We Are Better Than That, at Six-Pack

Wow, day one of CPAC was wild. When we arrived in the morning, we sat down and got to hear Michele Bachmann as the opening speaker. She gave a strong speech with a lot of great points and it was an incredible way to start the conference.

Poorvie and I went to find a coffee, we ended up with a bunch of stolen candy and koozies instead. We found the stands set up downstairs and way too much fun collecting free things and gathering new information. And out of curiosity, we stopped at a stand with a tv and ended up dancing for a chance to win a signed copy of Sarah Palin's book. I was the first one to play their game so my score wasn't the highest but it was fun and entertaining for everyone in the room.But before that, I noticed a stand with the famous commercial titled "We Are Better Than That" from a man who ran for Alabama Agriculture Commissioner in 2010, Dale Peterson.



I freaked out and asked the people if he was at the conference and they told me he was and would be back soon. So I grabbed one of the cowboy hats with his button on it and explored until I heard he was back. I talked to him for a bit and took pictures with him. And with all the great speakers of the day, that was the most exciting thing for me. I absolutely loved him.

So then we came back to the ballroom to hear Mitch McConnell and waved our red towels when he came on stage and yelled extremely loud. He gave a great speech, but we didn't get the shout out we wanted. And he was followed by a surprise speech by Newt Gingrich. He came out to eye of the tiger and walked right by our group. He was a fantastic speaker, but slipped up and said six pack. It was very funny and kept everyone focused on the messages and importance of his speech.
Some of the most eventful speeches came towards the end of the day. Donald Trump was my favorite speaker overall. He sold himself well and it will be interesting to see him in the next few months. But some of the campaign for liberty followers were a little disrespectful towards him booing and yelling "Ron Paul" while he was speaking. But Trump being as fantastic as he is took it like a champ and gave it right back to them letting the audience know that Ron Paul has no chance at the presidency. I loved his speech and look forward to following his actions over the next few months.

But the most shocking moment came soon after Trump's speech. The liberty lovers stayed around after Rand Paul spoke to instigate a little more. Rumsfeld was about to be honored with an award and they were upset enough about that, but a surprise visit from Dick Cheney to introduce Rumsfeld provoked a real stir. A man stood up and told the former Vice President that he was a war criminal. Secret Service came out of nowhere and followed the man. It was truly an eye opening moment for me personally. The party is clearly not as united as people would like to think. I believe in free speech and I feel very strongly about everyone being entitled to their own opinion, but the amount of disrespect was almost unbelievable. It was discouraging.

But the day turned around again when a few of us waited in line and were able to meet and take a picture with Michele Bachmann. She was very kind and told me that I was drop dead gorgeous. That was without a doubt the highlight of my day. With the picture, we got a ticket that awarded us with a drink on Michele's tab.

Overall it was a wonderful day and I am amazed by all the things I experience in a few short hours. I absolutely love it!