Political Mardi Gras, indeed

Wednesday afternoon marked the first political events of the convention. We got our registration, got our credentials, and had our first state delegation meeting. Wednesday night was also the welcome reception with welcomes from numerous California democratic legislators. As I began to interact with members of other state delegations, from Pennsylvania to Indiana to Alabama to Texas to California and Arizona, I was struck by the fact that everyone's first comment on seeing I was from Ohio was "Sorry about your congressional race." I couldn't count how many times I had to explain to folks back home what we were trying to accomplish in the 2nd Congressional District, and yet everyone out here not only knew about the race, but knew about all the details of the district and how remarkable it is that the race was even as close as it was, given how gerrymandered the district was.

We also had our first Ohio state delegation meeting yesterday, and I was struck by the fact that our delegation is almost entirely male. I can't believe that the party of women's rights, the party that owns the female vote by roughly 18 points, doesn't have more than 2 female delegates from Ohio. I quickly decided that I didn't spend the money I'm spending and the vacation days I'm using to be at a sausagefest, and spent most of the evening talking to delegates from other states, eventually hitting a bar with some very cute members of the Texas delegation.

Thursday's reception will be where the big guns come out. US House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and governors Bill Richardson of New Mexico and Mark Warner of Virginia will be there to talk about how to proclaim our Democratic values. I will have my business cards at the ready.