Democratic Convention Notebook: Earl the Muskrat, river cruise, walk up songs

Earl may have had one of the best seats in the house for former President Barack Obama’s speech from the perch of a 3-foot-high “VOTE” sign that a Maryland delegate proudly held in the air.

“I can’t be sure, but I feel like Barack Obama saw it on top of the stick and looked at it for at least a minute, and was like, ‘what is that?'” Connor Romblad, the delegate holding the sign, told Capital News Service at the Wednesday morning delegation breakfast.

Each year, the Chesapeake Bay regions hosts the Eastern Shore’s Crawfish Boil & Muskrat Eating Championship, and residents enjoy skinning and eating the semiaquatic rodent native to North America.

Earl’s Chicago journey can be followed on Instagram @earlthemuskrat. 

Surprise visitor

Former House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-California, made a surprise stop at the Maryland delegation breakfast Wednesday morning to emphasize the state’s importance in getting Democrats control of the House and keeping control of the Senate.

“We must make a decision to win the election and make every decision in favor of it,” Pelosi said.

The speaker emerita was born and raised in Baltimore, but her Maryland connections run deeper: her late father, Thomas D’Alesandro Jr., and her late brother,  Thomas D’Alesandro, both served as mayors of Baltimore.

Pelosi, who was running later than expected, missed remarks from Senate candidate and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, who gave a keynote address to the DNC Tuesday night.

As the sleep-deprived crowd of delegates awaited their surprise guest, Maryland Democratic Party Chairman Ken Ulman and Sen. Chris Van Hollen “filibustered” remarks to keep the excitement up.

Chicago River cruise

The Maryland delegation spent part of the third day of the Democratic National Convention on the water, as the delegates enjoyed a boat cruise along the Chicago River.

The vibes were high aboard the Odyssey Chicago River. As the Doobie Brothers’ “What a Fool Believes” played throughout the vessel, the delegates schmoozed about, glasses of wine in hand, hors d’oeuvres aplenty. The host, equipped with a microphone, smoothly reviewed the historic skyscrapers as the boat passed by.

The excursion served as an opportunity for Maryland Democrats to connect with one another, but also to decompress after a busy first two days.

Delegation walk-up songs

While on said river cruise and at the delegation breakfast, CNS reporters asked Maryland delegates what their “walk-up songs” would be.

A walk-up song is the music that plays while a baseball player prepares for an at-bat. For the non-sporty, political crowd, a walk-up song is one that plays as speakers come to the podium at the DNC.

We received a mix of answers, mostly upbeat, enthusiastic songs.

The exception to this rule being one guest of the delegation who answered “Tennessee Whiskey,” a soul-filled country ballad from Chris Stapleton.

Two hip-hop classics tied for the most popular answer to our question: two delegates, including Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, voted for the scathing diss track from Kendrick Lamar, “Not Like Us,” while another two preferred DJ Khaled’s classic “All I Do Is Win.”

Out-of-town police help

Last month’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee drew a ton of assistance not only from myriad federal agencies but also from out-of-town police departments from Maryland to California and a lot of places in between.

The Chicago Police Department hasn’t asked for as much assistance, but we have randomly spotted officers from other Illinois cities, including Springfield, Pontiac (yes, there’s a Pontiac, Illinois) and Joliet.