AJC.com > Talk of the town > Archives > 2008 > September > 04 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USExcuse me, step aside for ‘the riot’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
[Vincent Russo and Baoky Vu, members of the Georgia Young Professionals for McCain, are blogging from the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn.]
With the start of our final convention day, I want to take the opportunity to provide our readers with some day-after thoughts from the Georgia delegation on Sarah Palin, “The Speech,” and the delegation’s morning events.
However, before doing so, I want to provide our readers with one more brief, but exciting, moment from last night’s post-convention activities.
As I walked with some friends to the One Campaign’s after-party, we came upon what security guards and police officers told us was a “riot” as a result of a protest. Cops in riot gear with tear gas moved into place. Despite the concerned look on some of the faces of the conventiongoers on the street, I knew my old friend from Louisiana, Bryan Jeansonne, wasn’t going anywhere.
Accordingly, since the location of the One Campaign after-party was on the other side of the protest and was a sought-after invitation from conventiongoers, we decided to forge ahead. Upon reaching the “riot,” Jeansonne, with a hint of humor that only a Louisianian and former New Orleans resident understands, says to everyone in earshot, “These kids are lucky they aren’t in New Orleans. Our cops don’t take these minor or even intermediate measures like these cops, and they would have put this riot down before it ever started.”
Ultimately, we got through the “riot” and had a good time at the party.
Riots aside, I had the opportunity to speak with Jade Morey, chairman of the Georgia Students for McCain, and Suzy Voyles, chairman of the Georgia Women for McCain coalition, about Sarah Palin and “The Speech.” Suzy Voyles said that Sarah Palin is what “America longs to be, full of life and genuine.”
Voyles stressed, “[Palin] isn’t afraid of hard work or fierce opposition; she is principled and refuses to cave in to the status quo.”
Morey, a longtime support of John McCain because of his reform agenda, said she was “absolutely thrilled” with the pick of Sarah Palin. Morey thinks Palin has demonstrated her ability to create effective change through her work as Alaska’s governor
The Georgia delegation was honored to have T. Boone Pickens at breakfast today, along with U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson; Secretary of State Karen Handel; Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, Insurance and Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine; Cobb County Board of Commissioners Chairman Sam Olens; and Georgia House Speaker Glenn Richardson.
While Pickens stressed the need for alternative energy to the Georgia delegation, Georgia leaders, such as Karen Handel, injected another level of energy into the Georgia delegation when she spoke of John McCain, Sarah Palin and the election. Handel started out saying that Palin is “the real deal” and that the McCain-Palin ticket brings “a little less talk and a lot more action” to the table.
Finally, Handel discussed voter registration in Georgia and informed the delegation that the secretary of state’s Office has noticed that women are the largest group of new voter registrants this year. After hearing Palin last night and Handel today, I am confident that many of the “soccer moms” in Georgia will soon be “hockey moms.”
The Georgia delegation is in great spirits and ready for a big night tonight and a great John McCain speech.
Comments
By TooMuch
September 4, 2008 8:46 PM | Link to this
What strikes me is that the “base” want to keep the status quo. Again, this is about making sure the profiters continue to gain and the poor and middle class remain loyal to staying in their place in society so that these “superior beings” can be happy. Surely, Mike Huckabee’s comment resonates loud and clear that basically Democrats are poor and waiting on the government to take care of them, that is why he became a Republican instead. Then John Mc has no less than 7 houses across time zones and at least hundreds of millions of dollars at his disposal. Then don’t forget the fact that he stated middle class is folks who have at least 5 millions bucks. WOW, and guess what mindset was represented in what we seen last night? That the ordinary steel working, community organizing, democratic touting poor and middle class person should do as they do, rob, steal or whatever to take advantage of a people who for all intents and purposes mistakenly continue to subscribe to the rhetoric. Which time and time (last 8 years) has been nothing more than a ploy to keep american families in the rut the country is experiencing as we all witness for ourselves. At least those who have less than 5 million dollars.