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A former Chicago resident now living in Atlanta explains his adopted city’s convention loss

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* One of the things that kinda jumped out at me over the break was how Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson had so enthusiastically embraced holding the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Back in 1996, many lefties just hated the whole idea. Times change and they’re soon to be in charge.

Anyway, Bill Torpy of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is a former Chicago resident and wrote about the decision to host the convention in the Windy City…

Crafting a political narrative going into the 2024 election is a huge consideration. And that’s why Dems gave Chicago the nod.

Common wisdom has it that Georgia is a battleground state because Donald Trump was beaten here in 2020 and two Democrats won their way to the U.S. Senate. I’ve argued with my esteemed colleague Greg Bluestein that 2020 was a mulligan, that enough Georgia voters, even many Republicans, decided Trump was a bum.

But the results of last year’s Democratic shellacking in Georgia up and down the ticket indicates Georgia is still reliably red.

So, let me bring you Chicago’s hidden weapon: Scabby the Rat.

Scabby is a 12-foot inflatable rodent brought by unions in Chicago to non-union (aka “scab”) job sites as a protest prop. Not long ago, Scabby won a legal battle on his First Amendment bonafides as a symbol of union protest. He’s also become sort of a cult hero. People like to shoot selfies with him and when he rolled down Western Avenue in my old neighborhood for the South Side Irish St. Patrick’s Day parade, he was a crowd favorite.

Again, Chicago is a Union Town.

And that’s a big part of the narrative going forward. Sure, the Democrats want to keep Georgia flipped blue. But they want to maintain the Blue Wall of the Midwest — the Great Lake swing states like Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Appealing to unions and working-class Americans will be a big part of the package.

There is no town with as much of a union heritage as Chicago. The term “May Day,” which is May 1 and was later adopted by the former Soviet Union, came about in the 1800s to commemorate Chicago’s bloody Haymarket Riot of 1886. No town has done as much to create the eight-hour workday as the Windy City.

Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania all went with Trump in 2016. The Democrats absolutely must hold those states next year and they’ll apparently be spotlighted throughout the festivities.

Your thoughts?

* Isabel’s roundup…

Tribune | Chicago selected as site of 2024 Democratic National Convention:

* Sun-Times | 4 things to know about the 2024 Chicago Democratic convention: Deals with multiple private and government entities have been negotiated or are still in the works. On Wednesday, Lightfoot signed off on the city’s pledges and Wirtz OK’d the lease on the United Center, which will reprise its 1996 role and host delegates each evening. Contracts are still pending with McCormick Place and organized labor — with everything on track toward signing. Each of the 30 hotels housing delegates — all in the city — also did or are doing contracts dealing with room blocks, rates and other details.

* Tribune | Democrats place big bet on Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson by tapping Chicago for ’24 convention: They’re betting Johnson can help them tell a multicultural, multigenerational Democratic story that their geriatric presidential nominee can use as a springboard to energize young voters and win four more years in the White House. And they’re betting their made-for-TV bash will go off without a hitch in a city that has a spotty record throwing these shindigs and a national reputation for violent crime that Republicans are certain to try to exploit.

* Crain’s | Illinois conservatives question Democrats’ convention choice: In a statement, the Illinois General Assembly’s Freedom Caucus, which represents the Legislature’s most conservative members, questioned how the city can serve as the backdrop for a presidential candidate who has to run nationally. The seven-member group of state representatives focused on crime.

* Politico | Chicago will host 2024 Democratic convention: After last week’s mayoral runoff in Chicago, Pritzker said he “absolutely” saw Johnson’s victory as enhancing the city’s chance of securing the convention. “Look, he brings a real excitement to the job, I think to the people of Chicago. And I think that’s being felt in Washington, D.C.”

* NYT | Chicago Will Host 2024 Democratic Convention as Party Returns to Midwest: On Tuesday, Mr. Biden called Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois personally to tell him the news that Chicago had won the bid. “Chicago is your kind of town,” Mr. Pritzker replied, according to a person with knowledge of the call who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the conversation, “and we’re going to throw a huge party for you.”

* The Hill | Georgia Democrats fume after party picks Chicago for 2024 convention: “It feels a little bit like a slap in the face,” one Georgia Democratic operative said. “You know, there’s a lot that goes into this — hotels and transportation and all that. But there’s the symbolism to consider too, and I think it would have been a strong statement to say, ‘Hey, Georgia has delivered for us, and we’re not taking that for granted.’”

* NYT | 5 Reasons Democrats Picked Chicago for Their 2024 Convention: Chicago — unlike the last four Democratic convention cities — is not in a presidential battleground. But it is the cultural and economic capital of the American Midwest. The United Center, the convention arena, sits about an hour away from two critical presidential battleground states, Wisconsin and Michigan, with sometimes-competitive Minnesota nearby.

* WBEZ | What the DNC 2024 could mean for Chicago: The Democratic National Convention in August next year could draw up to 50,000 visitors, with the potential for up to $200 million in economic impact, if outcomes from previous conventions hold true.

* Block Club | Democratic National Convention Will Show Chicago Is ‘Best City’ In The US, Officials Vow: The convention will also give Chicago the national spotlight in a positive way — something the city isn’t always able to do as Republicans try to frame the city as “violent,” Lightfoot said. “We have too many things out there in the mouths of pundits and critics who talk about our city in a way that is unrecognizable to us. .. This will help us right that wrong and the truth about the best city in the United States,” she said.

* Daily Herald | Rosemont expects boost from Democratic convention, but how big remains to be seen: How many visitors might seek lodging at any of the 20 hotels and 6,200 rooms within the 1.79-square-mile town is still unknown, but officials know their location is attractive because of the proximity to O’Hare International Airport.

* FiveThirtyEight | Should Democrats Have Picked A Swing State For Their 2024 Convention?: If you remove the 2004 DNC from the list, the average convention boost is just 0.7 points and only two states saw more than a 2-point boost (California in 2000 for Democrats and Ohio in 2016 for Republicans). Excluding the 2004 DNC, a convention boost has also occurred just seven out of 11 times. Four other times, the party actually did worse than expected in the state hosting its convention.

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Apr 17, 23 @ 12:09 pm

Comments

Does it really matter where either convention is held? I don’t think so. The party conventions are not that big a deal, except to the convention and tourism departments of the city where they are held. Georgia Democratics may be upset but the negative publicity potential of holding their convention in the home state of a serial loser/election denier might have had some impact.

Comment by Captain Obvious Monday, Apr 17, 23 @ 12:23 pm
Chicago? Convention?

The original Daley, channeling his inner Yogi Bera, has left me with only one thing that immediately comes to mind.

The police are not here to create disorder, the police are here to preserve disorder.

Comment by TheInvisibleMan Monday, Apr 17, 23 @ 12:28 pm
pretty much what the dnc members i talked to told me. “i won’t stay in a non-union hotel again” particularly sticks in my mind…

Comment by bored now Monday, Apr 17, 23 @ 12:30 pm
Interesting narrative but how exactly does CTU, SEIU, and other public sector unions fit into that picture? Good luck trying to convince union workers in those other Midwest states that those groups share common goals or values.

Comment by Boone's is Back Monday, Apr 17, 23 @ 12:34 pm
After seeing the results of the mid-terms, IL being a pro-choice island that thousands of Southern (and Midwestern) women are fleeing to to receive medical care will probably be highlighted over and over and over.

Comment by Chicago Blue Monday, Apr 17, 23 @ 12:37 pm
I’m just glad the rest of the country is starting to acknowledge that Chicago is part of the Midwest. Somehow the New York journalists on diner safaris always make it to Iowa and Wisconsin but never Illinois. We don’t fit the preexisting narrative, so I’m glad national media is gonna have to take a closer look.

Comment by vern Monday, Apr 17, 23 @ 12:39 pm
Brandon won. that iced it. yes, a union town, but imagine if Paul Vallas was the face of the City. nope. Brandon won, deal done.

Comment by Amalia Monday, Apr 17, 23 @ 12:42 pm
Gov. Pritzker’s money had a lot to do with it too.

Comment by Three Dimensional Checkers Monday, Apr 17, 23 @ 12:48 pm
Tough to see a way the DNC comes to Chicago over Atlanta with Mayor Paul Vallas.

What was learned with the Rauner years, and now the Pritzker years with Lightfoot, Illinois and labor, labor understands better than anyone, “permanent interests”, not permanent enemies, and labor here is good for the DNC

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Apr 17, 23 @ 12:52 pm
I just hope there is a plan in place by then for how to deal with incidents downtown like we saw this weekend.

Comment by low level Monday, Apr 17, 23 @ 12:57 pm
===Good luck trying to convince union workers in those other Midwest states that those groups share common goals or values.===

Really? Why?

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Apr 17, 23 @ 1:05 pm
===Good luck trying to convince union workers in those other Midwest states that those groups share common goals or values===

Except the trades are on board, too.

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Apr 17, 23 @ 1:10 pm
===And that’s why Dems gave Chicago the nod.===

There are so many factors at play at this decision that I think we should take a step back, a deep breath, and realize that the decision wasn’t made using a rational decision model complete with pre-established metrics. People like Chicago. People who got their starts with OFA especially like Chicago. Chicago has a lot of nice amenities for hosting the Democratic National Convention and Chicago is a city that is five times larger than Atlanta by population.

Someone probably decided they liked Chicago and then came up with reasons to choose Chicago. If I were picking between Atlanta and Chicago for a convention that time of year I’d make my choice solely based on the climate and then come up with a political climate justification.

The people who make these decisions are just like the rest of us, lets not turn them into constantly calculating political geniuses when we get evidence ever other November that suggests the opposite of that.

Comment by Candy Dogood Monday, Apr 17, 23 @ 1:11 pm
In my mind this post meshes a bit with the Question of the Day. A huge spotlight is coming and the new Mayor has to work effectively with Springfield and hopefully they with him to show a city making progress on its challenges and building on its successes.

Comment by Earnest Monday, Apr 17, 23 @ 1:42 pm
===Except the trades are on board, too.===

Of course they are, they’ll be getting a lot of work out of it. I’m talking about the pro union voters in those other states.

Comment by Boone's is Back Monday, Apr 17, 23 @ 1:49 pm
The union angle and the prospect of JB covering any cost overruns are the primary reasons Chicago was picked. But the midwestern “blue wall” argument seems kinda silly. Is there really a single swing voter in the suburbs Milwaukee or Detroit who is gonna vote Dem because the convention was in Chicago?

Comment by Telly Monday, Apr 17, 23 @ 2:00 pm
=I just hope there is a plan in place by then for how to deal with incidents downtown like we saw this weekend.=

How is this even still happening?
Hundreds of people descending on the downtown area - jumping on cars, CTA buses, etc. Shooting. And filming themselves.

You can’t even have a block party in Chicago without a permit. Don’t you need a permit to organize a gathering for hundreds?
These “events” are being organized on social media. Certainly, they can figure out who’s responsible and go after them.

Comment by TinyDancer(FKASue) Monday, Apr 17, 23 @ 2:25 pm
===But the midwestern “blue wall” argument seems kinda silly===

Pretending like Illinois having Democratic super majorities is relevant to winning congressional races, legislative races, and statewide races in other midwestern states is easier than trying to make a significant investment in party building and developing people to be candidates and people to fill lower offices in order to make up a good bench of contenders for higher office.

A couple of decades of writing off a meaningful 50 state strategy is hard to recover from when you discover you don’t like the results and can’t rely on twitter fast takes to win a majority in the United States House of Representatives.

Comment by Candy Dogood Monday, Apr 17, 23 @ 2:46 pm
Wisconsin narrowly voted for Trump in 2016 as some Badgers complained that Hillary ignored the Dairy State. The Democratic Convention was in Milwaukee in 2020. Biden eked out a win.

Not sure how holding a presidential convention in a solid blue area (GOP has not carried Illinois since 1988) helps the Democratic ticket.

Comment by Gravitas Monday, Apr 17, 23 @ 4:06 pm
===GOP has not carried Illinois since 1988===

Friend, since 1988, how many times has the GOP won the popular vote for the presidency?

My point?

In 2004 GWB won the popular vote and the presidency, a re-election.

It’s maybe not that Illinois is all that Blue, maybe the majority of voters are voting blue in presidential elections, and while the Electoral College does the electing, the winning of hearts and minds in of the majority in a state that embraces labor, social equality, and diversity… it’s a good move.

Keep in mind…

Georgia elects Republicans that aren’t Trumpkins, and the two US Senators from Georgia faced cultists, and won, the GOP nominee could matter far more in Georgia than having any convention in Atlanta.

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Apr 17, 23 @ 4:16 pm
===These “events” are being organized on social media. Certainly, they can figure out who’s responsible and go after them.===
They are already illegal. People who organize these things probably don’t use their real names.

https://www.illinois.gov/news/press-release.11194.html

Comment by Betty Draper’s cigarette Monday, Apr 17, 23 @ 6:25 pm
=Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania all went with Trump in 2016. The Democrats absolutely must hold those states next year and they’ll apparently be spotlighted throughout the festivities.

Your thoughts?=

Crucial Brandon Johnson and CPD get the issues plaguing the city resolved. This is a PR nightmare waiting to happen.

Comment by Almost the Weekend Monday, Apr 17, 23 @ 6:27 pm