Brooklyn's Barclays Center, where the convention would be held if the DNC picks New York
The DNC is getting close to making a decision about where to host the 2016 Democratic National Convention, and on Monday,
they got a bit closer:
The Democratic National Committee Monday knocked Phoenix, Ariz., and Birmingham, Ala., off the list of potential hosts of the 2016 Democratic National Convention, leaving only Brooklyn, Philadelphia as rivals to Columbus still vying to host the convention.
A third city, Cleveland, bowed out of the competition after the Republican National Committee selected it as the site of the 2016 Republican National Convention.
Tiny Birmingham never stood a chance and even some city fathers
chuckled at their own chances. But the dismissal of Phoenix, the sixth-biggest city in the country, is more noteworthy. Sure, there's the scorching summertime weather any sane person would want to avoid, but Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas implored the DNC
to choose another location for very different reasons. Markos warned that Democrats would "stir up the same raw emotions and divisiveness that Netroots Nation did with their choice for that locale" if they picked Phoenix, emotions he explained in detail
here and
here.
Whether or not committee members heeded that warning, at least it's something we won't have to worry about now. So that leaves the three finalists, and it's anyone's guess as to which city will pull the brass ring. The last two conventions have been held in swing states (Denver in 2008 and Charlotte in 2012), so that would point toward Columbus, in the uber tossup state of Ohio. But it's also the smallest of the three remaining choices, and both Philadelphia and especially Brooklyn score high when it comes to sheer ethnic diversity. Of course, New York has the slightly better restaurant scene.
We could speculate all day about who has the inside track, but if you really want to keep abreast of all this, there's actually a blog for that—Democratic Convention Watch, which has been keeping an eye on all convention-related matters for many years. One thing seems likely, though: The convention will be much earlier than in previous cycles, as DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz has said her committee is looking at July 18, July 25, and August 22 as possible dates. (The 2012 confab didn't take place until September.)
In the meantime, you can enjoy this hilarious chart from the New York Times comparing the three finalists across metrics like best bridge, rapper, and meat mogul. You can also take our poll as to which city you think the DNC should select. And in comments, if you're a partisan of any of these three remaining towns, please tell us why the DNC should pick yours!