Downtown Milwaukee restaurant owner Omar Shaikh envisioned overflowing crowds, packed dining rooms and a big payday when the Democratic National Convention came to town.

Shaikh, chairman of the VISIT Milwaukee board, also saw the international attention hosting a convention would bring as a chance for the city along the shores of Lake Michigan to show the world how it’s evolved from a Rust Belt manufacturing hub to a thriving, diverse, modern community.

“It would have been a game-changer,” he said. “There would have been people everywhere ready to spend, hundreds of millions of dollars coming into our city.”

Now, with the convention that begins Monday nearly entirely online due to the coronavirus, Shaikh and Wisconsin Democrats, who a year ago triumphantly hoisted glasses of Milwaukee’s finest after winning the competition to host the convention, are crying in their beer.

“It is a gut punch,” Shaikh said. “It’s almost like you get the call you (won) the lottery, but you can’t cash the ticket in.”

The convention was originally to have taken place in July, attracted about 50,000 people to Milwaukee and injected about $250 million into the economy of the key presidential battleground state. It would have been the first time Milwaukee, a metropolitan area of 1.6 million, hosted a presidential nominating convention.

Yeah (as my mate would say)…a long long…long long time ago. 

Trump has darn near brought Our country to its knees, in every way imaginable. Some damage is irreparable. People have suffered and died needlessly under that creature’s soc-called “leadership.” And more people will suffer and die needlessly.

The voices of men like Kasich – good men, competent men, patriot men – could have made a world of difference. But Kasich Failed in his patriotic duty. He chose to sit on the sidelines mostly quiet since Trump was elected…and waited to see which way the wind was blowing BEFORE deciding (just recently) to really speak out against the Republic party but still tip-toeing around Trump.

Kasich is positioning himself to run in 2024 and he chose the craven and frankly cowardly route in pursuit of that goal. I can never look at him the same again.

Will be interested in seeing what the ratings are for this virtual event.