Charlotte Reluctantly Says It’s Willing to Host Republican National Convention

Bet the average person would like the money a convention always brings to town.

Have it here in Abilene. There isn't room, and the lawbreakers will fry. Should be a great time for all.

The leaders of Charlotte who have approved holding this convention fail to realize that it is not a meeting of a political party. Instead it is a meeting of the Trump/Authoritarian/ Populist cult. No place in America should be open to hosting this convocation of hate and ignorance. It is foolish to treat an enemy with grace when they only wish to destroy you -----this is no longer a matter of airing opposing positions on issues----it is a matter of deciding what system of government will prevail in the US------and no city needs to provide a forum for those promoting fascism.

Last time I checked, NC is below the Mason Dixon line with a history of white supremacy. And isn’t it a southern state that fled the Democratic Party when LBJ signed the civil rights type laws And flocked to the Republican Party ? Must be those Yankies who moved south with their Companies.

You managed to misframe the debate in your opening paragraph. Free speech does not mean hosting foul racist swine. It means that foul racist swine are allowed to speak. As for there being no security problems, think Chicago, 68. President pence will be totally freaked out.

Hold it in Moscow. That way the owners can watch from the skybox.

Charlotte hosting the GOP National Convention is a positive thing. The event will be great for the Charlotte economy & will benefit a lot of working class individuals & families (just like the Charlotte Dem National Convention did). Additionally, exposure is the death of prejudice & ignorance. Only by interacting & engaging with those who look, love, worship & think differently than us, will any of us grow or evolve in our views & beliefs. Self-segregating only causes us to become further polarized & makes the establishment of a mutually respectful dialogue impossible. I'm not a Republican. I'm not a Democrat. I'm just a person who believes that we are all much more alike than we are different. I respect your right to disagree with me, but this is how I feel & I hope you all have a happy Tuesday friends!

Shouldn't the GOP be worried about who might be sharing a restroom with them? At least until Kavanaugh gets a crack at the matter.

Let's remain optimistic that Trump will not be the Republican nominee in 2020.

Pat McCrory, really??? The same Pat McCrory who drove nearly a billion dollars worth of revenue out of the state with his bathroom bill? The sitting Republican Governor who managed to lose an election in which Trump won by four percentage points? The guy who headed up to Trump Tower to grovel for a position in the new administration and who Trump showed the door because he doesn't abide losers? And his comment is about Democratic obstruction, the party platform that the GOP instituted as "If he's for it, we're against it" in 2009? How about getting an opinion from somebody with credibility.

“When your enemy goes to ground, leave him no ground to go to.” Let them have their little convention out in the sticks where their "base" is.

“But the only time we move forward, like we’ve seen with housing, is when we say, ‘Let’s work together.’” Is it moral to 'work together' with the Trump regime and it's associated "Party of the Republic" (Oddly, the same name as Mussolini's -- history repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce)? The party that puts children in cages as a warning to brown people to stay away? The party whose leader is an obsequious toady to the Russian dictator? The party that aims to destroy our federal law enforcement agencies in the name of law enforcement and to destroy our intelligence agencies in favor of the Russian military? The party that quietly and not so quietly now has an open confederate / Klan wing? A party that has a religious fanatical wing that seeks to impose Christian Shariah law on us all and is determined to close its eyes to any level of moral corruption and self dealing in order to do so? A party that is willing to destroy the national budget and blow a gigantic trillion dollar hole in the deficit in order to reward its own donors and cut Medicare and Medicaid from our elderly and disabled-- and says so publically!? This is not a matter of opinion. This is not a parlor debate at this stage. Would the Nuremberg Rally in Charlotte not ALSO bring in a lot of business and raise the profile of the city? I had a professor in college who used to say "We should always keep an open mind. But not so open that our brain falls out."

The upside is Charlotte's close enough that I can show up for a day or three supporting anti-trump protests. Let's hope Team Mueller n FBI can MAGA.

More appropriate choices for the 2020 convention would be: Moscow, Idaho St. Petersburg, Florida Sebastapol, California Volga, South Dakota Tolstoy, South Dakota

More appropriate choices for the 2020 convention are: Moscow, Idaho St. Petersburg, Florida Sebastapol, California Volga, South Dakota Tolstoy, South Dakota

I would not want the Republican convention in my city, just imagine the riots. I guess Moscow didn't have space??

Well, I have often thought that I would like to visit Charlotte. So much for that.

Trump, Putin and the other oligarchs who run the Republican Party should be responsible for all expenses related to the convention, particularly paying for adequate security. Otherwise, chaos will occur and of course, Trump will blame it on the Democrats. This convention is going to make Charlottesville like calm. Tens of millions of people allegedly voted for Trump and still support him so one would think that they could host the convention in a place that actually likes him. Their difficulty locating a host city further emphasizes the urban/rural divide that is occurring in this country. Maybe McConnell can offer up an empty field in Kentucky.

...Mr. Harlow, the city councilman, said it was “important to ask why no other local government in America is bidding on this convention.” Great question. There are two main reasons. First is that conventions are a security, transportation and financial headache for cities. Like the Olympics, political conventions are now seen as losers. Companies that would be needed for the financing of the convention are not on board with the xenophobic and ignorant impulses of the GOP. Second, with the fight over LGBT rights still fresh in NC (and its attendant business fallout), pretty much no one wants to highlight the bi-polar state of North Carolina politics. That state needs to regroup. Hosting the GOP convention is no way to do that.

Atlanta was on Amazon's short list for HQ2. I wonder how that will now play out.

I suspect Trump will love to have a convention in Charlotte as it will provide a great opportunity for him to rouse his base via racist comments regarding the demonstrations sure to occur while there will be ample local supporters to provide "balance" for the media to report.

Milwaukee, Houston, Miami Beach - finalists for the Democratic Convention. Today’s companion article on the Navajo Nation’s cash offer to buy Remington....turned down. I suggest the site for the next Dem Convention be somewhere on the Navajo Nation. Investment in a rural area, smart gun technology advancement, name your message; this would highlight it. But hey....Miami Beach is so....emblematic of all the Democrats want to project, right?

The savviest comment in the article is where one council member asked "Why are no other cities bidding to hold the Republican Convention?". No one wants to host Trump's coronation a second time. And there will be MASSIVE protests, rivalling or exceeding Chicago 1968. What city would want the trouble? Face it, money or not, Trump is a liability. And McGrory - he's just a disgruntled old kook. He can be ignored.

Why aren't they going to Branson, MO? Or Fargo, ND? Why not spread the wealth to the states and people who so desperately support Trump?

Bring on the 2020 Trump Convention to Charlotte....as tens of thousands of bright, glow-in-the-dark orange Trump-In-Diapers blimps cover the Charlotte sky and night-sky for three glorious days of Republican intellectual, moral and economic bankruptcy.

Two thoughts on this: 1. Those who worry that having the 2020 Republican Convention in Charlotte could sully, and not boost, the city's image are right to be concerned. A large number of protests is guaranteed and the potential for violence is high. The additional security costs which will have to be budgeted to account for this threat could by themselves put a tremendous strain on the city's coffers. And if violence does break out, it could have a chilling effect on the city like the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago did; Chicago was by far the most popular destination for both parties' conventions until 1968, but has hosted a major party convention only once since then. 2. The Democratic Party re-nominated President Obama in Charlotte in 2012, only to see him lose North Carolina to Mitt Romney by 2 points that November. The Democrats should hope that the same thing happens to the Republicans in 2020 - because if President Trump loses North Carolina (he won 5 other states, comprising 86 electoral votes, by smaller margins than his 4-point win in NC in 2016), there's pretty much no way he'll get re-elected.

The only suitable city for the 2020 GOP-Trump-Whites R Us convention is Nuremberg, Germany, the site of huge Nazi Party conventions and huge Nazi propaganda events— the Nuremberg rallies. It does not belong in America.

Well, while every city should be able to happily host whichever political party's convention, these conventions also are disruptive and cost the city financially. While we are one country, and while tolerance is the goal for many of us, and our desire to be welcoming hosts... you have to wonder why Republicans choose a liberal city to host their convention. I remember the 2004 Republican Convention held here in NYC, the taunting of NYC residents and protesters, and the hostility expressed to us, here in our own town. It wasn't fun. It was not pleasant. And our police were taken from tasks and neighborhoods where they were needed to tamp down the tensions provoked by conventioneers.

As Helsinki just found out, hosting Trump events is not a good idea. The name of your city will be attached to sordid speech for a long time to come.

The only good thing about the RNC being held in Charlotte is I can easily drive there to protest.

After what happened there, after Trumps comments regarding the violence that occurred, really, do most Republicans want that to be the setting with the memory that a Convention there will elicit! And its too bad, Charlotte is a really nice place

“Any big city that’s going to host a convention is going to have some debate,” Mr. Woodhouse said. “The fact is — it’s just a reality — that more of the big cities in America are governed by Democrats.” Hey, there's an idea. Let the Republicans have their convention in one of the wide open people-scarce rural towns that provide so many of their electoral votes. You know, the real Amurica. They'll love the farm-to-table cuisine--a little monotonous after awhile, but healthy. And with no night life, they'll get more sleep and maybe make better decisions!

I have a feeling that hosting a convention is a money losing boondoggle akin to hosting the Olympics. Sure, retaurants and hotels may benefit for a few days but when you factor in security costs, police overtime, etc. that are required nowadays I wouldn't be surprised if cities end up losing money.

What I saw in this article is a city divided by ideologies but able to work through the process democratically, and civilly to come to a decision which they all hope benefits the general good. This is how our nation is supposed to work. It is not ”reluctant" it is thoughtful and difficult. Also the city center is far more than”glimmering”.

Yes, I think that's valid: We don't want you because we don't agree with you. "Tolerance of intolerance" is a bad habit. It gives the appearance that both are equally valid in a society. Beware letting your love of "diverse ideas" include the lowest in your society. Back in the Sixties there was an expression. It was: "Garbage in, garbage out". Some concepts like racism, sexism, might makes right, and 'starve the poor, feed the rich', really don't need half of your lifetime to study. You can get it in a New York Minute. Yes... "economics" versus "ethics"..... that's a tough one..... Not.

I say that Charlotte shouldn't feel bad about taking Republican money and putting it to good use. I'd also say that it's not going to get the RNC convention regardless. The convention will be held where there is a Trump branded hotel.

I have been considering a move back to NC, my home state, for about a decade. Each time that I get close, the state does something that turns my stomach, and I bail.

Mr. Harlow's comment is telling. The convention may very well feel like a white supremacist rally, if the past year and a half are any indication of what is to come.

Today it's all about the money. The Mayor has decided his constituents can host the party of complicity with this President. The racist party that aims to give money to the rich while cutting aid to the vulnerable. Nice values, Mr. Mayor.

If cities want to allow these conventions, then the convention should be responsible for all security costs. Don't put the strain on the resources of the city. Charlotte could be destroyed by protests if trump comes to the convention. Of course, with the way the country is going now, there won't be any need for conventions as russia will control all elections from now. No need for elections no need for conventions! putin/trump rules the day.

Don't do it, Charlotte! At best it will be break-even between economic rewards and the cost to protect the public safety. Meantime, who in Charlotte wants that kind of infamy?

Has Charlotte's Mayor lost her mind? Bringing the Presidential nominating convention to Charlotte permits the values, such as they are, of that political party to dominate everything about the city. Charlotte's "values" will not even get a mention let alone be "shared" or influence how GOP attendees think, act, and vote. There may be actual reasons the Mayor, a Democrat, wants Charlotte to host the RNC's Presidential nominating convention--economic, image building, introducing the City of Charlotte to the world after the nefarious demonstrations by White Nationalists a year ago. But, "sharing the values" that has made Charlotte a candidate for this event certainly will not be the result. If anything, Charlotte will be transformed at least for a period of time into the GOP values that condescend and toady to a President who told the nation that "both sides" were responsible for the mayhem that occurred in Charlotte last year and a political party that has lost all nerve to condemn his racism and loathing of American values.

I note that Pat McCrory, the past NC. governor was quick to place the blame for the resistance to the GOP convention on the radical "far left." Guess he doesn't read newspapers and see why the current actions of the current president might just be a factor.

As a resident of NC, I certainly want the red party to spend as much money as they can in the state. Hotels, motels, restaurants, bars, and all businesses in Charlotte should at least double their prices and make a killing off these suckers. Most of them have a lot of extra money from their huge tax cut, so it should be no problem for them to fork some of it over to the folks in Charlotte and its environs.

You achieve ''peaceful protest'' through voting. You can vote at the ballot box or at the cash register. What this vote means (at least to me) is that you voted for the cash infusion on bringing the circus to town, negating your credibility at the ballot box. It is much the same for those that voted for their tax theft in the last election, (even though the rewards are minimal and will sunset) while not caring about what the actual costs may be. (incalculable for generations) Furthermore the benefits will be felt by some businesses and will drastically hurt others. (and most likely the community overall as the costs for security and the like will be astronomical) Can you get a recount ?

I join those who don’t want Trump and his misguided flock taking over our city. After NATO, England, and (most importantly) Helsinki, we would be welcoming a traitor and those who blindly support him.