At the DNC, It's Good To Be (Shadow) Senator
For most of the year, D.C. Shadow Sen. Paul Strauss is a senator in name only. His elected position doesn't pay him a salary, he has no real standing in Congress, and he spends much of his time trying to educate as many influential people as he can about D.C.'s non-voting status. But at the Democratic National Convention, a shadow senator gets to play make believe.
Both Strauss and fellow Shadow Sen. Michael Brown, who are serving as superdelegates representing the District, have been issued their DNC credentials directly from the same office as members of the U.S. Senate. While they are in Denver, they are, for all intents and purposes, senators.
"Most of the venues are accepting them as senators, and treating them with respect," said D.C. Democratic Party spokesperson David Meadows.
That might explain why Strauss was able to walk right in to "A Blue Night in Denver," a party hosted Sunday night by the conservative Democratic Blue Dog Coalition, without being sure he was even on the list. Flanked by no less than six interns from his staff, all of whom were wearing Secret Service-style earbud headsets, Strauss went straight up to the security-heavy entrance and introduced himself as Sen. Strauss. He not only gained immediate entry to the invite-only party (after paying the requisite entrance fee), he waltzed straight in to the VIP section upstairs.
Then again, Strauss doesn't really hide the fact that he enjoys being addressed as "senator" and letting people who might not know the difference believe he's a voting member of Congress. When asked whether he often easily gains access to exclusive parties by introducing himself as Sen. Strauss, he was humorously boastful.
"What's to explain? I'm Paul Strauss!" he said.
Strauss has a total of seven interns with him in Denver, some from his regular staff and some who are campaign volunteers (he's running for re-election this year). Brown, by comparison, traveled to Denver with just one other person to help him stay organized, a close friend of his who was happy to make the journey.
Scottish singer KT Tunstall performed at the Blue Dog event, and when Strauss discovered that one of his interns is a big fan of the musician, he orchestrated a meet and greet for her by throwing his weight around with Tunstall's handlers.
Strauss approaches his official work as a superdelegate and lobbyist for D.C. voting rights with a similar sense of establishing a large presence. This morning, he addressed the convention delegation from New Mexico to ask for their support in pushing their congressional members to support the D.C. Voting Rights Act. It was a strategic appearance, since retiring Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) was one of the senators who voted against cloture for the bill earlier this year. While Strauss spoke to the New Mexico delegation, cameras from French television news station BFM TV rolled for a feature on the Shadow Senator.