# Hosting a debate: What's in it for the city? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 22, 2015, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hosting-a-debate-whats-in-it-for-the-city/710537 "2015-01-22T00:40:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hosting-a-debate-whats-in-it-for-the-city/710537/1 "2015-01-22T00:40:11Z")
So, Cleveland is set to host the Republican National Convention in 2016. Thousands of political somebodies, or nobodies wanting to be somebody, will be coming here. They’ll be renting a big convention center, and staying for a week or so in hotel rooms, eating in restaurants, taking in local sports, plays, and other entertainment, and so on. It’s easy to see why a city would want this: That’s a pretty nice boost for the local economy. According to the paper a few days ago, there’s also talk that we might be getting the first Republican primary debate. This will entail the candidates, their immediate staffers, and a media crew coming for a single night, and renting an auditorium or studio somewhere. OK, I guess that’s a couple of dozen extra hotel rooms and probably one or two meals each: It’s still on net positive for local businesses, but it hardly seems like a big deal at all. The city would probably benefit more from a decent-sized family reunion. Is there any other benefit to hosting a debate, or reason that we should care, or is that really about it? ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hosting-a-debate-whats-in-it-for-the-city/710537/2 "2015-01-22T00:50:20Z")
I don’t think it’s the city that cares or bids on the debate, but the institution. Usually a University, but sometimes an institution or a think-tank. Their name is slashed all over the stage and backdrop. They are still prestigious events and can be used in fundraising and such. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hosting-a-debate-whats-in-it-for-the-city/710537/3 "2015-01-22T00:50:42Z")
Thanks to the 2012 Republican Convention being venued in Tampa, we got to see Jason Jones reporting from a Tampa strip club and Samantha Bee being carried off by a palmetto bug. Yes. It was worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hosting-a-debate-whats-in-it-for-the-city/710537/4 "2015-01-22T01:14:48Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Lamar Mundane** : > > I don’t think it’s the city that cares or bids on the debate, but the institution. I don’t know… The article said that a team from Fox News was in town to scout out various possible venues. Maybe that just means that there are multiple local institutions that are putting in bids, but it sure made it sound like it was the city being chosen, not the institution. And **BrainGlutton** , that’s a convention, not a debate. I already know that conventions are a big deal (though I maybe didn’t anticipate it being one for those reasons). ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hosting-a-debate-whats-in-it-for-the-city/710537/5 "2015-01-22T01:30:46Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And **BrainGlutton** , that’s a convention, not a debate. Oh, yes. I was confused because the first sentence in the OP is about a convention. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2015, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hosting-a-debate-whats-in-it-for-the-city/710537/6 "2015-01-25T19:50:10Z")
As a die hard political junkie, I can easily rattle off which cities have hosted every Democratic and Republican convention since 1948, thanks to C-span’s historical coverage. I’ve watched every political debate as well and I can only remember the last Dukakis/Bush debate was in Los Angeles because I’ve seen the introduction over and over again leading up to the Kitty Dukakis question. I can’t name any other debate host city, although I’m sure they’re useful for the universities that host them for recruiting students and fundraising. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hosting-a-debate-whats-in-it-for-the-city/710537/7 "2015-03-12T08:23:31Z")
I guess a small boost to the economy and profile of a city (debate), while less than the boost to the economy and profile of a city you’d get from a convention, is still better than no boost at all. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hosting-a-debate-whats-in-it-for-the-city/710537/8 "2015-03-12T16:16:17Z")
Let’s put it this way. When was the last time there was a national news story about Cleveland that didn’t involve one of the following: 1. The Browns, Indians or Cavaliers 2. A police-involved shooting 3. The abduction or recovery of young women or some information about their kidnappers 4. Old jokes about Lake Erie, the Cuyahoga River or Dennis Kucinich Politics may not be the greatest thing in the world, but it beats at least three of those. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hosting-a-debate-whats-in-it-for-the-city/710537/9 "2015-03-12T16:54:59Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Let’s put it this way. When was the last time there was a national news story about Cleveland that didn’t involve one of the following: > > 1. The Browns, Indians or Cavaliers > 2. A police-involved shooting > 3. The abduction or recovery of young women or some information about their kidnappers > 4. Old jokes about Lake Erie, the Cuyahoga River or Dennis Kucinich > > Politics may not be the greatest thing in the world, but it beats at least three of those. I thought Kucinich was from Cincinnati. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hosting-a-debate-whats-in-it-for-the-city/710537/10 "2015-03-12T21:28:53Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I thought Kucinich was from Cincinnati. No, that’s Jerry Springer. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hosting-a-debate-whats-in-it-for-the-city/710537/11 "2015-03-12T22:14:46Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > No, that’s Jerry Springer. Oh, yeah. I always get those two confused. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hosting-a-debate-whats-in-it-for-the-city/710537/12 "2015-03-12T22:55:29Z")
I’m not sure where Kucinich was from originally, but the district he represented was basically Cleveland. Then again, with the way Ohio is gerrymandered nowadays, I wouldn’t be surprised to see parts of Cleveland and Cincinnati in the same district. And when there was that manufactured controversy about Sony not showing _The Interview_ because Sony is a bunch of idiots, a local independent theater made national news by being one of a few who planned to show _Team America: World Police_ instead. OK, so I probably wouldn’t have noticed that if I weren’t a local, but it did happen, and I did read about it in national news. Oh, you should probably also include various movies filmed here, too. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hosting-a-debate-whats-in-it-for-the-city/710537/13 "2015-03-13T04:37:02Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m not sure where Kucinich was from originally, but the district he represented was basically Cleveland. Before he was in Congress, he was the mayor of Cleveland for a single two-year term. > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Oh, yeah. I always get those two confused. Jerry Springer [spent time with a woman he shouldn’t have, and he paid her with a check](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzT4dOyCMg0) (my favorite political ad ever). (Which is, by the way, not an entirely accurate summary of what he did. He did in fact _write_ a check to the woman who kept him company, but it would not be correct to say he _paid_ her with the check, seeing as it bounced.) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hosting-a-debate-whats-in-it-for-the-city/710537/14 "2015-03-13T16:10:29Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > Jerry Springer [spent time with a woman he shouldn’t have, and he paid her with a check](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzT4dOyCMg0) (my favorite political ad ever). > > (Which is, by the way, not an entirely accurate summary of what he did. He did in fact _write_ a check to the woman who kept him company, but it would not be correct to say he _paid_ her with the check, seeing as it bounced.) Whew! And here I was beginning to doubt Jerry Springer’s moral integrity!