Standing in the middle of an outdoor bar in an alleyway in Chicago, Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, looked around and remarked: “Nice city. It’s not New York, but it’s a nice city.”
It was the second night of the Democratic National Convention, and Mr. Schumer was getting ready to give his eight-minute speech at 8 p.m. But first he stopped by a party where the crowd was made up almost entirely of New Yorkers: a mix of businesspeople, state senators and Assembly members. Mr. Schumer, an old-school party boss who loves nothing more than retail politics, was in his element.
He began pointing out familiar faces in the crowd.
“You’ve got a great daughter,” he told one woman. “I love her.”
“I was at your swearing-in,” he boomed as a state senator from the Bronx approached.
“Everything this lady does is a success!”
“He’s the best.”
“Love her!”
He had started his day by having breakfast with convention delegates from New York, and then spent the afternoon prepping for his speech and chatting on the phone with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, applying pressure to get some help to Long Island, which had been battered by a storm.
So he was feeling good and ready by that point to do a little schmoozing. Peering around, he recognized a number of former aides who had made it out to the happy hour to give him a pat on the back. “He was a Schumer worker,” Mr. Schumer said, pointing one out. “She was a Schumer worker. We’re everywhere.”
The Democratic strategist Stu Loeser came over to say hello, and Mr. Schumer bellowed, “Another former Schumer worker!”
He next spotted a tall, boyish-looking New York City Council member named Erik Bottcher and exclaimed, “We ate at his parents’ restaurant in the Adirondacks!”
“The Hungry Trout,” replied Mr. Bottcher.
The party was thrown by Julie Samuels, the chief executive of Tech:NYC, a nonprofit representing tech companies in New York. And even though he found himself surrounded by a bunch of techies, Mr. Schumer proudly waved around his LG flip phone. It is the only one he uses. He likes it for its utility, and because he figures Russia cannot hack it. “This is my secret,” he said. “No text. Just tawk.”
When he spotted the platter of black-and-white cookies, Mr. Schumer reminded the crowd that they were “a Brooklyn specialty,” but he added, “Now that I’m gluten-free, I can’t eat them.”
It was time to head to the arena. As he turned to go, he collided with the bar’s owner. They spoke for a moment, and then Mr. Schumer announced: “This guy’s going to move his next restaurant to New York!”
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
