Terrific.
For cripes sake. The “Nazi symbol” freakout raged for two full days online and elicited no fewer than three increasingly panicky press releases from Hyatt Hotels distancing itself from CPAC, the last of which tried to appease paranoid liberals by noting that some people involved in the event had been rude to Hyatt staff. Message: We don’t like them any more than you do. “Had we initially recognized the potential connections to hate symbolism, we would have proactively addressed it prior to commencement of the event,” Hyatt said a few days ago, adding, “We do not always agree with or share the same values as groups hosting meetings and events at our hotels.” Will the company be issuing a new release today absolving the American Conservative Union from blame for the controversy now that we know it had nothing to do with the stage design? And will it explain why it didn’t contact the set designer, Design Foundry, first to find out who was responsible for the design before it publicly threw one of its clients under the bus? According to the terms of the contract signed with Design Foundry, and shared with the Forward, the ACU approved the design but had no rights to change the design or dismantle the stage. “The designs, renderings, drawings, specifications, materials and other documents used or created as part of the proposal are owned by Design Foundry,” the contract reads. Design Foundry has worked with CPAC for several years and has provided services to MSNBC and major corporations – including Google, Citibank and Target.
