Submitted by Deidre Henderson, candidate for Utah Senate District 7, writing from the Republican National Convention, Tampa, Fla.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR – We left for the convention center around 2:00, excited and prepared for a long day. By prepared, I mean we brought food. My husband Gabe and I have been in Florida since last week. Saturday morning, in anticipation of a possible hurricane, we stocked up on snacks and water to store in the trunk of our rental car – just in case. Since Isaac ended up being a “category none” hurricane for Tampa, we’ve been munching on our snacks and sharing them around so they don’t go to waste.
When I got off the bus at the Times Forum, however, I was promptly required to throw away all the delicious treats I brought from the hotel. No outside food or drink, of course. But the only food available inside was pretty much limited to whole apples, stale soft pretzels and bags of peanuts, still in the shell (who even eats those?). My theory is, as a cruel joke, the Times Forum had Michelle Obama plan the concession menu.
Two highlights of the convention for our Utah delegation were listening to Rep. Jason Chaffetz (YouTube of Chaffetz’s speech below) and Congressional candidate Mia (Love) give their remarks. Congressman Chaffetz talked about how out-of-control our nation’s spending is. He said if you spend $1 million every day, it would take 3,000 years to spend $1 trillion dollars. Yet our president has managed to spend $5 trillion in less than four years. He also pointed out that we spend over $600 million every day just on interest on our national debt.
Mia Love made an orange splash last night during her convention speech. The huge bright orange buttons our delegation sported were a hit even before her remarks. I brought extra and was happy to share. During Mia’s speech, our Utah delegation enthusiastically waved orange towels in the air as a show of our proud support. Mia was awesome. After her speech, those orange buttons became quite the commodity. Everyone wanted one.
A-list speakers last night included Senate Candidate Ted Cruz, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, Ann Romney and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. It was a veritable feast of red meat sure to satisfy even the most ravenous political appetite.
The process to get back to the hotel was quite arduous. I figured it would be, so my husband Gabe and I sneaked out a few minutes early to catch the first bus back to the hotel. Others weren’t so lucky. I’m hearing tales this morning of people not arriving back until 2:00 and 3:00 in the morning. I hate being that person – you know, the one who leaves before the closing prayer at stake conference, or misses the final minutes of the basketball game to be the first one out the door to avoid the crowds. But I’m probably going to do it again.
This morning’s breakfast featured Governor Chris Christie. Or as Governor Herbert called him, “Chris Rock-the-House Christie.” More on that later.
Below is a video of Jason Chaffetz’s speech at the Republican National Convention on Aug. 28:
This letter is nothing but rambling drivel…