Convention Day 2

Lat night was amazing. We had 5 Medal of Honor recipients, 25 of John McCain's fellow POWs, President and First Lady Barbara Bush and the sister of a fallen Seal and Medal of Honor recipient in the crowd. It was a night of many standing ovations and it was amazing to be in their presence.

Mark was able to borrow Becky Lockhart's delegate pass for me so I had a few minutes on the floor of the convention hall. For a political junkie, it was a great night. I had my picture taken with Sen. Hatch while Laura Bush was being interviewed by CNN just over our shoulders.

Mark and I also attended the "Life of the Party" party hosted by republicans for Life. While we were there I was approached by a reporter for the AP. He asked me, "Does it bother you that Sarah Palin was born a Catholic, raised in Communities of Christ, you know, speaking in tongues, and now attends a non-denominational Christian Church. You know she has... shopped around a bit with her faith." If this and a 20 year old DUI by her husband are the best they've got on Governor Palin, I think we have a real winner on our side. I cannot wait for her speech tonight.

Earlier yesterday, the Utah delegation heard from Sen. Mithc McConnell, teh Minority leader in the Senate. He said the Senate is the firewall. As long as we have 40 seats we can stop most of the really bad stuff from becoming law. Our prospects for gaining seats in the Senate this fall are not great.

Just a few pictures from the convention today... All of the floor seats (delegates) were filled. Utah is sitting right behind the CNN suite. CNN employees could be better neighbors. They talked all through the prayer and the pledge and could not keep quiet during the First Lady's speech. Perhaps they do not wish to be here?

Convention Day 1

I thought I would use our North County GOP blog to give you a peek inside the convention. Today was Day 1 of the Convention in St. Paul. It was a very scaled down convention. The day was cut to the very essentials - only business - adopting the rules, adopting the platform, etc. Only the wives spoke - Mrs. Bush & Mrs. McCain.

This is my first convention and I must say it is a great deal of fun. It was moving to be in the same room as thousands of other Republicans listening to Mrs. Bush. She is a great lady.

Last night all delegates, alternates and guests were invited to Civic Fest in Minneapolis. There was a full size replica of Air Force One and a scale model of the White House as well as dozens of other exhibits. We had a great time.

We were told at breakfast this morning to keep a very tight hold on our credentials. There have been reports of the protesters trying bribe hotel workers to pass credentials along to protesters. There was a local media report last night of police raiding 4 houses and finding... jars of urine. ICK.

We have heard a great deal about protesters, but have not seen any. Driving in on Sunday afternoon, Mark and I passed a 4 car caravan of the great unwashed - college aged kids, cars covered in anti-Bush stickers, a bit harrier than the usual, etc.. We thought they were probably headed into St.Paul to be part of what is called the "RNC Welcoming Committee." That is what the protesters call themselves.

The Utah delegation heard from Governor Romney this morning and then we took a tour of a local Historic Fort - Fort Smelling. This tour was paid for by Atty. Gen. Shurtleff, though he is still in Utah recovering from surgery. Utah GOP Chairman Lockhart, seeing that there was far more food provided than we could eat, invited all of the other tourists at the Fort to lunch on the Utah GOP. It lead to some great conversations with the Minnesotans and I think it was a terrific idea.

There is a real buzz among the delegates about McCain's pick of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. She has really energized the conservatives. The news that the Palin's 17 year old daughter is 5 onths pregnant does not seem to have dampened the excitement. Gov. Palin is very popular among the delegates.

Our boys have been great troopers - security screenings, different routine. They have really enjoyed traveling around on the big busses which are used to trasport delegates and guests.

I'll post more tomorrow.

Erin
The Convention doesn't really get going tomorrow until late afternoon.