The battle for the GOP nomination will compete with the battle for starting Cleveland Browns quarterback, now that Johnny Manzeil’s in town.
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus announced today on Fox News that the city of Cleveland has been chosen to host the 2016 GOP convention. Big political conventions boast of bringing in dollars and jobs–also conveniently a theme of almost all big political conventions. Is that true? The GOP says yes, and that more journalists visited Tampa for the 2012 RNC than for the 2009 Super Bowl. Most journalists don’t have big expense accounts, but they do need to eat and sleep somewhere.
The selection is good news for Cleveland, a city already psyched about the nearly completed $120 million renovations of its beloved Cleveland Browns’ FirstEnergy stadium. If the convention will be a showdown of GOP contenders, it’ll still probably pale in comparison to what’s likely in Cleveland’s football universe. The most exciting college football player in recent memory, unorthodox quarterback Johnny Manziel, became a Brown last spring, and will challenge projected starter Brian Hoyer for the hearts and minds of Cleveland fans–and for playing time.
