{"id":188,"date":"2020-02-20T08:05:58","date_gmt":"2020-02-20T13:05:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/?p=188"},"modified":"2020-02-20T10:32:27","modified_gmt":"2020-02-20T15:32:27","slug":"will-the-rnc-really-make-it-rain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/will-the-rnc-really-make-it-rain\/","title":{"rendered":"Will the RNC Really Make It Rain?"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_196\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-196\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-196 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cajun-queen-skyscraper-1024x752.jpg\" alt=\"Cajun Queen\" width=\"640\" height=\"470\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cajun-queen-skyscraper-1024x752.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cajun-queen-skyscraper-300x220.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cajun-queen-skyscraper-768x564.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cajun-queen-skyscraper-1536x1127.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cajun-queen-skyscraper-2048x1503.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cajun-queen-skyscraper-368x270.jpg 368w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-196\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cajun Queen is close enough to uptown that skyscrapers are visible through the trees &#8230; but not close enough where DNC convention-goers could walk to it in 2012. | Jodie Valade\/WFAE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-188-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/wfae-od.streamguys1.com\/ip\/InsidePolitics0220201.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/wfae-od.streamguys1.com\/ip\/InsidePolitics0220201.mp3\">https:\/\/wfae-od.streamguys1.com\/ip\/InsidePolitics0220201.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>When the Democratic National Convention came to Charlotte in 2012, some businesses made lots of money \u2013 like the owner of a limo company.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe did in about three-and-a-half days what we would normally do in two-and-a-half months in volume and revenues,\u201d said James Weymann, owner of SilverFox Chauffered Transportation in Charlotte. \u201cThat&#8217;s how good it was.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But for others, it wasn\u2019t a good week.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was probably half of what we\u2019d do on a regular week, let alone staffing up for what we thought would be a tremendous week,\u201d said Tim Freer, a co-owner of Cajun Queen restaurant in Elizabeth.<\/p>\n<p>But to understand the Republican National Convention\u2019s economic impact this year, it\u2019s important to step back and get the big picture of convention spending.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Boosters said the 2012 RNC in Tampa resulted in $214 million in direct spending.<\/p>\n<p>But that same year, Charlotte hosted the DNC, and a study showed that the convention brought in $91 million in spending.<\/p>\n<p>Which is odd considering the events are pretty much the same. And is there any truth in these economic impact studies?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust because several thousand, tens of thousands of people show up to participate doesn\u2019t mean there aren\u2019t going to be tens of thousands of people who are chased away,\u201d said Andrew Zimbalist of Smith College, who has studied the economic impact of large events like political conventions.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What&#8217;s The Economic Impact Math?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A decade ago, the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority used to make questionable claims about the economic impact from conventions.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, when Charlotte hosted the National Rifle Association for the second time in 2010, the city initially said it would produce $10 million in direct spending from visitors. But then after the event, they said it produced $70 million in spending. How the city made that enormous jump is unclear.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_207\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-207\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-207\" src=\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Tom-Murray-CRVAweb-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Tom-Murray-CRVAweb-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Tom-Murray-CRVAweb-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Tom-Murray-CRVAweb-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Tom-Murray-CRVAweb-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Tom-Murray-CRVAweb-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Tom-Murray-CRVAweb-405x270.jpg 405w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-207\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tom Murray<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But the CRVA\u2019s current chief executive, Tom Murray, is more cautious. The questionable economic impact claims were made before he arrived in 2012.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI always say these big events are always really important to us as a community, particularly in their media value and the way we can reach communities that we normally can\u2019t reach,\u201d Murray said. \u201cBut one always has to keep in perspective the hospitality industry is a huge industry in this market &#8212;\u00a0 $7.4 billion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Murray notes that if a convention brings in $100 million \u2013 or even $200 million \u2013 then \u201cthat\u2019s a small fraction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s even more humbling when you look at the size of a political convention in the context of the overall Charlotte metro economy, which is $170 billion. It\u2019s a bit like looking into outer space and realizing how small we are.<\/p>\n<p>So if the RNC brings in $170 million in direct spending \u2013 which is a lot more than the DNC generated in 2012 \u2013 then that represents a tenth of a percent of the Charlotte area economy.<\/p>\n<p>Murray is also cautious, warning that not every business will do well for the RNC.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere&#8217;ll be a lot of businesses that do really, really well,\u201d he said. \u201cThere will be others that didn&#8217;t get to participate or didn&#8217;t get the kind of customer volume that they had hoped for and may be disappointed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Limousine companies, for instance, are expected to do well.<\/p>\n<p>Andy Thompson of Rose Limo said the DNC was the best week of business he\u2019s had in the 35 years he\u2019s been with the company.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was big. It was very big,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cIt was almost to the point of managed chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But some restaurants that were outside of uptown did poorly.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_200\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-200\" style=\"width: 495px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-200 \" src=\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cajun-queen-3-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"Cajun Queen\" width=\"495\" height=\"371\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cajun-queen-3-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cajun-queen-3-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cajun-queen-3-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cajun-queen-3-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cajun-queen-3-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cajun-queen-3-360x270.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 495px) 100vw, 495px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-200\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cajun Queen in Elizabeth added staff during the DNC in 2012 &#8230; but business actually declined during the convention. | Jodie Valade\/WFAE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Tim Freer is a co-owner of Cajun Queen, a restaurant in Elizabeth that\u2019s near uptown, but wasn\u2019t close enough for convention visitors to reach. For the DNC, they added staff to help with all the extra business they expected.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe were very, very excited,\u201d he said. \u201cWe were hoping it would be one of the busiest weeks of the year. And what we found was it was very disappointing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Not only did they not get convention visitors, they were close enough to uptown that locals stayed away.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe heard all the stories from uptown inside the perimeter, that they couldn\u2019t get any more reservations and that they couldn\u2019t be any busier and we were sitting outside of the perimeter, empty basically,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then we found all the people that were living in Charlotte were afraid to even go close to uptown and they wouldn\u2019t come even a mile or two away from uptown to see us, either.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added: \u201cSo we were just kind of sitting there, twiddling our thumbs, unfortunately.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Freer said they only got one visit from DNC politicos: Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin.<\/p>\n<p>Carpe Diem, a restaurant nearby, hosted a private event at its restaurant for the DNC and catered another event. This year, co-owner Bonnie Warford is considering a different approach: Either try to do a buyout for the restaurant for the whole week &#8230;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOr if that doesn\u2019t happen, then I would probably just do everything I can to promote that we\u2019re open for normal business and that we\u2019re easy to get to and not part of the convention,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>In 2012, the CRVA\u2019s economic impact analysis for the DNC did take lost business like that into account, somewhat. Its consultant said there was a little more than $7 million in lost business due to the DNC.<\/p>\n<p>But that loss focused on uptown workers staying away, and the impact on retail and restaurants in the center city. It didn\u2019t focus on what happened to businesses in that no-man\u2019s land of Cajun Queen and Carpe Diem.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Who Profits From Hotel Prosperity?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>One part of the hospitality industry that does well are hotels. But it\u2019s actually a little complicated in terms of who actually profits.<\/p>\n<p>To understand how the RNC will help the hotel industry, it\u2019s important to understand how the hotel business works in Charlotte.<\/p>\n<p>The convention industry receives a lot of attention, but it\u2019s not a big driver of the Charlotte-area hotel business. The city\u2019s hotel industry thrives because of business travelers, who fill up hotel rooms on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights.<\/p>\n<p>And because business travel is strong, that sometimes makes it hard for the CRVA to attract conventions. The reason? Organizations or groups coming here want to because organizations or groups coming here want cheap hotel rooms. They don\u2019t want to pay $229 a night.<\/p>\n<p>So Charlotte has this situation where the hotel business is pretty good. So good in fact that the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority struggles to bring business here.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_204\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-204\" style=\"width: 332px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-204 \" src=\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/doubletree-charlotte-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"332\" height=\"186\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/doubletree-charlotte-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/doubletree-charlotte-768x431.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/doubletree-charlotte-481x270.jpg 481w, https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/doubletree-charlotte.jpg 820w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 332px) 100vw, 332px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-204\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The DoubleTree on Trade Street is just outside uptown Charlotte. | GoogleMaps<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Bill DeLoache is the general manager of the DoubleTree Hotel on Trade Street near Johnson &amp; Wales University.<\/p>\n<p>He explained how the convention business works for hotels, noting that much of Charlotte\u2019s convention business is known as \u201cSMERFS\u201d conventions. That stands for &#8220;societal, educational, recreational, fraternal and sports.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>People attending those conventions are generally budget-conscious, and they want cheap hotel rooms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo they are typically rate sensitive,\u201d DeLoache said. \u201cSo they are going to look for dates where we are willing to dip below our typical rate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That was one problem with the CIAA basketball tournament, which is leaving Charlotte for Baltimore after this year. The CIAA and its fans wanted cheaper hotel rooms, but hoteliers didn\u2019t need to slash their rates to fill their hotels.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery hotel here, including the Westin, really can survive without a major convention,\u201d DeLoache said. \u201cWe\u2019re small enough that we can absorb the corporate business, which is strong.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But DeLoache says that hotels should sacrifice a little to bring in steady convention business, even if it\u2019s not as profitable.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell it\u2019s easy, as you said, to get greedy and restrict convention bookings from your hotel and only take the high-rated corporate,&#8221; DeLoache said. &#8220;But I think to be a good citizen in the Charlotte hotel industry, we need convention business too. Because when there is a downturn in the economy or when there is a slow period, we need the convention business to be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He thinks that it\u2019s a smart long-term play to bring conventions here because they can bail hotels out during recessions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m a believer that, as hotels in the community, we need to support the convention industry,\u201d he said. &#8220;But everybody, not every GM, has the same philosophy so to speak.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The RNC, however, lets hotels charge some of their highest rates.<\/p>\n<p>For the DNC in 2012, hotel revenue in Mecklenburg County increased by 82% when compared to August of the previous year.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to charging high rates, the RNC helps the hotel business because August is a slow month when hotels can\u2019t fill their rooms anyway.<\/p>\n<p>In a usual August, DeLoache said he would encourage people to take time off, or some staff wouldn\u2019t get 40 hours. Now everyone is full time, and some people are getting OT.<\/p>\n<p>But there are some caveats.<\/p>\n<p>DeLoache said the RNC will displace some people who would be staying in hotels anyway. And he said the week before the convention and the week after are both a bust.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s definitely a great event for the city, but when you think about it, your other business doesn\u2019t want to come near us for a week or two before and a week or so after,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Another issue is that most Charlotte hotels aren\u2019t locally owned. So if a hotel makes an extra $80 a night per room, those profits may leave the city.<\/p>\n<p>The DoubleTree, for instance, is owned by Johnson &amp; Wales.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet\u2019s say our net income is around 21, 22%,\u201d DeLoache said. \u201cSo that net income does go to the ownership.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When the CRVA did its economic impact analysis, they accounted for hotel profits leaving the city.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Keeping Profits Local<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>John Lassiter, the CEO of the local host committee for the RNC, said the committee plans to make sure local businesses benefit from the convention.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re trying to spend local,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to spend with women, minority and veteran-owned businesses and keep that economy moving in our community. And that\u2019s been a high priority with us from the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But when asked what that goal was, Lassiter wouldn\u2019t say.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not going to tell you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>He said the committee is more like a private business, and that it\u2019s going to be focused on &#8220;what\u2019s important.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The question of how much money stays in the city is difficult to determine.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, Charlotte will receive a $50 million federal security grant for the convention. Much of that money will pay for the overtime for Charlotte police officers, and that money will stay in the area.<\/p>\n<p>But it will also pay the wages of other officers from other departments in other cities.<\/p>\n<p>The CRVA and city officials say that the RNC will provide the city with days of worldwide coverage that can\u2019t be bought.<\/p>\n<p>But what if Charlotte is associated with a divisive speech or comment by the president, such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wfae.org\/post\/trump-attacks-congresswomen-nc-rally-crowd-chants-send-her-back#stream\/2\">\u201csend her back\u201d chant from Greenville last summer<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Crowd chants &quot;send her back&quot; at Trump rally, echoing president&#039;s tweets\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sALwssmgB64?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Murray talked about his confidence in the police and Secret Service\u2019s ability to handle protesters \u2013 not a potentially controversial moment from inside the Spectrum Center.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think the good news is that these conventions happen every four years and the federal government and the organizing committees are quite skilled at it,\u201d Murray said. \u201cThe people that are running these events know what they&#8217;re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But if political conventions are so lucrative, then why aren\u2019t more cities bidding on them?<\/p>\n<p>For the RNC, Charlotte was the only city government to put a bid for the convention. And interest in the DNC appears to be less.<\/p>\n<p>In 2008, there were 11 cities interested in hosting the DNC. This year, Milwaukee is hosting the convention, and news reports show there were only a few other cities interested in the convention: Miami, Houston, Denver, Birmingham, Alabama and Atlanta.<\/p>\n<p>And this may be a case of all the hassle \u2013 having your downtown blocked off for a week, and all the preparation \u2013 makes the extra money not worth it.<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/how-to-listen\/\">Click\u00a0here<\/a> to subscribe to the Inside Politics podcast (and to give the podcast a rating\/review in your favorite podcast app).<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Want more? You can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wfae.org\/newsletters-0#stream\/1\">sign up here<\/a> for our weekly Inside Politics newsletter, written by Steve Harrison.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Have a question about the 2020 RNC in Charlotte? Ask us below. <\/em><br \/>\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/modules.wearehearken.com\/wfae\/embed\/4617.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When the Democratic National Convention came to Charlotte in 2012, some businesses made lots of money \u2013 like the owner of a limo company. \u201cWe did in about three-and-a-half days what we would normally do in two-and-a-half months in volume and revenues,\u201d said James Weymann, owner of SilverFox Chauffered Transportation in Charlotte. \u201cThat&#8217;s how good &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/will-the-rnc-really-make-it-rain\/\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-podcast"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Will the RNC Really Make It Rain? : Inside Politics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The RNC is supposed to have a huge economic impact on a city. 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Judging by the 2012 DNC in Charlotte, it&#039;s hard to tell.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/will-the-rnc-really-make-it-rain\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Inside Politics\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WFAE\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-02-20T13:05:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-02-20T15:32:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cajun-queen-skyscraper-1024x752.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Steve Harrison and Lisa Worf\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@wfae\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@wfae\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Steve Harrison and Lisa Worf\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"11 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/will-the-rnc-really-make-it-rain\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/will-the-rnc-really-make-it-rain\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Steve Harrison and Lisa Worf\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/#\/schema\/person\/4ceb463ecdcad91a4e792ee25eeb7f78\"},\"headline\":\"Will the RNC Really Make It Rain?\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-02-20T13:05:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-02-20T15:32:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/will-the-rnc-really-make-it-rain\/\"},\"wordCount\":2198,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/will-the-rnc-really-make-it-rain\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cajun-queen-skyscraper-1024x752.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Podcast\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/will-the-rnc-really-make-it-rain\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/will-the-rnc-really-make-it-rain\/\",\"name\":\"Will the RNC Really Make It Rain? : Inside Politics\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/will-the-rnc-really-make-it-rain\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/will-the-rnc-really-make-it-rain\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cajun-queen-skyscraper-1024x752.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-02-20T13:05:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-02-20T15:32:27+00:00\",\"description\":\"The RNC is supposed to have a huge economic impact on a city. 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