A Single Cleveland Bus Route Offers Promise, Challenges for Republicans
Buildings standing in the downtown skyline are reflected in the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S., on Saturday, April 12, 2014. Demand for manufactured products in Cleveland grew at a slow rate as building contractors reported that pipelines remained active while field work slowed, according to an April 16 U.S. Federal Reserve report.
Photographer: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesA silver, articulated bus pulls into Cleveland’s Public Square, the first stop in a 7-mile journey that leads from the heart of the city’s downtown and center of $5 billion in re-development, to East Cleveland, the once tony suburban home of John D. Rockefeller that is now teetering on bankruptcy as violent crime and childhood poverty rates triple the state average.
From the beginning to the end of this bus line are relics of the city’s hardscrabble past, glimpses into the promise of its future, and examples of the income inequalities that have become a theme of both the Democratic and Republican presidential nomination fights. The people working and living around the nearly three dozen stops along the route voice pride for their hometown, confidence in their own ability to pull through hard-times, and a cynicism about political leaders vying for their trust.