Yantis Green 

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Texas Breakfast

Prolife Luncheon with VP nominee Gov. Sarah Palin

Texas Delegation group photo

6:30 to 11 pm Session III 

Speakers

Mrs. Cindy McCain, VP nominee Gov. Sarah Palin, Gov. Bobby Jindal, Mitt Romney, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, and others. 

September3, 2008

Today is the day of the strong conservative Republican Woman.  The Texas delegation heard from Texas First Lady Anita Perry this morning.  She updated the delegates on the hurricane relief efforts under Governor Perry back home.  Then came U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison who reminded us that the Republican Party has the plan to solve energy needs by drilling here and diversifying the energy portfolio.  The Republican Party will strengthen families by opposing abortion and gay marriage. And the Party will win the war on terror and give the troops the tools they need. 

September 3, 2008

What a difference a day makes!  We finished day 1 in St. Paul with appearances by first lady Laura Bush, who was accompanied by Jhon McCain's wife Cindy.  Both urged delegates to pray for the people along the Gulf Coast who are dealing with the effects of Hurricane Gustav and to donate to the Gulf Coast states' relief efforts.  Delegates and alternates on Monday were upbeat with the news that the hurricane, while devastating, wasn't as bad as it could have been. 

     Delegates went about the business of the convention by approving rules, credentials and the party platform.  I stayed up late Monday night reading the 2008 Republican Platform, which we were told was the most conservative one ever written.  

     We were well informed. 

     The platform is dedicated to

     "...heroes proved

     In liberating strife

     Who more than self their country loved

     And mercy more than life."

     The lines are from "America the Beautiful."

     My seat was on the front row just off the convention floor.  Texas has a delegation second in size only to California, but we had two sections and two Texas signs - the only state with more than one.  When you see the Texas delegation from above, the sea of cowboy hats is immediately recognizable. 

     From my vantage point, I got to see up close the throngs of reporters and camera operators who were making their way along the floor interviewing delegates.  I was interviewed by the New York Post and later by a German television station.  Most of the questions focused on presumed vice presidential nominee Alaska Gov. Sara Palin's family.  From my seat, I watched former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney while he was interviewed on Fox News.

     I went to dinner last night with two other delegates, Greg Simmons and his wife from Midland, and Leon County Commissioner Dean Player.  He asked me to say hello to Tom Green County Commissioner Richard Easingwood.  I will when I get home. 

     We walked about three blocks from the hotel to a restaurant through a series of skywalks between the buildings, like the one from Shannon Medical Center to the Women's and Children's Center.  We decided that those enclosed walkways are necessary in the Minnesota winters. 

     We also attended a reception on the top floor of our hotel, the Crowne-Plaza Riverfront.  The room has windows overlooking the beautiful Mississippi River and offered a view of protestors being confronted by police in riot gear on the street below.  One of the signs the protestors had said, "Make Out not War."  I saw on TV that while we were inside the Xcel Center praying for people along the Gulf Coast, the protestors were breaking windows and confronting police outside.  The protests reminded me of the 1960s.

     We were thrilled Tuesdy morning at the Texas Delegation breakfast to be greeted by John McCain's 96-year-old mother.  Roberta McCain told us that her mother was born in Cleburne, Texas, and she considers herself a Texan, at least for today.  Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee received several standing ovations from the Texas delegation Tuesday morning.  He told us that he was going to the Alabama convention after the Texas breakfast.  Huckabee said all the Wal-Mart stores in Alabama sold out of ammunition.  He explained that apparently they heard the Russians had invaded Georgia and they just wanted to be prepared!

    We also heard from Gov. Rick Perry, who spoke to us by phone and offered an update on the hurricane relief efforts.  Former U.S. Senator Gary Bauer, former U.S. Congressman Henry Bonilla, and former Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings also checked in with the Texas delegation, but you could've heard a pin drop in the room when former P.O.W. James Warner talked about his time with John McCain in the Hanoi Hilton.  Warner introduced himself as a friend of McCain in six languages, explaining that some Americans are fluent in more than one language dispite what Barrack Obama might think.

     I received a camouflage bandana with the 91st Psalm on it from one of the Texas delegates who was giving them to everyone who had a family member serving in the military an currently deployed.  Our Marine Corps son left last week for the Middle East.  It was a touching gesture, and I'll wear it proudly.