By Bonnie Eissner

With their parades of rousing speeches and plaudits, political party conventions are the epitome of political theater. This year’s Democratic National Convention is no different. But local State Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal, who is one of the 307 New York delegates at the convention, says the enthusiasm projected on screens and streams across the country and world is not an act. The convention is full of hope, and even fun, she said. 

Rosenthal conversed with West Side Rag over Zoom and email from Chicago about her experience at the historic event. These are edited excerpts.

What was it like to hear President Obama and Michelle Obama speak on Tuesday night and what did you think of their speeches?

Rosenthal: Michelle and Barack Obama blew the roof off the convention center with their twin speeches last night. They passionately told us the truth about what it means to believe in democracy, and to hope with every fiber of your being for a better, more just and courageous world that we‘ve been longing for since [Donald Trump] desecrated the Oval Office. Unflinchingly, they presented the case for hope in the future if we commit to fighting for every vote from now until November 5, 2024.

Tell me a little bit more about who is at the convention. Who are the delegates? 

Rosenthal: A lot of delegates are either current elected officials, former elected officials, grassroots individuals, or labor activists. It’s a whole mixture of people from different parts of the political/community world.

What is your job as a delegate? 

Rosenthal: It’s pretty simple. It’s to show up at the convention and vote when voting is appropriate. You’re representing your area; you’re representing the point of view of your constituents. And you are absorbing the message and getting ready to get out there and campaign and encourage and work with others to campaign as hard as they’ve ever campaigned in their lives — harder than they’ve ever campaigned in their lives because there’s so much on the line. Conventions are meant to inspire, and they inspire the viewing public, but they also inspire the delegates to go out there and get the job done.

Does other business get done at the convention, or is it just about bringing the party together and cheering on the candidates? 

Rosenthal: I think people attend with different motivations. Some people who aspire to higher office are trying to find donors. Other people are just getting into the spirit of the campaign. You know, I’ve talked about a number of my bills with different people. So it’s a good information-gathering event because you are exposed to a variety of opinions on different issues. 

How does this convention compare to others you’ve been to? 

Rosenthal: A lot of people are saying that this is the most hopeful and fun convention that they’ve been to in years of attending Democratic conventions. 

Why do you think that is? 

Rosenthal: I think leading up to this, people felt beleaguered, that we would lose. That’s the way things were trending. People weren’t happy that Biden would be running again, even though he got big, big plaudits Monday night. He gave a great speech, and people were appreciating his service to the country over 50-something years. But the fact that Kamala Harris is a woman, the fact that she is a person of color, and Tim Walz everybody seems to love, even though nobody knew of him a few weeks ago, everybody is just feeling hopeful. 

But there are also admonitions, like don’t think you can just sit on the sidelines and it will happen. Everyone’s expected to work really hard over the next 77 days. There are so many good things we can do in this country if we have the right leadership. I think that’s the message that we’re hearing over and over again.

Subscribe to West Side Rag’s FREE email newsletter here.