When I learned earlier today that Netroots Nation 2012 was going to be in Providence, I joked that I would be holding a party at my house.
On second thought, maybe there is more to the selection of Providence than meets the eye.
There is no real logic to Providence for a national convention (sorry, but it’s true). While Green Airport is pretty good, a lot of people are going to find themselves changing planes to get there, unless they fly into Logan Airport in Boston an hour away.
There may be a political angle to help two die-hard supporters of the netroots base.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) touted the selection of Providence, as reported by The Boston Globe, as a major boost for the Providence economy, with as many as 3000 participants. Cicilline is in deep electoral trouble because of the mess he left behind when he was Mayor of Providence, and Whitehouse is vulnerable depending upon who is the Republican nominee. So bringing home some Netroots bacon to Providence is a help for them, and also will be a good fundraising vehicle.
But then I thought some more about the size of the convention, and the limited Providence convention space and hotel space downtown. And maybe there is something else going on here, an attempt to hide from the competing RightOnline convention which shadows Netroots Nation to great publicity and fanfare.
The Providence Convention Center is the only professional-sized convention space in Providence. It looks like Netroots Nation already has booked the Convention Center. I have been in that Convention Center many times and it is barely big enough to hold a major convention like Netroots Nation.
I doubt Netroots Nation would have announced the location if they had not already booked the major hotels, as well. There also are only a handful of major hotels downtown. The Providence Visitors Bureau says there are 2200 hotel rooms within a mile of the Convention Center (I’m skeptical that there are that many), which means that almost all of the hotel rooms will be taken up by the Netroots Nation plus normal hotel traffic.
If that is the case, then RightOnline, which always holds its convention in the same city as Netroots Nation, likely will be locked out of the Providence market in substantial part, if not totally.
I have reached out to the Convention Center and hotels to confirm if they are locked up. I’ll keep you informed.
If by some chance RightOnline does squeeze into Providence at the same time as Netroots Nation, it is going to put people right on top of each other. Oh boy, that would be great.
Update: The NY Times says there were 2400 people at Netroots and 1500 at Right Online. Providence is not big enough for the two of them.
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
New England is full of liberal whackadoodles, so the choice of Providence means that a lot of them wouldn’t have to even get a hotel room; they can just drive down from Boston. (From what I’ve seen, lefties don’t know how to party very well, either, so there’s little concern about DUIs.)
Maybe I’m just being optimistic… the chance to crash NutRootsNation is irresistible, and it’s only a 45-minute drive away. (RightOnline in New England, too? Even better!)
Off thread:
Bachmann is reported to have made Rollins apologize to Palin.
Story at Hot Air reiterating WaPo. Here.
“This town’s not big enough for the two of us!”
What about the possibility that by 2012 the attendees to Netroots actually is half the size of this years?
With the economy in the toilet, no moral superiority in ANY area (war, torture, transparency, lying, bail-outs), and rising disgust among independents what will be the incentive to be an Obama partisan? I see the need for a three-way expression in coming years. The Netroots, the even further left who realize they were had and the conservatives.
Cindy Sheehan and Rev. Wright and Code Pink were all thrown under the bus by the Democrats as soon as they got into power. The “close Guantanamo” crowd, the pacifists and the anti-fat-cat bail out crew were all betrayed. About time they showed up and took back their fruit loops.
Of course, if those positions were suddenly inconvenient, well, no one in the MSM will point out the hypocrisy.
“Reported” is right. An anonymous Bachmann staffer, apparently single source, leaked to a WaPo liberal (Chris Cillizza) that Bachmann asked Rollins to apologize on the double supersecret QT in private to Palin or someone on her staff for blatantly smearing Palin in multiple public interviews.
In other news, a beachfront housing boom in Arizona…
Sounds like they’re terrified of the possibility of Andrew Breitbart crashing the show again next year. As if he can be stopped. *insert evil villain laugh here*
“No real logic…” Perhaps judging from your perception of an altrustic concept of logic there isn’t logic for the people of Providence to bring home the bacon, but let me assue you it’s entirely logical to them.
A gapping need they would even claim, based upon only the highest of our shared ideals.
The logic for the NN is money too, although I’m not sure how or why Providence was chosen specifically because of money as opposed to just generally, but I would bet it was logical to someone from the NN making money from it somewhere to choose where they did.
[…] False Don Surber: Democrats = Religious Bigots Power Line: Fast & Furious Backpedaling At DOJ Legal Insurrection: Is Netroots Nation 2012 Hiding In Providence? Blackfive: Like Watching a Car Wreck Allahpundit: Bachmann Orders Ed Rollins To Apologize To Palin […]
[…] Via @kevinbinversie; see Legal Insurrection for background. […]
[…] Via @kevinbinversie; see Legal Insurrection for background. […]