Ashley Matt here. I had the opportunity this weekend to be an Ambassador (fancy word for “delegate” or “attendee”) at the Republican Party of Florida “Presidency IV” convention in Orlando, which took place Saturday and Sunday and culminated in the Fox News Debate on Sunday night. Tammy invited me to share some of my experiences and commentaries about the event on her blog. I’ll try to go over some details that may not have been available on the media broadcasts and that Tammy and I did not get to discuss on her show yesterday.
The events started with a Governor’s Luncheon, followed by a dessert reception with many elected officials, including our State Party Chairman, Governor, Lt. Governor, and Republican Congressional delegation to pump us up. The main theme of the convention soon emerged and was repeated in so many ways throughout the weekend: “No matter who the Republican nominee is, we must unite behind him to win the White House.”
3:00 PM: After the reception, there was a lull in activities and I heard someone say that they saw Duncan Hunter in the Starbucks down the hall. So I walked down to the café in one of the hotel hallways, and there was Duncan Hunter sitting there in everyone’s midst at a table with about seven people eating lunch. I didn’t want to bother him while he ate, but he stood up to meet other people and I took my chance. I told him he wins the award for “Most Accessible Candidate”, which he appreciated. He even took the time to chat with each of us for a few minutes. He signed his glass bottle of iced tea that he hadn’t opened and gave it to one lady. Yay, Duncan Hunter!
The Candidates Rally started at 4:00 PM. They set up a ballroom with columns and signs featuring every county of Florida, the way the National Conventions have the columns for every state. The four leading candidates spoke: Giuliani, McCain, Romney, and Thompson. They were introduced by Senator and former National Party Chairman, Mel Martinez. While Martinez was speaking, someone in the crowd shouted “NO AMNESTY!” There was a pause and then Martinez said, “I agree” and hastily continued with his introduction. Republican drama! It was slightly embarrassing to us demure, conservative types, but I think many people were smiling on the inside after that happened.
6:30 PM: After the candidates’ rally, there were simultaneous minority receptions: The Florida Federation of Black Republicans’ Reception in one room and the Republican National Hispanic Association Reception in the other. I bounced between the two of them looking for which one had the best food. (If I’m not careful, this whole piece will be about the food.) I spent most of my time in the Black Republican’s area, where many of the black republicans seemed to be strong Mitt Romney supporters. Perhaps because Romney is trying to position himself as the “family values” candidate, which is very important to the black conservatives I encountered. While I was there, Fred Thompson addressed the group with a speech as lackluster as the one he gave at the rally. Like at the rally, the speech was short and while he delivered it well, it gave no specifics and contained nothing inspiring.
7:30 PM: Romney had an Ice Cream Social outside; they said they were expecting 40 people there, but there were easily 200 in attendance. I’m thinking it was because there was free ice cream and huge chocolate-chip cookies, but maybe that’s just why I was there. So I made myself a Diet Coke Float and listened to Romney, who stood on a chair to address the larger-than-expected crowd. Again, his wife introduced him and he mostly talked about his own family life with 5 sons and now 5 daughters-in-law and how his family support is why he was able to run. Romney was the only candidate to have a post-convention event on Saturday night.
Sunday, 9:00 AM: The convention included the Chairman’s Prayer Breakfast, a Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) Hispanic Advisory Roundtable, and an RPOF Jewish Advisory Council Reception.
12:00 PM: After the Prayer Breakfast, I saw some people I knew and talked about seeing Duncan Hunter the day before in the café. They said they were on their way to get some coffee there and joked that we might see Duncan Hunter again. We walk up and, I swear, there he is again, sitting in the Starbucks chatting with people. Go figure. Go Hunter!
5:30 PM: As the time for the debate approached, familiar faces started popping up in the hotel. I saw Major Garret, got to briefly speak to Alan Colmes, and met Bill Kristol after having to go back to my car and drop off my purse, bag, and camera (none of which were allowed in the debate hall.) Of course, all the famous people show up when we can’t take pictures of them!
6:30 PM: As we packed into the debate hall and the pre-debate “Hannity and Colmes” started, we cheered for every celebrated and quasi-recognizable person we saw at the front of the room or on the monitor: Brian Wilson, Steve Forbes, Juan Williams, Bill Kristol, Mary Matalin. Sean Hannity came down and visited with part of the crowd at the front. With half of the people booing him and the other half beckoning him to come down as well, Alan Colmes chose to remain at this desk. He didn’t want our Republican love.
8:00 PM: Their were more fireworks than expected at the debate, which made it great to be in the “very enthusiastic audience” as Brit Hume dubbed us. The candidates had some great zingers, but also made good serious points.
A few examples: McCain said that he’d “much rather lose a campaign than lose a war.” and that when he looked into Putin’s eyes, he “saw 3 letters: K-G-B” and that Putin was a “dangerous person.”
Duncan Hunter, discussing the flaws in the mandatory health care Romney had implemented in Massachusetts, said, “One of the mandates is for fertility treatment. Well, what if you’re 90 years old? I think we can appreciate the Governor’s optimism, but…” Hunter also proposed a Mirror Trade policy where if a country [China] put a 19% tariff on our goods, we would hold up a mirror and put a tariff of the same amount on theirs.
Tom Tancredo encouraged the use of Health Savings Accounts and was the only one to mention the impact of illegal immigration on the health care and social security crises.
Giuliani, in discussing education, said that he loves teachers, but he “cares about the kids more” and strongly supports vouchers. Giuliani also made a remark that I found strange coming from him. Responding to Romney’s support of a Federal Marriage Amendment, Giuliani said that he did not think a Constitutional Amendment defining marriage was necessary now, but if “5 or 6 states legalized gay marriage” that he would be in favor of such an Amendment. I guess that was his way to play both sides of the fence: support the status quo and wager that the change will not occur, but say that if it does, you’ll support the FMA. I would have thought Giuliani would have been strict about leaving this matter to the states. If we want to change the Constitution, can’t we do something more fun like repeal the 16th Amendment?
Thompson, upon being questioned about his alleged laziness, went through a litany of his personal and professional accomplishments and remarked, “If that’s being lazy, I’d recommend it to anyone.”
Ironically, Ron Paul, the biggest clown of the evening, seemed to be the only one lacking a sense of humor.
9:45 PM: Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson were the only 2 candidates to have post-debate rallies. Romney’s was more crowded, and I went to Thompson’s. He came down the stairs of the room and his first remarks were, “I’m sorry about the delay in getting here; I had to take a nap.” I found his speech to this group better than his Rally speech the day before. He talked about Reagan being mentioned over 15 times in the debate and how he hoped the late President wasn’t rolling in his grave at some of the people mentioning his name, “especially when some of these people have spent half their careers distancing themselves from Reagan.” He talked about egocentric politicians, activist judges, and smaller government, and we got a glimpse of what the Thompson campaign could be if only the candidate could match the enthusiasm of his supporters.
I was able to have the exciting experience of attending the Presidency IV Convention because after the 2006 elections, I decided to get involved with my County Republican Party. I encourage all of the Tammy peeps, no matter how disgusted you might get with the current state of affairs, to get involved in some way wherever you live. Even if you are supporting a minor candidate in a local primary election, the work you do and the opportunities you’ll have as a result will be a lot more gratifying than sitting at home complaining that no body cares what you think. ~
I watched the Republican debate and I’m still the Little Engine that could—I’m rooting for some of the second tier candidates to stay in the race. Do they really need the $100 million just because Dick Morris says, or because now of the blogs and other media, they can hold on for longer? Go Duncan!