The Republicans and Democrats have picked the cities that will host their national conventions in 2004 — New York and Boston, respectively.
These locations really are a tale of two cities that are quite political, cultural and economical polar opposites.
Massachusetts has two of the most liberal senators in the country much like the New York’s two senators. Mass-achusetts represents an over-taxed state that has been dominated by liberal Democrats for decades.
Boston is home to Harvard, MIT and Wellesley Colleges, some of the most left-leaning university campuses in the country, and is a perfect playing ground for the Democratic Convention.
New York City on the other hand has been a city in a state that can go either way on the political spectrum.
NYC has a Republican mayor, New York State a Republican governor, but again two very liberal senators. NYC, which is now ready and willing to host a Republican convention, has developed a close relationship with President Bush since 9/11.
Boston and NYC are always in competition with each other whether it’s in baseball, prominence of colleges, or which metropolis is more cultured. On 9/11 Boston played host to al-Qaeda hijackers who flew out of Logan Airport and ran the planes into NYC’s World Trade Center Towers.
Boston has become such a liberal “anything goes” breeding ground and as you may remember a funeral was held at Harvard for the death of God, where a casket was carried through the hallowed halls of the college.
This may have been the beginning of Boston’s extreme liberalism.
NYC at the time was governed by their incredible Mayor Rudolph Guiliani who had used his “broken window theory” to clean up crime. This theory stopped “would be” criminals at the start from the first broken window.
Sen. John Kerry from Boston is vying for the 2004 bid for the Democrats. Having the convention in his hometown almost guarantees his lock on the bid.
Kerry has plenty of money to run a presidential campaign; his wife Teresa Heinz is heir to the Heinz Ketchup fortune.
George W. Bush has spent much time in NYC after the attacks.
He has been a father to citizens of the Big Apple during time of crisis. Whether it is extending benefits to the unemployed or seeking justice around the world to stop other attacks on U.S. soil.
Governor-elect Mitt Rom-ney (R-MA) has inherited a laundry list of budget woes from departing governor, Democrat Jane Swift. Swift, in her 11th hour in office, created 300 new positions in state government for friends, as reported by The Boston Herald. This is something Romney cannot undo.
This will mean that during the convention in ‘Bean Town’ while Democrats are preaching fiscal conservatism, across the Boston Common, Romney will be battling budget woes generated by the Democrats.
NYC would not have been a great place to have the GOP convention before 9/11 simply because of its left-leaning tendencies.
After President Bush came to the aid of the city, I believe its people gained a respect and connection with the commander-in-chief.
Boston without a doubt stands for old regime tax and spenders with the likes of the Kennedy family behind them. Although New York’s political history is not a whole lot better, voters there have shown some grit when choosing their mayors and other state officials.
It’s easy to the difference, as easy as apples and beans.