Bay Area Houston

Exciting. Energizing. Fun. It’s hard to put words to this convention. I’m having trouble writing about it. Here are my highlights.

America!
The Chicks sang the National Anthem with a floor covered in flags. Our anthem is a tough song to sing to but we did and we were LOUD! The theme for the night was right on. Songs like Born in the USA, Living in America, and more were played. The sea of flags was ever impressive. Video here. The energy in the room was out the roof. We were dancing in the aisle. (me too!) It’s hard to describe the energy and enthusiasm. I photo bombed the young kids behind me. They thought it was funny! See below.

Balloon Drop
I’ve never seen that many balloons being dropped. They covered the floors and the steps to the point you had to feel around for the steps in order walk. The floor was covered in the giant balloons bouncing up in the down. It was pretty cool. You can seen a video from my seat here.

Kamala
You saw the speech. We expected Beyonce to perform and the rumors were running rampant in the center. Needless to say it never happened. Her speech was just perfect, hitting on all the issues that were discussed in detail throughout the week. Perfect tone. Prior to her taking the stage Kerri Washington led us in the WHEN WE FIGHT WE WIN chant. Video here.

Chicago
The weather was absolutely perfect! Cool. Dry. Sunny! The streets were decorated with DNC banners. Everyone was welcoming. Many took time to take the architecture river tour. It is a must see in Chicago. It was a great event thanks to the volunteers and the city of Chicago. The rail from the airport to the hotel was easy. $3.00 each way and required a couple of blocks of walking. It beat a $37 Uber!

Once again that was one GREAT evening! Look, when you get me dancing in the aisle you know there was energy in the center! Needless to say tonight is going to be ON FIRE! If you saw Coach’s speech you probably came off thinking “What a nice, but tough guy!” Here is a couple of interesting comments about last night and tonight’s preparation.

Security
We are bussed to the center. Every bus has a police officer on board. The bus has to go through security and inspected once it goes through a gate. Our badges are checked about 3 times before we enter the center and every time we enter the floor. Of course bags are checked. Tonight the floor will be locked down at a certain time. Once the doors are closed you will not be allowed onto the floor. We have been warned to be in our seats EARLY.

Jan 6
One of the police officers who was attacked at the Capitol spoke to the delegates. The DNC showed a video that you probably saw. What that reminded me of was that the President of the greatest country in the whole fuckin world watched as police officers were attacked, injured, some killed for THREE FUCKIN HOURS. Excuse me for being the president of the I Hate Trump club but he is a rotten human being.

Michael Cohen
I literally bumped into Michael Cohen. I turned, he turned, we bumped. He gave me the SUP? head nod. That is my claim to fame. There are celebrities everywhere. Singers, actors, and of course media. The Daily Show was there interviewing delegates. The guy I saw was showing off his Kamala tattoo. (see pic below). The bald DEA agent from breaking bad, Dean Norris, was standing next to me as I was waiting in line. I am not one of those who asks for pictures but years ago I took a pic with his costar Bryan Cranston.

Lunch
I took a walk to The Berghoff a great German restaurant. Earlier in the week I ate at Lou Malnati’s one of the best Chicago pizza places. Other than that I have had a couple of Chicago dogs. I am a sucker for hot dogs.

Swag
I’m a bit disappointed in the availability of swag. I ended up ordering t-shirts and hats from Amazon instead. There are vendors on the street with interesting designs that I might consider. I did score a Seniors for Harris shirt. They asked me if I was a senior! LOL.

Tonight is going to be WILD!!!!

How can you turn a roll call into something exciting and fun? Don’t ask the Republicans.

MSNBC aired a comparison of the two roll calls. It is night and day. Dull, unexciting vs incredibly fun! With 50+ states/territories starting with the A’s I thought it was going to be a long, long night but the cheers started with Alabama and continued for every single state all the way to California who closed the roll call out! I videoed our delegates response when it was our turn.

I attended the Latino Leadership Network luncheon. I got a cool t-shirt. Afterward I went outside and yelled at the crowd “WHO IS GOING TO THE ALLEGRO HOTEL?”. Hands went up and I shared a ride with another delegate. LOL. It was funny. Where else could you do that?

Most of my day was spent at the luncheon and in the hotel recovering from the bar that stayed open way too long. You would think we would have been tired. We were. I am. It was my first time hearing from Doug. Before each speaker the staff handed out signs. For Doug it was simply a sign that said DOUG. Of course the Obama’s brought down the house. Many in the delegation were saying this convention had more energy than Obama’s. I have to agree. Obama’s campaign had energy but this convention is out the roof! We all cant wait for Thursday!

The staff at the convention and all the volunteers were all having a great time. Smiles everywhere. It was like a huge family reunion and we included everyone. The staff, volunteers, concession workers. Everyone was having a great time.

Tonight we will hear from Couch!

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.