RNC - Day One

I have arrived in the fair city of Minneapolis. I love it here. I think I always have. I lived here when I was a kid, ok, a baby, but I always claim the great state of Minnesota as my home. My parents went to college here and myself and three of my siblings started out in the land of 10,000 lakes. Although I have traded lakes for mountains, (and right now I miss those mountains...it's one of the ways I navigate in Colorado!) I have always wanted to return to Minnesota for longer than a week at a time. So here, I am, taking in the sights and sounds of the RNC in the Twin Cities.



It all started with the flight that almost didn't happen...



I was one of the last people to make it on the plane, which is funny only in that I was standing in line at Caribou Coffee (yes, DIA has NO STARBUCKS!) when my friend Jeremy sent me a text message:



Jeremy: WHERE ARE YOU!? Did you make the flight?

Me: Yeah, dude, I did. I am getting coffee.

Jeremy: Well that's nice. The doors to the aircraft are closing in 15 minutes.

Me: "Aircraft"?

Jeremy: HURRY UP!



I made it on the plane. We actually arrived in Minneapolis early, which has happened to me...NEVER! The weather here is beautiful. The air is humid and weighty, without being uncomfortable or in any way ugly. When you land in MSP, you see gorgeous green trees and lots of blue lakes. It's makes you want to be outside and explore the city. However, as soon as I got off the plane, I headed straight for the hotel...where I waited for three hours to check in.



I did get my credentials today, which was around the time we started hearing that things might be amiss with the RNC Convention plans. By noon we knew that President Bush and Vice President Cheney would not be addressing the delegates on Monday night. Within two hours, we had a new schedule for Monday.



The RNC has to convene tomorrow, no matter what. In order for the Republican party to nominate a candidate for president, the delegates have to vote. In order to vote, the convention body must be called to order...you get the picture. In order to not look like a bunch of rowdy party animals while New Orleans is under siege and under water again, the RNC has decided to take a low key approach to this year's convention.



So we will meet for two and a half hours tomorrow and will continue to play the rest of the week by ear. I've heard people ask, why can't we just reschedule the convention until next week, or try to complete all the party's business in one day. The logistics of such an undertaking are unrealistic and we will move forward.



Tonight we attended the welcome party for all the delegates. It was fun but after about an hour of olive trays and free Merlot I was ready to head back to the hotel. I am now in the hotel bar, surrounded by Oklahomans and Coloradans who drink more and yell louder than I do.

One last note: I know there are people who believe that Senator McCain and the RNC's decision to scale back to bare bones tomorrow was a political move. I hope it wasn't. But only time will tell. I know that I would feel really weird about throwing a huge party - balloon drop and all - while there are people being drown out of their homes just down the Mississippi River. All politics is local. What we do now will shape the tone of the RNC coverage for the rest of the week. So I think we learn to take the high road. We learn to put others first and remember that we are always our brother's keeper.

See you tomorrow.

Republican National Convention - The Trip - Post 1

Tomorrow morning I leave for Minneapolis, MN to attend my first (and I hope not my last) GOP nominating convention. Over the next five days I will post pictures, thoughts and anything else that I think seems interesting to give those at home a sense of what's happening at the convention.

Feel free to post comments, ask questions, send emails, wish me luck, etc.

I'm going to Minnesota!

Doesn't quite have the same ring as "I'm going to Disneyland!", but I suspect I will enjoy my time more at the Republican National Convention as an alternate delegate more than I would waiting in line with thousands of kids and their impatient parents.

As part of the McCain Unity Slate at the Colorado State Convention, I will be part of the action this September from the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. I couldn't be more excited (or terrified)! I've never done anything like this, but I certainly hope this is the beginning of something truly amazing. I am so glad you're along for the ride.

I have been in a fund-raising frenzy ever since I heard the great news. I will leave at the end of August for a week-long trip to the great state of Minnesota. All delegates and alternate delegates are responsible for paying their expenses...hotels, airfare, food, transportation, etc. And all delegates, (from both parties) are encouraged to fund raise through friends, family and other contacts to help ease the financial responsibility.


I'm through my email lists, BlackBerry, address books and business cards to organize every person I have ever met. Phone calls will be made. Letters will be signed, sealed and delivered. There will be many schmoozing sessions over coffee between now and August.

There's still that part of me that wonders, what if people don't want to contribute to my campaign? For as many reasons as I think people should contribute to my campaign and the journey to the Midwest, I can think of twice as many for people to not participate. I am asking my friends and family, Democrats or Republicans, to help me get to the Convention. It's important to for me to be a part of something bigger than myself and I know my friends and family are with me in this endeavor.

So now...the work begins.

Catching the Political Bug

I Caught the “Political Bug”

First of all, I am going to participate in The White House Project’s “Go Run” event in late March. The event is designed to prepare women to run for public office in the near future. I’m working on developing that confidence in myself and I think this event will be a great start to it….which leads to me to…

Things Are Falling into Place…I am getting ready to attend my county assembly and state and congressional district assemblies in the near future. Honestly, I am a bit nervous, but I think that this is has been one of the greatest challenged I’ve ever faced. I have to walk into situations where I know no one. No one is introducing me to anyone else…I’ve had to do that myself, and that is daunting to someone who is used to always knowing someone in the room.

Not only am I one of many anonymous delegates, I have to try to get everyone in the room with a vote to pick me. What makes me stand out from the rest? This is why I love politics.

Standing in a room with 60 other women, and about 5 men, I realized that this is the starting point for so many things to come. Several women in the room were already candidates getting ready for a race that won’t end until November. The strength and resolve of women is fascinating to me. I’ve heard that I should leave the politicking to men. Tonight State Speaker Andrew Romanoff applauded loudly and cheered when City Councilwoman Faith Winter said that more women should enter the political arena as it was possible that women might be able to do a better job. I couldn’t agree more.

This doesn’t make me anti-male. Give me a break. I love men. But I do believe that for too long women in this country have been told to keep quiet and let the men do the important work. Women must have a vested interest in the future of their communities, and what better way to do so than to serve your community? Public servants aren’t in it for the money (state reps make $30,000 annually). I have to believe they do it to serve their fellow man.

I hope to be a public servant someday. When I think about what I have “gotten” from my community, it seems only appropriate to give back.

Super Tuesday Digest

What an exciting time to be involved in politics at a grassroots level! I went to my first Caucus last night and learned so much about the political process. This is the kind of stuff you can't really be taught in high school or college, you have to be there to soak it all in.

When I got there, there were only four other people from my precinct. I was a little disappointed, but when we all got to talking, I liked having a small group as we were able to have great conversations.

The whole process took us a little longer than it would have if we had precinct leaders. Apparently, there are none for my precinct. It's a two-year commitment and involves getting to know your neighbors, encouraging them to vote and hosting precinct events. I am now a precinct leader.

I was also elected to be a delegate to the county assembly, multi state house and multi state senate district assemblies, and the state convention. I am excited and nervous, but the process to becoming a national delegate is now officially underway.

I understand why people don't get involved in the political process. It takes a commitment and sometimes the bureaucracy is astounding. But if you can get past that and try to learn something from each interaction you have, I think becoming a political animal is so worth it.

Why read about history when you can make it?

Let's See How Far We've Come

I am definitely starting to freak out about this whole delegate thing. I am definitely going to put forth the effort, but it's a daunting task. No one knows me and really has no reason to vote for me to be delegate to the Republican National Convention...except for the following:

- I am the best kind of Republican...the unexpected one. People who meet me expect me to be a liberal...apparently because I'm a woman and a minority, but I'll take the stereotype...and blow it out of the water.

- I loved Reagan long before it became cool to invoke him and his ideals during any and all casual political conversations, fistfights or presidential debates.

- I'm fiscally conservative and I believe in small government.

- I LOVE nominating conventions and watch them like it's the World Series (actually, in all honesty...I would rather watch the World Series...unless it was during a national convention) and would represent my party and state with honor.

- I've volunteered for the Republican party in the past two general election cycles and have volunteered for Governor Bill Ritter's campaign. I was also an intern for Senator Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) in 2007. I will continue to serve the electorate as it sees fit.

Opposites Attract

The life of a blogger is just like everyone else...only we are always looking for "material". I have nothing today except that I had a great night with my friend, MacKenzie. We are political opposites, which is probably why we get along so well...but tonight...we were out with the boys and trying to be charming, smart and politically astute all at the same time. Interesting evening...

Regardless...I think something should be said about political people being friends with other political people...even if we don't agree on much fundamentally. MacKenzie and I have been friends for years, and if there's a Republican or a Democrat in the White House in January 2009, we will continue to be friends and care about each other and each other's families. Everyone says they want to be the politician who "crosses the aisle". I really don't care what side of the aisle you're on. There's lots of work to do. Stop glad handing. Stop talking. Listen "I don't care of you get along...I care if you get something done." (Thank you, Chris Matthews!)