Bay Area Houston

Yeow! It’s hard to describe the excitement in the United Center but I’ll try.

AOC
I’m not a fan of AOC but she brought her A game. The audience loved her. I thought it was absolutely brilliant to put her on prime time. She gave a very good, rousing speech. I am assuming you watched the convention so I won’t rehash it. Hillary received a very loud and long welcome as did Joe. It was so deserving. We just couldn’t stop.

Elected officials
Sitting on the aisle I was able to see a number of elected officials as they walked by. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg walked right past me with his security detail. He is short! I’m not one to ask for a selfie so pics are few.

SIgns
Prior to each speech the staff would pass out signs. For Joe we were given the long We Love Joe signs. That was really cool. I would bring one home but I cant get it in my suitcase. Other signs were for labor, Jill Biden, and specific slogans such as When we fight, we WIN! When we fight. The crowd was well prepared to chime in with WE WIN! It’s loud!

Lock him up.
We were never instructed to refrain from chanting LOCK HIM UP. It started during Hillary’s speech. It was subdued…..for a while….then we all joined in. Hillary attempted to stop it but we were not being denied. I wonder if they showed that on TV. It was funny. We all were shaking our heads at first then we joined in, louder and louder.

We Love Joe.
Everyone stood for Joe’s speech. We never sat down. We didn’t want to. We were tired on the way back to the hotel but we were still excited. Everyone on the bus was still pumped up all the way to the bar in the hotel which stayed open till 2:00.

Protest and security.
There was a protest a few blocks away but we never heard it. Someone in the upper rows of the convention center attempted to unfurl some kind of banner. The delegates helped fold it up for him. It lasted a few seconds nothing more. Security is very tight! Some delegates walked about a mile from an event to the United Center. They were escorted by security. No one could get within a few blocks of the center unless you had credentials. We were bussed into the convention and you had to have credentials to get on the bus.

I spent too much time at the bar last night. LOL Imagine that. More later.

The convention starts this morning. Yesterday I spent the day at the riverwalk. If you haven’t been to Chicago make sure you take the architecture boat tour. It is real interesting! We are expecting a sunny day with temperatures in the mid 70’s. (Sorry Texas) Delegates will be shuttled from the hotel to the McCormick Center and the United Center. I was able to have dinner with Nina Johnson from our club. She is a volunteer for the event!

NOTE: I left all my business cards at home and resorted to using my dotcard. It’s actually pretty cool. About $20. Set it up, tap in on someone’s phone and they have all your contact info and they can share their info with you. Check it out at dotcards.net

Last night the DNC welcomed the delegates at the Navy Pier with a great welcoming party. Food, entertainment, and drinks. Lots of drinks! The volunteers did great job on the party. All the delegates were bussed in and had to be crossed checked with delegates lists to be admitted. Security is pretty tight. We all feel safe from any possible disruptions. There was a protest on the River Walk covered by the local TV stations but I stayed away.

Today is our first breakfast with a number of speakers including Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear,
Florida CongressmanMaxwell Frost and Mayor of San Antonio Ron Nirenberg. I’m going to the Hispanic Caucus in the morning and the vendor area to stock up on swag and send some home in time for the Thursday’s speech.

Thanks for reading! I’ll have lots of pictures from today’s events later this evening.

One of these days I will figure out why I book the early flight!

Thanks to everyone who supported my trip to Chicago to attend the Democratic Convention! I am wearing my Dudes for Kamala t-shirt from the Bay Area Democratic Movement club meeting.

Tonight is the delegate welcome party at the Navy Pier. Tomorrow begins the convention starting with a breakfast for the Texas delegation. Each morning we will meet with special speakers and receive any convention updates. Monday night will be dedicated to President Biden. He will be the main speaker for the evening. Should be a really good start for the week! Other speakers during the week include President Obama and Clinton, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Governor Tim Walz will speak on Wednesday night and Vice President Harris will close out the convention on Thursday.

I will post each day. Once again thanks to everyone and I hope you will enjoy my daily post.