The public convention -- and the private one

On the ground on Day Two of the DNC

Chicago is abuzz.

The city is full of earnest young politicos with lanyards around their necks having intense conversations about some issue they spy on the horizon in 2026; elected officials with their identifying lapel pins being whisked into and out of hotels, into and out of black sedans; groups of Chicago police and U.S. Secret Service and others standing in clusters on the streets and gathered en masse outside the United Center, where the Democratic National Convention’s main festivities are occurring.

As we wait for Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and the Obamas to speak tonight, a few notes from Section 300, where we journalists are packed into arena seats and are nibbling on Legacy Burgers and crinkle-cut fries. They fall into the categories of “The Public Convention and the Private One”; “The Rise of the Creators”; and some texts I just got from prominent figures at the convention about what they are witnessing, including Senator Brian Schatz and Waleed Shahid of the Uncommitted movement.

1. The Public Convention and the Private One

I have never attended a political convention in person before. So I had no idea what actually happens here besides the evening speeches I have been watching on TV since I was a young boy. Fortunately, an organizer friend texted me shortly after I landed to explain everything:

Oh yeah the whole thing is side events

The convention itself is a shitshow

I did not know about the side events, although I probably should have guessed that all these people, gathered in one place, weren’t waiting around all day for the nighttime show. In fact, many people I talked to today skip the evening events altogether. What they’re here for is the Private Convention.

The Private Convention is the side events: panel discussions, lunches, cocktail parties, after parties, fundraising confabs, data presentations, trainings, workshops, and more. These events are spread across the city, and many of them serve a completely different purpose from the rest of the convention.

While the convention that you and I know from television is about conveying speeches to the great mass of Americans, the private convention is about the thousands of institutions that make up the broad political left meeting, strategizing, making plans and preparing contingencies.

I got to attend one of the events of the Private Convention today, and it was completely different from the big public show.