Thursday – February 18, 2010
Political conventions are new to me. I’ve been to a few tea party events, I’ve protested outside Johnny Sutton’s office for his role in putting two border guards in prison. But the Conservative Political Action Convention (CPAC) is the first political convention I have attended. It is exciting to be around thousands of like-minded people that are actively pursuing a pro-America agenda drive by their patriotism and passion for making our country better. Conservatives tend to be FOR things, while liberals are against things. While conservatives discuss legislative reform liberals are busy attacking people and organizations, and picking every word from every speech apart to find some sort of hateful, racist undertones or agenda. Imagine if conservatives tried to infiltrate liberal conventions and protests? You couldn’t publish much of what is said at their events due to the vile nature of the content and language. Conservatives are working to decrease government involvement in our lives while liberals think more government is the answer.
Thursday is the first day of the event, our morning began with the registration process. The event organizers had some technical problems and registration took longer than it should have, but everyone in line was patient and upbeat. I’m sure lIberals would have bitched and moaned about the delays, but like all of the other conservative events I’ve attended, everyone was positive, polite and courteous. If liberals would actually show up to these events they would be shocked at the respect and courtesy displayed by every person they encounter.
Once I checked in I made my way to the blogger’s area on the mezzanine level. We grabbed a row of tables in the back of the room and began setting up our gear. Internet access was our main mission, it took a while for everyone to get that taken care of, but eventually we got squared away. Soon we were online and Duane and Fingers started doing their thing.
I scoped out the vendor area and spoke with several different groups on topics including free speech, right to life, gun rights and the popular topic of refocusing our government back to our founding documents. I did meet one liberal taking notes and trying to find anything negative she could. I really don’t understand why liberals are so worried about what conservatives are saying and doing. After all, if THEY are the intellectuals, the ones that know everything, why should they care what we say or think? Maybe it’s because they don’t stand FOR anything, they are just angry, lacking in self-esteem, and trying to find any justification for the massive failure and letdown they are experiencing thanks to their misguided votes from November 2008.
CPAC brought many of our RFC Radio personalities together in person for the first time. Fingers Malloy, Thomas LaDuke, Duane Lester, Melanie Ann Hall, Sharon Heretic, Jimmy Bise, Tabitha Hale, the two lawyers, one of the Handy Guys and a few others, Some of the other bloggers I met include Ed Morrissey, Mary Katherine Hamm, Steve Eggleston, Pamela Geller, Michelle Moore and several others. Of coursed, the lovely ladies from Smart Girl Politics were in full force including Staci, Teri, Jenny, Molly and more.
During the evening we attended a mixer sponsored by Andrew Brietbart at BigGovernment.com. I spoke with him briefly and thanked him for his outstanding work. I also spoke with James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles (the famous pimp and prostitute that busted ACORN), as well as Griff Jenkins (Bill O’Reilly’s producer), Ashley Herzog from Townhall.com and an energetic contingent of students from Fordham University. (FU! Chelsea from Texas in the house!) After this mixer we returned to the Marriott lobby and mingled at the bar with all sorts of conservative movers and shakers. It was a very full day, I look forward to what Friday has to offer.
I’m grumpy today, my show is a little more bitter and angst-ridden than usual. Some screaming, lots of frustration… no train wrecks. But, America needs our help, we need to fight the good fight and get people educated. Listen! Get Educated! Get LOUD!
What a great evening!
Tonight the wife and I attended the Townhall.com “Obama – The First 100 Days Tour” in San Antonio, TX. We purchased the VIP tickets which were certainly worth the money. There were probably 100 or so people in the VIP group and we all had plenty of access both before and after the main event. This was the third night of this twelve stop tour, if they are making an appearance anywhere near you I encourage you to attend. Click here for ticket information.
I first met Michael Medved. He was gracious, quiet, yet very engaging. I thanked him for his excellent work and praised his commendable grasp of history (you do NOT want to get into a debate with him… he knows his stuff). I told him that he, among many others, had inspired me to take action and get involved in politics. I recently started reading his book “Right Turns” and referred to something he wrote about on page 120. As a student at Yale in the late 1960s he peacefully protested the Vietnam War. At one point he created a very basic button that became very popular. It was dark blue with a single word as follows:
I suggested to him that it might be time to resurrect this icon from his past. He paused, and said very sincerely, “I think that’s a great idea.” Whether or not he does so, I’m glad to have reminded him of this blast from the past. I hope that he does bring it back though, because this single word is so very appropriate today. I gushingly thanked him again for his work and probably talked too much and too fast to make a positive lasting impression. But, I am thankful to have had the opportunity to shake his hand.
I then spoke with Townhall.com spokesperson and Cleveland Brown fan Hugh Hewitt. He circled the room to meet people and was energetic and sincere with every person that he spoke with. When he made it to me he commented on my Patriots jersey and gave me crap about Bill Belichik (a former Brown coach that went on to much bigger and better things with the Patriots). During the main event, Hugh made my day, no, my month, by asking during the round table, “where’s the guy in the Patriots jersey… stand up.” He then used me as an example of what we the people can do, then asked me to tell the audience about RadioForConservatives.com. PLUG: 1,000 direct marketing hits. Several people came up to me after the show and asked for the URL again, which I gladly provided. I also was able to get a short video endorsement from him, which I will put online soon. Hugh, if you ever find this page, THANK YOU for helping out the little guy! You are a scholar and a gentleman, even if you do support the Browns. 
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JitUnt-A1nM]
Last, but not least, was my meeting with Dr. Bill Bennett. I have the utmost respect for his knowledge of history, his vocabulary, and after seeing him tonight, his disarming sense of humor. I asked Dr. Bennett “to control a country it helps to control the press/media. What can we do to regain control of our media or to mitigate its negative effects on our political system.” Without hesitation he told me that the vast majority of politics is still quite local: schools, churches, town meetings, etc. He said we need to keep spreading the word to our local peers and let it trickle up (I’m paraphrasing). I told him about my show and thanked him for his work. He autographed my copy of his book “The American Patriots Almanac” which I suggest to anyone interested in American history.
After the nearly 90-minute meet & greet we took our seats. Sue got us seats in the second row and I snapped several pictures and captures several low-quality videos. It was a question and answer format and, unlike an Obama press conference, all of the questions were pertinent. The three scholars took turns answering questions and provided many great anecdotes. They spoke very candidly and were truly engaging. Before I knew it they were wrapping it up.
Bennett stole the show with his humor (his impersonation of Bob Dole comes to mind), and Medved offered I thought the deepest answers, especially when discussing Israel, from which he recently returned after a month-long trip there to deal with the death of his father. (Note to any terrorists reading this: Israel has no intention or desire of expanding its territory. Israeli soldiers are ready to die for their country, but all truly desire is peace.) Hewitt was equally entertaining… all three were a joy to listen to.
My takeaway for the night: America is the greatest country in the world. Americans are strong and passionate, and we will overcome anyting thrown at us. We have been through much darker times, but we can’t let people forget that hate-filled radicals massacred thousands of innocent people and they must be dealt with. While President Obama and both parties have made many mistakes, we, as a country, need to come together. Conservatives need to be positive, not angry, a concept that will be very hard for me to pursue. But I will try. So, going forward, please dont confuse my rapid speech or passionate diatribes as anger. The whole reason I am blogging and talking on the Internet is to educate as many people as possible about the facts of our current situation. By pointing out the distortions, by correcting the lies, and by blowing away the fog of celebrity I think I can make a difference. So can you.
