Denver is making all the right adjustments to attract the 2008 Democratic National Convention, and we hope its bid proves successful. The convention would be an ideal centennial occasion – the city last hosted such a meeting in 1908.
Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean signaled a note of concern last week over Denver’s ability to raise the necessary cash to support the convention, and his message was received loud and clear.
Three local Fortune 500 companies quickly stepped up, pledging $11.5 million of the $20 million needed from the business community. Backers of the city’s bid say they’re close to nailing down the rest.
The city even has a unionized hotel now, alleviating concerns from union delegates and their party supporters.
The competition is New York City, a frequent host to conventions, but the better political story is here in the Rocky Mountain West.
The region, and Colorado is particular, is a formidable backdrop for a political convention. Republicans selected Minneapolis, signifying their intention to challenge Democrats in the industrial Midwest. By choosing Colorado, Dean would be embracing an effort already well under way in which Western states have been turning to the Democrats.
For years the Democratic strategy for presidential elections has concentrated on winning a combination of coastal states and the industrial Midwest – without much success.
The South and the interior West have been considered Republican turf.
But Democrats now hold a majority of the governorships in the interior West, and this success has emerged as a blueprint of sorts for the national party as it works to reclaim the White House in ’08.
A Denver convention would be an ideal opportunity to spotlight the party’s more moderate face.
Hosting a convention is a costly and complicated undertaking, to be sure, but it would give Denver a world-class identity and boost the political profile of a region that for a generation has been little more than fly-over territory.
Denver’s host committee must raise $80 million overall, with about $25 million coming from the Department of Homeland Security for security and another $25 million expected from multinational corporations that traditionally support presidential conventions.
The political winds are blowing Denver’s way, and we hope this is a political centennial to remember.
