Wendy's entry from the Nevada Clark County Democratic Convention

Wendy's Democratic County Convention Diary – 2/23/2008

7:15 a.m. I wait outside for Sunny and Susie, Solera neighbors and fellow Hillary delegates, to pick me up. Sid and I met Sunny at a house party for Hillary many months ago. We met Susie shortly thereafter. S and S are co-precinct captains for Hillary in their precinct. The live a few minutes from me and are in a different precinct.


7:25 a.m. S & S arrive.

7:55 a.m. We arrive at Bally's Hotel on the Strip.


8:10 a.m. We finally find a parking space.


8:13 a.m. We find the elevator and head down to the Casino level. As we get off the elevator, we realize we were talking so much we don’t even know what level we parked on. A woman from the elevator says “5.” We say “Thanks!”


8:15 a.m. We are greeted by a woman who is pointing people in the right direction. We continue to walk a little and we are greeted by a Hillary staffer. I am in my yellow Hillary t-shirt and S & S are in their blue Hillary Precinct Captain t-shirts. We have buttons on. I have a sticker on my purse. We are definite Hillary supporters. "Holler for Hillary" he says. “Holler loud.” Oh, we will, we assure him. The energy is in the air. We can feel it. We walk with Hillary supporters and Obama supporters. We are all Democrats today. We are all ebullient.


8:16 a.m. We head towards the Grand Ballroom but do not get anywhere near the place. We find that the line to get our credentials is a mile long (maybe more). We walk and walk and walk and walk to find the end of the line that snakes in and out and around and through the casino and hallways and back out again.


8:20 - 8:55 a.m. Everybody in line is talking and joking. S & S engage a young Obama supporter and ask him why he supports Obama. He says he is with the Culinary Union and that he heard both Obama and Clinton speak. He said he decided that Obama is more “real” than Hillary. I ask him what he does for a living. He says he is a waiter. I ask him his age. He says 30. He says that he likes Clinton too. I ask him if he will support her if she wins the nomination. He says “of course, her policies are the same as Obama’s.” Enough said. We talk in line to people about how "we are Democrats." "We will surely win in November." “We must win in November.” We all say that we will support whichever candidate wins the nomination except for Susie. She says she doesn’t trust his background. Oh no, not the Muslim accusation again. I just tell her to wait and see how she feels as time goes by. My favorite political item: the T-Shirt of the Culinary waiter that reads: “1/20/2009 The End of an Error.” What a hoot! I am struck by the mid-40s Black woman in front of us in line who has a Hillary button in the middle of her sweater. She is by herself and not talking much. I engage her. She is soft spoken with a lovely smile. She “believes” in Hillary. Me too. We pass a Hillary supporter who is holding a sign high in the air. It is homemade and says “Experience Trumps Charisma.” I chuckle to myself. While we talk and inch along and visit with people, a Hillary staffer comes by. She is distributing invitations to “come have coffee and bagels with Terry McAuliffe” in the Diamond Room after we get our credentials. Oh boy, how are we ever going to do that? The convention starts "promptly" at 10 a.m. and we are still in the hinterlands, very far from away from getting those credentials. A staff person comes by and says “Don’t worry, the line will start moving faster as soon as the doors open.” I am not quite sure what that means as the “doors” were supposed to open at 8:00 a.m. But it is good news nonetheless.


8:55 a.m. A person with a large “staff" sign around her neck comes walking down the line and asks "who has pre-registered?" S, S and I all answer “I have." I am amazed when very few people raise their hands. "Well, you can go to the front of the line and just walk right in for your credentials," she tells us. "Great," we say and start walking and walking and walking.

9:00 a.m. We arrive at a room with many tables in it. They are manned by 4 or 5 people at each table. In front of each person, taped to the table, is a large sign with a group of precinct numbers on it. We find our line: Precincts 1450 to 1550. I am 1523. S and S are 1529. We get our credentials and hang them around our neck. We are given a ballot for a Presidential straw poll and asked to drop the ballot in one of the boxes by the door. I circle Clinton. We walk towards the door to drop our ballots in boxes on the way out. I ask someone official looking "where is the Diamond Room?" We wonder if we can really find it and get back in time and still find three seats together. I am told, “oh, that’s easy. Take a right out of this room, go to the Casino, pass the escalator and the Diamond Room is right there." I ask if that is far. He says no, just outside this convention area. O.K. We decide to head over. We find the Diamond Room right away. It was close by but S & S are worried about finding seats. As soon as we walk in, they want to leave when they see the line for the bagels. They say that they will meet me in the Grand Ballroom and save me a seat. I ask them to wait “2 minutes” while I speak to Terry McAuliffe. “I will never find you in there if you leave.” O.K. They will wait. I make my way down to the bagel area where I see Terry engaged with only a few people. Most people are in the bagel line or already eating. I walk up and wait a few seconds until I can shake his hand. He is speaking with a couple and then turns his attention to a very elderly gray haired woman. I get my chance. I stick my hand out and we shake hands. I tell him that I thought Hillary did very well in the debate on Thursday. He said "Yes, like all previous 19 debates." I said "No, at the end she was different. She should be like that all of the time." He doesn't respond much to that but he sort of nods. I tell him that I love Hillary, I believe in her, but that it looks grim, that she will have to get at least 60% of the vote in Texas and Ohio to stay competitive. "Bullshit”, he says with great ferocity. "There are more than 400 national delegates who are uncommitted.” I get his point and I don’t like it. I say "that isn't right, the super delegates cannot override the will of the voters." He says with a bit of a smirk, a bit of a smile, "you are too negative, leave the room!" He wasn’t really joking. I shake his hand again and I say again "I love Hillary. I want her to win but it may not happen.” He says “don’t worry, Bill Clinton was down like Hillary five times and counted out of the race and he won. Hillary will win too.” He leans over and kisses my cheek. Oh boy, this guy is running her race?! I have a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. I leave to find S and S. They are engaged in an animated discussion with a couple of people. We leave and make our way to the Grand Ballroom, passing people in line still waiting to get in. The line still seems very, very long.

9:40 a.m. We get to the Grand Ballroom. It is already very crowded. We find seats in the middle section towards the back. We get situated and realize it is very hot in the room. We all take off our jackets. I go to look for water. S & S brought their own bottles in their big purses. I brought a small sling purse that I can wear at all times. No room for a water bottle. I find the water dispensers but there is no water! I find a Bally’s staffer and he says more water is coming. Someone comes and says there is water over in another area. I find the dispenser and get my glass of water. I make my way back to my seat.

At 10:00 a.m. sharp, Joe Hunt, the Clark County Democratic Chairman, gavels the convention to order. Oh, you can feel the excitement in the air. He says “this is the biggest convention in Nevada history.” Everyone starts screaming. The O-ba-mas and Hill–ar–ees are cacophonous.

10:03 a.m. We say the pledge. Joe Hunt introduces Rabbi Hecht who will do the invocation. The Rabbi says that “Rabbis always sermonize a little before praying.” He says that we are all “part of a defining moment in history.” We should be so proud to have two such “magnificent” candidates. The room erupts again with Hill – ar – ees” and “higher up, ready to go” from the Obama supporters. The Rabbi continues with “we cannot afford to lose this moment, we must unite.” We all know what he is talking about. Again, the room erupts. He then prays in Hebrew and English. He ends with “May we create shalom (peace) in the world.” I pray we do. I know we won’t if McCain wins in November. I start screaming Hill – ar – ee. Obama supporters start screaming “ready to go.”

10:08 a.m. We hear a lovely rendition of the Star Spangled Banner from the same woman who sang it at the Jefferson Jackson Dinner in January. When she sings “rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air” I cringe a little and say to myself for the millionth time that I wish America the Beautiful was our national anthem.

10:11 a.m. Joe Hunt speaks again and says “we are Democrats, we are together. Enough is enough. It is our solemn obligation and duty” to bring change to the White House. He says both candidates “exemplify what is great about this county.” Whether it is a “he or she, we will win in November. United we stand, divided we fall.” The room is pumped up now. He goes on to say that Nevada should be very proud. We had the first “deaf” caucus in the country. We applaud. There is an occasional “O – ba – ma” throughout. Hillary supporters are quiet. We get the message. He goes on to say “Our margin of victory will be so great” in November that “they cannot take the election away from us with unscrupulous tactics.” We erupt. We scream. The Hillary supporters have once again found our voices. “Hill – ar – ee.” The Obama supporters chant over and over and over “yes we can.” I think to myself “I wish Hillary had a slogan.” I borrow the “yes we can” along with two Hillary supporters sitting near me. Today, we are all Democrats. S & S look at me funny. They are screaming and waving their Hillary signs. I tell them that the “yes we can” comes from the slogan used by the migrant farm workers in California when they were trying to organize themselves before Obama decided to use it and that we can use it too. They look uncomfortable. I wave my Hillary sign high above my head and scream “yes we can” as loud as I can. “Yes we can” win in November! Joe Hunt tells us to indicate our presidential “preference “on our “first alignment” card and give it to one of the people walking around with “boxes held above their heads.” I draw a very large and very thick black circle around “Clinton.” There is no box holder near us. Joe Hunt introduces Shelley Berkley, Congresswoman from Nevada (not mine unfortunately), to screams of appreciation.

10:15 a.m. Shelley says “this is the most extraordinary sight I have ever seen” as she waves her hand over the room. “Together we will take back the White House. We will be a light to other nations and not a pox on our own house.” The room erupts. We love Shelley. She loves us. She goes on “both [candidates] are ready to be president. We want a president who will bring home the troops and treat our veterans right.” We are screaming. She says “we don’t want our troops in Iraq for 100 years.” “Shame on you, Mr. McCain.” We are screaming louder and louder. “We must unite behind whichever candidate gets the nomination. A victory in November demands all of our help. Put our differences aside. I am a Hillary supporter.” We are on our feet. We are screaming and waving our signs. We love Shelley. She goes on. “I am a Hillary supporter but I will support without reservation whoever gets the nomination.” We are all on our feet. “O-ba-ma” “Hill-ar- ee”

10:25 – 10:59 a.m. We hear politicians and wannabee politicians speak for five minutes each. It is the same theme over and over. All the politicians and wannabees who endorse a candidate – those from Nevada and those from other states - are for Hillary. We Hillary supporters erupt every time. I am struck by an elderly black man who continually walks around the Ballroom with two Hillary signs held high above his head. He walks around and around in silence with those two Hillary signs high above his head. Occasionally, someone stops him and says something. A box holder comes near us. I take my card, Susie’s card and Sunny’s card and put them in the box of the lovely woman who sang the Star Spangled Banner. She certainly gets around! Throughout, the Obama supporters just erupt every now and then for no seeming reason. “O–ba–ma” they scream over and over. Hillary supporters are a bit more circumspect. We wait for “appropriate moments” to shout our support. I realize that I forgot to bring my camera. I pull out my cell phone and figure out how to use the camera. I start taking pictures. S & S take out health bars to eat. A few minutes later, I take out my Larabee nut and fruit bar (thank you, Bruce Du Mont, for introducing me to these little gems.)

11 a.m. Joe Hunt interrupts the speakers and takes the podium. He says “Brothers and sisters, we have a problem of abundance. This is a good problem to have. There are too many Democrats in this room.” What is this, I wonder. He goes on to say that the fire marshals are ready to “close us down” unless “we thin the room out.” He asks that all of the alternates and guests leave the Ballroom and go to the Bronze room “just down the stairs in the back of the ballroom.” He assures them that there will be audio in the room so they can hear the activities. He assures the alternates that they will be called back in if they are needed. He asks them to leave in an orderly manner but to “leave right now.” As the alternates and guests are leaving, he says that he has the results of the straw poll. He says “Clinton [pause], 1320 votes, Obama [longer pause], 1261.” We go nuts. We are on our feet. We are waving our signs. We are screaming our hearts out. “We won,” I scream to myself. I breathe a huge sigh of relief that a bunch of Hillary’s delegates did not move their support to Barack as we are free to do. This looks good for the state convention. I want the state convention to reflect the caucus results. Hillary won the popular vote by 6%. Joe also says that the deadline has come and gone for those who want to go to the state convention. S & S go crazy. They want to be state delegates. They didn’t know about the deadline. I said I knew about that from the delegate materials I received by email. They never got any emails. They go off in search of an “official.” They come back and say they are going off to some distant location outside to sign up to be state delegates. “The deadline has been extended.” I am caught up in the moment. All of a sudden, I think I might like to go to the state convention too. When they come back, they say that dozens of people are signing up in the hall. I can’t help myself. I go and sign up too. I check the box that says I am interested in both the state and national conventions. Oh boy, what am I doing? The delegates for the state convention are to be elected in the afternoon session at 4 p.m. according to the agenda. When I get back, we discuss how the delegates will be elected since none of us know each other. There is nothing happening. No more speakers. All of the alternates and guests are now out of the ballroom. The room has some empty seats now. It actually feels cold. I put on my jacket. So does Sunny.

12:20 p.m. Three Obama supporters behind me ask if I will take their picture. It is an older woman with two younger women. I happily oblige and take two pictures. A little while later, I ask a Hillary supporter next to me to take a picture of me with my cell phone. She happily obliges.

12:30 p.m. We are back to the agenda again. We see two videos from the candidates. Hillary speaks directly to us at the beginning and end and thanks “Nevada” for your support.” Barack’s video is about his visits to Nevada. He doesn’t speak directly to the convention. Her video is more fluffy. His video addresses more specifics. Both camps go nuts during their respective videos. Obama supporters are screaming “higher up, ready to go” so loudly that we can’t hear the video. A few more speakers from the agenda come to the podium. One of the Clark County Supervisors, Chris Giunchiagliani, started singing the Dusty Springfield song For What Its Worth.

There's something happening here

What it is ain't exactly clear

There's a man with a gun over there

Telling me I got to beware

I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound

Everybody look what's going down

There's battle lines being drawn

Nobody's right if everybody's wrong

Young people speaking their minds

Getting so much resistance from behind

I think it's time we stop, hey, what's that sound

Everybody look what's going down

What a field-day for the heat

A thousand people in the street

Singing songs and carrying signs

Mostly say, hooray for our side

It's time we stop, hey, what's that sound

Everybody look what's going down

Paranoia strikes deep

Into your life it will creep

It starts when you're always afraid

You step out of line, the man come and take you away

We better stop, hey, what's that sound

Everybody look what's going down

Stop, hey, what's that sound

Everybody look what's going down

Stop, now, what's that sound

Everybody look what's going down

Stop, children, what's that sound

Everybody look what's going down

The young Obama supporters do not seem to know the song. The sixties comes flooding back to me in a rush. Many of us start singing along. I am very, very moved. We must win in November!

1:05 p.m. Joe Hunt takes the podium again and tells us that there are “thousands and thousands” more people than we expected. Oh, oh. Now what? Again, he says that we have a problem of abundance. He motions “to postpone” the convention to another date “soon.” He says none of us will be asked for a $50 donation to defray the cost for the next venue (I paid the $50). The room goes nuts and for the first time we are not screaming for our candidates. We are screaming “no. no. no. no postponement.” People go to the microphones. The woman in front of us says that “I cannot take another day off from work for this.” I decide to make my way to one of the microphones to speak. I am upset that I might not get to be a delegate now because I have a vacation planned in less than two weeks and will be gone for ten days. I meet dozens of people waiting to speak who have the same problem. The mood is turning ugly. Joe Hunt asks pleadingly if “there is anyone who wishes to speak for the motion.” In line, some scream “no, no, let us speak in order.” Nobody speaks in favor of the motion. Someone finally demands that Joe call for the vote. There are many “ayes” but the “noes” resoundingly prevail. Joe is very unhappy and angrily tells us that “we will now have to figure out how to get the hundreds of delegates waiting in the casino into this room.” The Hillary supporter sitting next to me says “I don’t like that man’s attitude.” I agree. This is not our fault. The delegate materials I received said I could bring friends and guests with me. I thought I shouldn’t do that. How would we get so many people in Bally’s Grand Ballroom?

1:30 p.m. No formal activity. We all just sit and talk. I go and buy a salad to eat. I am hungry. S & S says they are not hungry. Standing in line, a man tells me that he heard that 200 precincts did not turn in their presidential preference cards or their elected delegate information from their caucuses. I am astounded. That is terrible if it is true. I take my salad and cup of coffee back to my seat. Susie pulls out a little hand held poker machine and begins to play. She does not like sitting like this with nothing to do. A Hillary staffer comes by and says we should postpone the convention. We say “no.” She leaves angry and says “you are disenfranchising hundreds of delegates.” Maybe the man in line was right.

2:00 p.m. Al Franken (yes, the Al Franken of Saturday Night Live fame) who is running for the Senate from Minnesota is the keynote speaker. He says “we’re gonna do this.” We are going to “restore our standing in the world. The coalition of the willing [the allies we have in Iraq] are leaving or has already left. We are going to change the country.” O.K. We are back on track. The tension in the room starts to dissipate. Laughter. This man is funny. He says he will be the first humorist in the Senate. He says the Senate needs that. Lots of laughter.

2:30 p.m. No activity. More sitting and talking. Susie continues to play poker. I walk around and take pictures of people with very large homemade Hillary signs. I see no homemade Obama signs anywhere. I see a woman with a big Hillary poster made into a hat. It must be three feet high on her head! What a sight! I see a man I work with. He is an Obama supporter. We hug and chat for a few minutes. I see a woman I know from the Community Associations Institute activities. She is an association manager too. She is also an Obama supporter. We talk quite a while about how we will all be together in the fall. I come back to my seat. Susie is still playing poker and says “maybe it wasn’t worth it” to be a delegate. She is obviously tired and bored. I don’t feel this way at all. I love being here even when nothing is happening. I am exhilarated. Someone comes by with Shelley Berkley t-shirts. We all take one. It is very cute. It is a likeness of Shelley sitting atop the Welcome to Las Vegas sign that is on Las Vegas Boulevard.

2:38 p.m. Harry Reid takes the podium. He says that there are now 35,000 more Democrats in Nevada than Republicans, including 10,000 more in rural Nevada (Obama supporters?). “We are going to win because the wind is at our back.” He is very soft spoken compared to all of the other speakers of the day. We all applaud. We applaud a great deal. There are some scattered shouts. He does not inspire the big screams. I wonder how such a quiet and unassuming man has attained such a powerful position. I am thrilled to hear that Nevada has a great chance to turn blue this year.

3:00 p.m. Joe Hunt takes the podium again. He says that representatives of the two campaigns want to “caucus” with the supporters of each candidate. There are moans and groans and some people start making noise. [The two men are: Rory Reid (Harry’s son), Chair of the County Board of Supervisors, who is Hillary’s state campaign chair, and State Senator Steve Horsford, a Barack supporter.] Joe Hunt says “please, let me explain; they want to have a meeting with their supporters in separate rooms.” He instructed the Obama supporters to leave and go to the Bronze room. After they leave, a gentleman takes the podium and says how much he loves Hillary and that what is happening is not fair. His “heart is breaking over this.” He says that they have been on the phone with the national campaign all afternoon. He says there are “hundreds” of delegates who came and could not get in and left the hotel. There are “hundreds” more who were elected delegates but their names were never submitted to the party. Ah, the man in the lunch line was right. This is the party’s fault. The man goes on to say that there were 41 volunteers manning the credential tables. He says there should have been 200 volunteers. The party officials should have been well aware of all of this, that many caucuses didn’t turn in their materials after the caucus was over and that many more volunteers were needed to sign people in. Why weren’t the precinct captains called when they didn’t turn in their caucus materials? It starts to become very clear that the election of delegates to the state convention will not happen today. It would be unfair. A man takes the microphone and says that the DNC may not like this at all. He says that Nevada’s delegates may not get seated in Denver now. Huh? None of us understand this statement. The people on stage don’t react at all. A Hillary national staffer takes the podium and implores all of us to agree to postponement, that it is the only fair thing to do for “Hillary.” We get it. We are all murmuring amongst ourselves that postponement is the only answer. We are told that we will need to go to the Thomas and Mack Center or the Las Vegas Convention Center but that it will take a couple of weeks to get the venue. The new convention should take place in about a month. I am relieved. I will be home and can still participate. These are HUGE venues. Why ever in the world did the party officials pick a ballroom in a hotel? They should have known that it would be too small. In fact, when I mentioned the venue to someone a few days ago, he said “a ballroom won’t be big enough.” “You should be in the Thomas and Mack Center.” If an acquaintance knows this, surely the party should. There is murmuring all around that “they” should have known better and that this is going to be a very expensive re-do. They are not asking us for donations. Who will pay for this? The DNC? The two campaigns?

3:50 p.m. The Obama supporters rejoin us. Joe Hunt calls for the motion. Some people still want to talk at the microphones. People yell “no, let’s vote.” This time, the “ayes” are loud and strong. There are a few “noes.” “Meeting postponed. We will reconvene in about a month.” We decide to wait a while. We wait ten minutes, gather up our belongings and make our way to our car.

4:10 p.m. – 5:10 p.m We sit in the parking lot unable to move. We can’t get out of our parking space for forty minutes. I get out to ask the driver directly behind our car if he will allow us to go out in front of him. He says “no, I have already let someone in line.” I see an Obama supporter walking and he says “here we are waiting and waiting again.” We both laugh. A fitting way to end this day!

5:47 p.m. I return home. I am still exhilarated. I can’t wait to reconvene. I really want to be a state delegate now. I want to go to Denver! I go straight to the computer and log into Facebook. I post a quick statement.