[First in a series on the grittier side of convention life]
During the 2024 Democratic National Convention there were a handful of instances in which elected officials took themselves a bit too seriously. It left a bad taste in my mouth, and in the mouths of everyone around them. The worst offender in this category, was a US Representative from an East Coast state. He truly proved himself to be an insufferable ass. Let’s get into the details.
The delegates were transported on busses from the delegation hotel to the United Center area each afternoon beginning around 3 PM. Delegates would line up and wait to be called upon to board the next available bus in an orderly line.
On Wednesday afternoon, my convention buddy (a union president from Orange County California) had figured out that to get good seats we would need to be in line earlier than normal. In fact,we got in line one hour before the announced time. We were, in fact, the first and second in line to board buses to the convention center. Score!
A short while later, we were joined by other delegates. We chatted with them as we would normally do.
“Where are you from?”
“What’s your role in the party?”
“Is this your first convention?”
These were the most common questions asked between delegates as a form of chit-chat. It was a great way to meet other delegates and learn a little about politics in other parts of the nation.
Enter chaos
The line was starting to grow to about 100 people when we, at the head of the line, were approached by “Congressman C.” He proceeded to chit chat with us as expected. But it was soon pretty obvious that he’d likley had a cocktail or three at lunch. It was also pretty obvious that he was particularly interested in striking up a conversation with one specific female delegate two places behind me. He wasn’t particularly out of line, and she was OK with the conversation, so I didn’t pay much attention to him.
At 3:30 PM we were ready to begin boarding the busses. A female line monitor stepped up and announced that we would soon begin boarding the busses. She then said to the congressman,
“Stand back, we’re about to start boarding.” That’s when it happened: he went into full “do you know who I am mode” and shouted at the woman
“Don’t you interrupt me! I’m speaking with my constituent!” He wasn’t; she was a California delegate. “You should say ‘please’ when you ask me something.”
That’s when my convention buddy lost her cool.
“Hey! Don’t speak to her like that. She’s just doing her job.”
“She should be more respectful. I’m a US Congressman.”
“That doesn’t give you the right to be rude,” my buddy yelled back pointing a finger at the congressman (my buddy was a real badass chick!). “Do we need to have you removed from the line?” she asked.
“You can’t remove me, I’m a delegate,” he shouted. That’s when the congressman really got angry. More words were exchanged between him and my buddy. I was just making sure neither threw a fist.
The show must go on
In the meantime, the busses needed to be loaded. The line monitors, brushed the hubub aside and proceeded to direct us to our bus. Considering they were volunteers, they acted very professionally in this situation.
My buddy and I managed to get excellent seats that evening. After all, we were number one and two in line that day. We heard President Bill Clinton give a terrific speech that evening.