Post in Keeping bars open longer for the RNC

Apr 03 17:40 UTC

Well, I don't care if we are talking about Republicans, Democrats, Green Party,
or Left Nostril Inhaling Communists for Christ.  They knew our rules when they
decided to come here.

Setting aside my particular opinion that there is no real good to be obtained
from events of this type I still wonder just where would this stop.  So - say
the VFW or Automobile Safety Council wanted to have their convention in St.
Paul - should we keep the bars open later for them?  Where do we draw the line?
Do we keep bars open later for political groups?  All political groups?  Major
political groups only?  How about industry groups?  Trade councils?  Service
organizations?  NGOs?

And why do we want to do this for this event?  I suspect that it's because the
eyes of the world will be upon us and we are always afraid of looking like
rubes because we don't do things the same here as they do in New York.  Well,
thank God we don't!  I don't want to live in New York, or Miami, or any of
those places.  I like St. Paul.  And, if you look at those perennial lists of
the nation's most livable cities, it seems a lot of other people like St. Paul,
too.

If these folks decided they want to come here for their convention, then I
suppose we can't really stop them.  But, they decided to come to our city, not
some other place.  If they wanted to have a different experience they shouldn't
have chosen St. Paul.

Oh.  And don't even get me started on the kindergartener's having to start
school a week late because of this mess.

Brian Ashley
Macalester