Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Arkansans get VIP perks
Clinton lavishes best seats, hotel on group
PHILADELPHIA — At the 2012 Democratic Party convention, the Arkansas delegation stayed at a chain hotel near the Charlotte, N.C., airport; they saw airplanes when they looked out their windows. This time, they’re ensconced in a four-diamond property with rooms overlooking Independence Hall in the heart of Philadelphia.
Last time, they sat in the cheap seats. This time, they’ve got the best seats in the house. Some of them sit on the front row.
In 2012, they were extras. This year, they’re co-stars.
State Sen. Joyce Elliott of Little Rock said it doesn’t get much better than this.
“We are practically sitting on the stage. If we were any closer, we would be on the stage,” she said. And it all “has to do with Hillary Clinton’s connection to Arkansas.”
The Democratic presidential nominee wants to highlight Arkansas, and throngs of onlookers want to “know more about who she is and what she was like in Arkansas,” Elliott said. “That gives us more status. It’s just a fact.”
Lottie Shackelford, a former Little Rock mayor, has also noticed this year’s upgrade.
There’s no longer a need to watch the Jumbotron, she said. This time, “we can truly see the participants coming to the stage without having to look at the screen.”
Things are crowded near the front. Television camera crews from across the globe jam the aisles, shooting interviews that will air all around the planet. Security guards stand watch nearby. People squeeze into the spaces, taking every available seat.
“It’s so exciting. You just feel so much more [connected],” Shackelford said. “The closeness of everybody ducking and dodging. It’s all such a thrill and excitement.”
As an Illinois native, a U.S. senator from New York and a former first lady of Arkansas, Clinton has strong ties to all three states. And all three states are benefiting from the connection.
Arkansas’ delegates have received regal treatment before — in 1992 and 1996 when Bill Clinton was center stage during his presidential campaigns.
But it’s been awhile since the Natural State has received the VIP treatment.
John Burkhalter, who ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 2014, said the difference between the 2012 convention and this year’s gathering is substantial.
“There’s a whole lot more energy this time because we’re in the old town part of Philadelphia. … It’s just a totally different atmosphere,” he said.
From the Franklin Hotel at Independence Park, the delegates are a five-minute walk from the Liberty Bell and a quarter-mile from Benjamin Franklin’s grave.
While they spend their idle time in the shadow of history, they spend their workday surrounded by the nation’s most famous newscasters, pundits, politicians and performers.
When they get back to Jonesboro and Russellville and Arkadelphia, they’ll have stories about their brushes with musician Paul Simon, actress Meryl Streep and President Barack Obama. They’ll share memories of dancing in the aisles while the confetti fell and waving “Hillary” signs in front of a nationwide audience.
Democratic National Committeeman Dustin McDaniel, Arkansas’ former attorney general, said the logistical challenges posed by a convention are enormous but that organizers work tirelessly to pull it all together.
The best locations, however, typically go to those who played key roles in the nominee’s success.
“All states are treated well, but obviously there are benefits to being the home state of the nominee,” he said.
Along with bragging rights, the delegates get “some really nice privileges, and we’re grateful for them,” he said.
But ultimately, everyone gets to enjoy one of the highlights of American democracy, no matter how their candidate fared, he said.
That isn’t the case everywhere, he noted.
“In other parts of the world, if you’re the side that loses, the least of your worries is whether you’re in a Best Western versus the Ritz,” he said.