OPINION:
In March, the National Capital Planning Commission heard from members of the public who were “overwhelmingly opposed” to President Trump’s privately funded, $400 million ballroom.
Architect William Bates told NPR, “As currently proposed, the overwhelming scale and faux classical facade of the ballroom will undermine the historic architectural significance of our White House.”
As anyone who has ever held elected office and pushed for improvements knows, there will always be naysayers. I lost count of all the naysayers I faced in crowded rooms during my 12 years on the Clear Lake City Council in Iowa.
With every improvement project, there were knock-down, drag-out battles that everyone involved would probably now like to forget.
When it came to our downtown beautification efforts, I heard, “We don’t need fancy bricks and lights; we have sidewalks and streetlights.” Then, as soon as the first street was finished, their tune changed to “Why didn’t you start with my street?”
People were against a pool (“We don’t need a pool; we have a lake”) until one was built and they realized they liked it (“Our grandkids love to play in the new pool”). Similarly, “We don’t need a fancy garden park” turned into “What a perfect spot for my daughter’s wedding.”
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer has always been a naysayer when it came to the ballroom, but when Mr. Trump cuts that ribbon on opening day, if Mr. Schumer is anything like the naysayers I ran into, he will suddenly sound like the ballroom’s biggest fan.
BEN FURLEIGH
Georgetown, Kentucky
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