current max capacity.

Protestors have not asked for the state to declare their gatherings to be safe from Corona exposure. 

Keep in mind, every tourist in town increases our risk of exposure to Corona. Roy Cooper's first responsibility is to protect us.

#NotALawyer

 

Edited June 3, 2020 by kermit

[CLT2014]

24 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

well I guess no NFL football at the Bank either how can you allow that 2 weeks later or the entire NBA season should be cancelled as well for next fall possibly too.  No publicly attended preseason games in August and first home game 9/13 with the Raiders I guess as well.  

The NFL hasn't announced firm decisions yet, but playing in empty stadiums or stadiums at significantly reduced capacity are both on the table. Pre-season likely won't be at full capacity at any NFL stadium. 

My guess is the convention ends up in Vegas. Definitely enough hotel rooms and space to accommodate everybody, with lots of vacancy right now due to COVID-19 and Vegas heat in the middle of August. Their economy is very reliant on tourism so they will be eager to snap this and commit to no masks, no social distancing, et. 

Edited June 2, 2020 by CLT2014

[tozmervo]

21 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

well I guess no NFL football at the Bank either how can you allow that 2 weeks later or the entire NBA season should be cancelled as well for next fall possibly too.  No publicly attended preseason games in August and first home game 9/13 with the Raiders I guess as well.  

I don't think that's necessarily true. The RNC is asking for a promise no one can keep, and as the Cooper administration pointed out even NASCAR put forth the effort of an actual health and safety plan. 

[videtur quam contuor]

26 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

well I guess no NFL football at the Bank either how can you allow that 2 weeks later or the entire NBA season should be cancelled as well for next fall possibly too.  No publicly attended preseason games in August and first home game 9/13 with the Raiders I guess as well.  

This, exactly. If Cooper allows an unchanged RNC then how does he ask Ace Speedway to limit attendance? How does he close anything? It is a test of the ability of the governor (any governor) to follow public health warnings. Nashville may ask for and entertain the RNC but what will that governor do about any convention? Any business that wants to open? At any time? I wish them the best. For me, I take a road better chosen with the light of science and reason.

Edited June 2, 2020 by tarhoosier

[tozmervo]

As if on queue, in the Cooper presser going on right now the question about protesting during Covid came up. His response was that the first amendment freedoms apply equally to the "Reopen" protestors as they do to the current protests, and his executive order leaves room for those protests. 

[SMSRedux]

Shouldn't attending a national political gathering also be considered a first amendment right just the same as attending a national civil rights protest? For that matter, so should attending church. They seem equally important to our first amendment rights and allowing unlimited attendance of one but not the other/s certainly appears biased. The request the RNC made was not for a free pass on health concerns as mentioned above but rather that convention attendance would not be artificially limited (Please correct me with a source if I may be miss-informed).

I'm torn regardless as I certainly agree that this will be a difficult event to host without significant blow-back either way.

[tozmervo]

31 minutes ago, SMSRedux said:

Shouldn't attending a national political gathering also be considered a first amendment right just the same as attending a national civil rights protest? For that matter, so should attending church. They seem equally important to our first amendment rights and allowing unlimited attendance of one but not the other/s certainly appears biased. The request the RNC made was not for a free pass on health concerns as mentioned above but rather that convention attendance would not be artificially limited (Please correct me with a source if I may be miss-informed).

I'm torn regardless as I certainly agree that this will be a difficult event to host without significant blow-back either way.

The RNC's letter included neither social distancing nor masks in their safety plan. 

Edited June 2, 2020 by tozmervo
double negatives aren't not good

[TCLT]

1 hour ago, SMSRedux said:

Shouldn't attending a national political gathering also be considered a first amendment right just the same as attending a national civil rights protest? For that matter, so should attending church. They seem equally important to our first amendment rights and allowing unlimited attendance of one but not the other/s certainly appears biased. The request the RNC made was not for a free pass on health concerns as mentioned above but rather that convention attendance would not be artificially limited (Please correct me with a source if I may be miss-informed).

I'm torn regardless as I certainly agree that this will be a difficult event to host without significant blow-back either way.

Protests aren't allowed on an unlimited and unregulated basis so I'm not sure why anyone would think conventions or houses of worship should be.

[KJHburg]

2 hours ago, tozmervo said:

I don't think that's necessarily true. The RNC is asking for a promise no one can keep, and as the Cooper administration pointed out even NASCAR put forth the effort of an actual health and safety plan. 

NASCAR had their race with no spectators or attendees either.  But why not hold the convention at the Speedway buiid a cover stage use their jumbotrons etc and lots and lots of people could be attendance in the event and Charlotte doesnt lose this and all the money and exposure.  Regardless of your political leanings Charlotte will be marked as the city that lost a national political convention.   Or what about the BofA stadium with less than full capacity?  

Edited June 2, 2020 by KJHburg

[kermit]

4 hours ago, KJHburg said:

NASCAR had their race with no spectators or attendees either.  But why not hold the convention at the Speedway buiid a cover stage use their jumbotrons etc and lots and lots of people could be attendance in the event and Charlotte doesnt lose this and all the money and exposure.  Regardless of your political events Charlotte will be marked as the city that lost a national political convention.  

The RNC was given the opportunity to propose a meeting which comported with current public health regulations. They choose not to do that. Cooper did not prevent the meeting, he just said the meeting as currently proposed was unlikely to be legal.

I would think that most rational people will understand why the RNC could not be safely held in Charlotte this year -- donald cancelled the meeting, not Cooper.  I don't believe it will leave a reputational scar.

 

5 hours ago, SMSRedux said:

The request the RNC made was not for a free pass on health concerns as mentioned above but rather that convention attendance would not be artificially limited (Please correct me with a source if I may be miss-informed).

Given the current public health policy in NC it is impossible to have a full-attendance RNC without that free pass.  The RNC did not make any suggestions for modifying the meeting so it would be consistent with current state policy (like moving to the Speedway or limiting attendance). FWIW: no state has prevented anyone from attending church, but most states have prevented people from having large indoor gatherings -- those are two very different things. (church does not have to be inside)

EDITL speaking of modifying the meeting... this is kinda weird

 

 

 

Edited June 3, 2020 by kermit

[SMSRedux]

17 minutes ago, TCLT said:

Protests aren't allowed on an unlimited and unregulated basis so I'm not sure why anyone would think conventions or houses of worship should be.

Point of clarification, this was not suggested by my question or train of thought. Specifically I mentioned "unlimited" in regards to attendance (Not "allowed on an unlimited and unregulated basis" as inferred above). To my knowledge the attendance of protest has not been limited (which is a good thing imo).

[TCLT]

21 minutes ago, SMSRedux said:

Point of clarification, this was not suggested by my question or train of thought. Specifically I mentioned "unlimited" in regards to attendance (Not "allowed on an unlimited and unregulated basis" as inferred above). To my knowledge the attendance of protest has not been limited (which is a good thing imo).

Fair enough. But that is probably because the protests have been outside and not at an indoor venue (which would always have capacity limits anyway). Nothing I can see is preventing 50,000 RNC attendees from traveling to Charlotte and walking around the streets or gathering at a park. Of course the mayor or governor can later decide to slap time and place limits on the RNC meanderers and disperse them.

Edit: I'll also add that the RNC is a private organization holding a members only event. A political party convention isn't really comparable to a protest or assembly protected under the First Amendment. IMO it doesn't deserve the same protections and allowances, but I concede that's open to interpretation.

Edited June 2, 2020 by TCLT

[SMSRedux]

14 minutes ago, kermit said:

Given the current public health policy in NC it is impossible to have a full-attendance RNC without that free pass.  The RNC did not make any suggestions for modifying the meeting so it would be consistent with current state policy (like moving to the Speedway or limiting attendance). FWIW: no state has prevented anyone from attending church, but most states have prevented people from having large indoor gatherings -- those are two very different things. (church does not have to be inside)

 

Per the pew research center 10 states have wholly prevented church attendance (Whether inside a place of worship, or outside (IE physically outside) of one)

If the RNC was able to be held outside would all the health concerns no longer be a factor? No, of course not. To ensure my position is transparent, I believe all of these referenced gatherings should be permitted without curbing attendance. To allow one, and dis-allow others is a contradiction even if it may be in the best interest of public health to limit all such gatherings. Someone risking their and others health by attending a protest is no different in my view than someone risking their and others health attending a political convention. I suppose my main concession in the thought process would have to be given it is held at an "official venue" perhaps....?

To put a tone to this and hopefully ensure it doesn't come off the computer screen wrong, I'm purely interested in learning the and having a dialogue and have hopefully presented a perspective in that way to precipitate thought, no ill keyboard strokes ;).

[CLT2014]

1 hour ago, KJHburg said:

NASCAR had their race with no spectators or attendees either.  But why not hold the convention at the Speedway buiid a cover stage use their jumbotrons etc and lots and lots of people could be attendance in the event and Charlotte doesnt lose this and all the money and exposure.  Regardless of your political leanings Charlotte will be marked as the city that lost a national political convention.   Or what about the BofA stadium with less than full capacity?  

This option was presented to the Republican National Convention, but they do not want to accept it. There was discussion of an air conditioned "bubble" at the Stadium, but they decided that Spectrum Center is the only option they'll accept in Charlotte or look elsewhere. 

Also, if I was the RNC, standing in the heat at the Speedway sounds miserable. All anybody will be tweeting is "Here I am in the blazing hot August heat in Charlotte at the gates of hell." Donald Trump will be dripping in sweat 5 minutes into his speech. I'm not surprised they turned down all non-air conditioned options. Unfortunately with a domed venue with A/C, Atlanta could host at Mercedes Benz and allow for more social distancing with a large crowd. Las Vegas's massive convention center might work too. 

Edited June 2, 2020 by CLT2014

[eastsider]

3 hours ago, CLT2014 said:

The NFL hasn't announced firm decisions yet, but playing in empty stadiums or stadiums at significantly reduced capacity are both on the table. Pre-season likely won't be at full capacity at any NFL stadium. 

My guess is the convention ends up in Vegas. Definitely enough hotel rooms and space to accommodate everybody, with lots of vacancy right now due to COVID-19 and Vegas heat in the middle of August. Their economy is very reliant on tourism so they will be eager to snap this and commit to no masks, no social distancing, et. 

I'm doubtful that there will be fans at any sporting events for the next year plus. The NBA is already planning on not having fans in attendance for the 2020-21 season.

[turbocraig]

Looks like that’s that...

https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/cooper-gop-must-prepare-scaled-back-convention-uptown-charlotte/ELDIST45GZHGJPKHKMU5MJPAUE/

[TCLT]

Meh. Probably bluster. Good luck finding an alternative in 2 months.

[TheOneRJ]

A blessing in disguise. 

[turbocraig]

14 minutes ago, TCLT said:

Meh. Probably bluster. Good luck finding an alternative in 2 months.

Maybe.  But based on the correspondence published between Cooper and the RNC, I wonder how much real planning there even was.  I mean, I know there SHOULD be, but I got the impression it was “well we were waiting for you to tell us how you wanted to run this convention” and the other side saying same.  With hotels empty and unbooked arenas in any major city and with plenty lining up for the opportunity (btw, where were these other cities when CLT and Vegas were the only ones willing to throw their hats into the ring?) how hard would it be?  Sounds like the plan was to show up, check into a hotel and hit the arena or bar.  In normal times this would be insurmountable, but seems relatively easy with our current conditions.  But I’m no event planner, granted.  

Edited June 3, 2020 by turbocraig