MILWAUKEE – Is it really a convention when no one is meeting?
The streets were razed to life Monday by the Wisconsin Center ahead of the start of the Democrats’ fourth annual meeting to crown their presidential nominee. A handful of police officers, including secret service agents, secured an enclosed arena in which almost no one was allowed.
Nearby shops and locks that were expected to be alive when this city was announced as the site of the convention were desperate or closed. The historic Riverside concert hall next door was closed. Pedestrians in masks carry jaywalks across major streets with a few cars running around. Hotels that initially sold out worked under capacity and furloughing employees.
“We were set to have the best year we’ve ever had,” said Kerri Huelsbeck, general manager of the Courtyard at Marriott downtown, just one block from the arena. “Back in February, I would never have imagined that this would be us.”
The hotel was just 40 percent full, the sales manager said. In the most empty lobby sat a wall of heart-shaped stickers with names on them. To the left sat 20 stickers of working staff. To the right, 24 staff stickers were still on furlough. Huelsbeck worked double duty as the barista.
The removal of the personal convention was the final blow to a city that had tested its infrastructure in preparation for an enormous year set to bring in billions in revenue. Music festivals and sporting events here have been canceled. The birthplace of the Bucks, a contestant for the NBA Championship this year for the first time since 1971, cannot play for its fans.
“This could have been a moment for Milwaukee to really shine. And now it’s associated with all the negative things,” Huelsbeck said with a sigh. “It just sucks.”
As many as 50,000 people were expected here this week, before the coronavirus pandemic struck and turned the convention into an all-virtual event. Joe Biden has been appointed to accept the nomination on Thursday in live-streaming comments from his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, along with any speaker starting Monday who was asked by the Democratic National Committee not to attend.
Even most of the DNC staff stayed away. President Tom Perez flew here to sign some paperwork.
Along the perimeter of the pleasant congress hall sat some dedicated activists, numbered in the single digits, who made the journey to make a point.
Stephen Parlato of Boulder, Colorado, stood in front of the black fence wearing an N95 mask and holding a piece of art that read, “BROKEN GOVERNMENT, SHATTERED LIVES.”
He said he had planned to protest President Donald Trump at the convention since the 2018 midterm elections and he would not let the pandemic deter him.
“I am here to express my deep concern for the welfare of our country when this President is re-elected,” he said. “You have to do what you can if you are going to live with yourself, and if you realize that the moment is as difficult as this is for our democracy.”
The weather was sunny and 80 degrees at noon.
In a park across the street was a handful of people waving a banner “Democrats for America’s Life.” It was organized by Terrisa Bukovinac of San Francisco, who said she supports many progressive causes, but said she could not vote for Biden because he supports abortion rights.
“We’re all kind of left-leaning pro-lifers,” she said. “And the only way we’ll get any kind of visibility is to look.”
As she spoke to one man, he drove by, rolled down his window and said “go Trump” in a monotone voice. Bukovinac said she would not vote for President Donald Trump either.
The annulment of the personal convention was a blow to Democrats, who grabbed Milwaukee to correct a past wrong: 2016 nominee Hillary Clinton ignored the state famously and tarnished it by less than 1 point. Election analysts say it could tip the 2020 result as well, as Biden leads in recent polls.
On Sunday night, Trump’s re-election campaign hosted a “women for Trump” event in the nearby village of Pleasant Prairie, featuring senior staff Mercedes Schlapp and Erin Perrine.
Prior to the event, Perrine said Biden’s decision not to appear in person to accept the nomination shows that Democrats “think they can take the Badger State as applicable.”
“We are here,” she said, moments before she went out into a room of several dozen attendees, many of them sitting in narrow quarters and wearing no masks.
Democrats say their decision to make the convention virtual was designed to save lives in a pandemic they accuse Trump of abusing by disregarding policy advice and best practices offered by public health experts.
Around the city, some businesses are wondering if things are going up – even just a little bit.
“I just keep asking if we’ll really be busy,” said Mel Wolfe, general manager of a Potbelly Sandwich Shop. “We expect to be very, very crazy non-stop busy every day.”
Even after it went virtual, she said, “I was still hoping for at least a little bit of something.”
In front of the arena, just behind the gate, five officers stood guard. An agent of the Secret Service in Sunglasses said the convention was designated a National Special Security Event, which meant the agency had the task of protecting it.
But was it not strange to be committed to essentially protecting no one?
“It’s unusual,” the officer said with a shrug.
