Top Picks

Description

Transcript by Newsy: http://www.youtube.com/user/NewsyPolitics?feature=mhee (Image source: Wikimedia Commons) BY ZACH TOOMBS A push to move the Democratic National Convention out of North Carolina is highlighting discontent within the party. Fox News reports the online movement comes in response to the state's vote to ban same-sex marriage last week. "Some 30,000 people have signed an online petition demanding the convention be relocated out of North Carolina. Senior Obama-Biden campaign officials told me that's not going to happen." That petition on Change.org calls for the Democratic Party to "MOVE its convention (September 2012) to a state that upholds values of equality & liberty, and which treats ALL citizens equally." But a guest on MSNBC says the convention's location presents Democrats with an opportunity. "Well, I think it's the perfect place." "... Really opens up a discussion that we should have about the difference between the two candidates on this issue." But The Charlotte Observer notes, even before the state voted to ban same-sex marriage, North Carolina presented a political headache for Democrats. "Labor unions, a core Democratic constituency, are up in arms. Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue isn't running for re-election; Democrats say she was likely to lose ... Voters recently approved amending the state constitution to ban gay marriage ... And unemployment in the state remains persistently high." And the National Journal reports labor unions' discontent has affected fundraising — hurting the DNC's attempts to reach their $36 million goal for the event. "Fundraising was lagging ... That led to more pressure on labor unions to pony up. But they would rather spend their money on grassroots efforts and are still miffed that the party decided to go to a 'right to work' state and a city with few unionized hotels." ABC News reports not only would the DNC take a financial hit, but so would the city of Charlotte. In 2008, the Democrats' convention brought a $226 million benefit to the Denver area. ABC also cites political analyst Larry Sabato, who says: "It's completely impractical to move the convention; there's absolutely no way you could do it ... Too much planning has gone into it. You couldn't find another place where you could make all the arrangements at this time. Practically speaking, it's [a] total nonstarter." ABC also notes that confining the Democrats' convention to states without bans on same-sex marriage would drastically narrow the field. 30 states in all have banned it — that includes California, Maine and Florida, where the Republicans will hold their convention.