The true irony about Tampa getting the GOP
Now, I know that Tampa being the swing part of a swing state has a lot to do with it, but the fact is, up until a few yeasrs ago, we were nowhere near ready to hose a major event. The only things we had to offer were Ybor City (our Latin Quarter) and the old Tampa Stadium.
What happened was that a group of Democratic mayors, starting with Sandra Freeman, and including Pam Iorio and the current one, Bob Buckhorn, decided to SPEND on various things to attract investors. One of which was the convention center itself, the other is the Tampa Bay times Forum (aka the "ice Palace.) These are the places that are literally housing the convention; if you do not know them now, you will when you see John Stewart and Rachel Maddow running about, or riding the Trolley. Oh yes, you see, there is a trolley that connects the convention center to Ybor City, which means that the people getting drunk in Ybor will not crash and burn, or search for parking. That trolley connects to a complex called Riverwalk, home to the Museum district, where there will be fancier galas.
Of course, all of these things; the trolley, the forum, the convention center, were all considered boondoggles, and all hated by the state, which prefers to cater to rural citrus barons. It should also be noted that people wanted the trolley to extend to Franklin Street, which was the home of downtown Tampa, but is now a ghost town. Of course, that was denied. But of course, NOW, since the hotels did not provided enough space for parties, the whole of that street, the empty Woolworth, the empty Kress, all of them have been converted to temporary party spaces, for the MOST exclusive clientele. And of course, the right wing is saying that since these are all private, they are proof Private is better. NO, it is proof that you were choking the life out of downtown for years, and only intend to use it long enough for you to get your damned photo ops.
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