Ok, I'm sure I will have more later but that speech from Mitt Romney was exactly what I wanted to hear. He gave his 5 point plan and I am completely on board! I want the America he laid out for us. 

I have much to say about this but it has to wait til morning.

Go ahead....make my day

Clint Eastwood was hysterical. He was right...we own this country. Politicians work for us. I loved his mock interview of Obama with no answers (much like obama's leadership).

Not sure what Craig Romney said in Spanish but it sounded good:)
Jeb Bush is now talking about the essence of education and parental choice for education. We need to put students first. We need strong teachers. He made a good point....we can choose to help the unions or choose to help kids. I believe we need to choose to put kids first.

Final  night! Listening to Newt. Excitement is building and I have a great seat for all the action. Should be a fun and inspiring night.

Karl Rove with the Ohio delegation

We were so fortunate today to have Karl Rove join our delegation for breakfast.  He is always interesting to listen to and has such keen insight as to how this election is truly shaping up.
He was introduced by Justice Robert Cupp who has some long-time ties to Mr. Rove. Rove actually introduced Justice Cupp to his wife, Libby, many years ago back when they were all Young Republicans.
Justice Cupp, Justice O'Donnell and Judge Sharon Kennedy all spoke at this breakfast about the importance of voting in judicial races and particularly in their races for the Ohio Supreme Court.
This event was closed to the media but I'll tell you - it was fun to hear Mr. Rove share his personal stories about his political life.

Session tonight started in a few hours.....I'm so excited to hear Gov. Romney!  Off to get ready!

Wednesday night session

 
Wow! What a great night!  I'll just start with Paul Ryan since he was just energetic and a dynamic speaker! So many good points but I love the following said by Paul Ryan:
“We will not duck the tough issues, we will lead. We will not spend four years blaming others, we will take responsibility. We will not try to replace our founding principles, we will reapply our founding principles. The work ahead will be hard.  These times demand the best of us – all of us, but we can do this.  Together, we can do this. We can get this country working again.  We can get this economy growing again.  We can make the safety net safe again.  We can do this. Whatever your political party, let’s come together for the sake of our country.  Join Mitt Romney and me.  Let’s give this effort everything we have.  Let’s see this through all the way.  Let’s get this done.”
Enough said.
I also loved the touching aspect of his talk about his family and his faith.  When he choked up from talking about his Mom as his hero it was just so moving.  What a great man with great traditional family values.
Also speaking last night was Governor Mitch McConnell, Condoleezza Rice and Ohio's Senator Rob Portman!  One great speech right after another.

Senator Portman delivered a great address!  I loved his joke about how he was on the short list to be Veep but the list just wasn't short enough.

Wednesday

Conventions are fun but also very exhausting! I'm taking it easy today during the day.  Sessions go until 11pm and then there are always events after....and sometimes they go pretty late. One of the fun aspects of the conventions are the receptions.  Last night I was fortunate enough to go to one that had Herman Cain, Sean Hannity, and a concert from Trace Adkins. Good times!  I also went to a reception at the Aquarium hosted by Senator Rob Portman.  Great place to have an event. Check out the penguin....

So it's now Wednesday afternoon and there are various receptions and events but I need a bit of a break.  I did attend the breakfast event at 8:30AM. There was another round of good speakers for the Ohio Delegation including Andrea Tantaros, Co-host of Fox News Channel's "The Five". Also speaking today were  RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, Condoleezza Rice and Tagg Romney. We are so lucky that our Ohio Delegation has so many interesting people who want to come and talk with us. Each gave an interesting update and got the delegation pretty motivated and excited for tonight. 

I'm gearing up for tonight with the speech by Paul Ryan. I can't wait! Prior to his speech is our own great Senator Rob Portman.  Looking forward to hearing him!

More to come later....

Tuesday morning events

I mentioned that there was a breakfast on Tuesday morning hosted by Attorney General Mike DeWine. I just hadn't had a chance to tell you about it.

Nice event!  General DeWine gave the Ohio delegation an update on his many accomplishments since becoming Ohio's Attorney General.  He talked about the transformation of the crime lab which had many problems. He also told the crowd how much he enjoys his job as Attorney General and is appreciative of their support.

General DeWine introduced his good friend, Senator Rick Santorum.  The Senator showed his support of our candidate, Mitt Romney, as he talked about his agreement on Romney's view of what he wants to do for this country.  Mitt Romney  is "articulating our vision" for this country.
He agreed that Romney is running as a conservative and with Paul Ryan picked for Veep this just seals the deal with this conservative ticket.

Senator Santorum spoke about the fact that Government is not always the answer and dependency is not a good thing. Obama has been talking about how he expanded the food stamp program as though that's a good thing. Santorum commented that it's not a good thing because Obama is basically bragging about more people falling into poverty and needing help. That's not a good thing.

When Santorum spoke about Obama's assault on faith in America and religious liberty, he made the point that "President Obama wants you to live your faith to be consistent with what he thinks your faith should be." Strong words but seem to be true.

Tuesday night at the convention

I can't decide which speech I liked the best...toss up between Ann Romney and Chris Christie. Both were great!  This was a great first night of speeches.  

The day was extremely long but so worth it with the list of superior speakers like Governor Bob McDonnell, Governor Scott Walker and Senator Rick Santorum. Governor Kasich kept the entire Ohio Delegation on their feet with his very energetic speech. He let everyone know the great things he has been doing in Ohio and how unemployment in this state is down and things are getting better here. He said that in Ohio we were following the method of "tax, spend and duck," which is what many politicians do to avoid tough issues. He has a different approach to take things head on. Since becoming Governor he has balanced the budget without a tax increase in the state of Ohio.  This definitely had people cheering with appreciation. 

Ann Romney gave a very personal perspective about her life and her marriage to Mitt which was very touching. I just learned that she had never given a public speech like this before and I would never have guessed that based on the great job and how comfortable she seemed. She spoke about the challenges and hard times of their married lives and the joys of raising her family. She said that although people say she and Mitt have a storybook marriage it's really not true - but they have a real marriage!  She spoke with such love and such passion about her husband.  She then said that "America needs Mitt. This is the man who will wake up every day with the determination to solve the problems that others say can't be solved, to fix what others say is beyond repair. This is the man who will work harder than anyone so that we can work a little less hard."  

Governor Christie really had the place on their feet.  The New Jersey Republican is so impressive. He has been successful in Jersey with balancing the budget and lowering taxes - when most people didn't think it could happen. He sees Mitt Romney as the man we need to really be a leader for our country.   
He hit it dead on when he said "It's been easy for our leaders to say not us, and not now, in taking on the tough issues.  And we've stood silently by and let them get away with it.....We are demanding that our leaders stop tearing each other down, and work together to take action on the big things facing America."

Overview of Convention floor from nosebleed seats

Many of the speeches Tuesday night were really focused on family and had an emphasis on the role of the Mother in our families.  I loved when Gov. Christie spoke about his Mom being tough as nails and the driver of the family.  Ann Romney gave a lot of credit to women and especially to Moms. "It's the Moms of this nation -- single, married, widowed -- who really hold this country together." 

Had some trouble with the blog last night

Sorry for not having much up. I was trying to blog while at the convention but I have trouble with this site on my iPhone. Update coming soon....
Also I've had several people indicate difficulty posting comments. Not sure why but keep trying!

First night of session

We've officially completed roll call with our delegate count for Mitt Romney!  Very exciting to be a part of this process. Speaker Boehner is now speaking about how we need Change in this country and that change comes by electing Mitt Romney as President. He has the experience to lead us out of this bad economy and get this country back on track.
Lots more speeches tonight.

Opening of Republican National Convention

Just had the opening of the 2012 Republican National Convention! The excitement in the room is amazing! And once again, Ohio is pretty close to the action. Center of stage and right behind Michigan. The speeches are starting and Ohioans here are anxiously waiting to hear from Governor John Kasich!

More to come later ....

No session but plenty of speakers!

This morning kicked off with a breakfast hosted by Congressman Tiberi.  His guest speakers today included Senator Rob Portman, Josh Romney and Ari Fleischer.  

We are so lucky to have Rob Portman in the Senate!  He spoke about his great memories of Neil Armstrong and their friendship.  It was so moving. Ari Fleisher then spoke and made the point that we need to "send a jolt of economic adrenaline back into this economy that creates jobs, provides opportunities, lifts people out of poverty....delivers the growth that America has always excelled at. But under President Obama we failed that."  

I think everyone in the room agreed! Finally, Josh Romney spoke about his Dad and how he sees him as his hero.  He also spoke about his Mom and the importance of all that she did for her family.  It was so nice to listen to him talk about their family values and the closeness of the Romney family.  

A little later in the day we were honored to have a visit from former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.  He spoke to us about the state of our economy and the importance of energy to this country.  He explained that North Dakota is now the 2nd largest oil producer in the country.  We need to be more reliant on energy within this country and not dependent on those in other countries. We need to utilize the energy resources off our shores and under our feet.  Very interesting speech and so great to hear from him. 

After Newt's speech wrapped up we were told there was a tornado warning right here so we had to sit tight for a while.  Despite the rain and weather problems it was obvious that our Ohio delegation was focused and energized with the task of nominating Romney and Ryan!  

Session will actually take place tomorrow since the we cancelled today.  
Next up for today:  A reception hosted by Speaker Batchelder and Senate President Neihaus.

Pre-Convention - Rain is just starting!

So convention week is finally here!  I started the day off at Mass at St. John Vianney at St. Pete's Beach.  I only mention this because the Governor of Guam was at the same mass.  Kind of cool.

On to check in at the Ohio Delegation hotel....The Ohio Delegation is excited and ready for a great week of nominating Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan!  Despite the rain...Isaac won't ruin our spirits!
Brunch with Bill Kristol and Josh Mandel.  Nice event to get us going.  Kristol has some Ohio roots and he was pretty excited about Josh running this year for the Senate.  Josh is a great candidate who will be a tremendous asset to the US Senate.

Heading off to the Welcome party for the Ohio Delegation with Speaker Boehner.  See you later!

Hello and thanks for following this blog!

Hello, my fellow Americans and friends of the News Herald! I'll be blogging all throughout the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida. I'll post many details of the activities, speeches and exciting events happening all week. I am honored to be a delegate representing the 14th Congressional District and have been elected to serve on the RNC Credentials Committee for the Convention.

This should be a fun and exciting week of history in the making! I look forward to sharing the details with you. Thanks in advance for reading the blog and I hope you will participate with your comments and questions. Feel free to check out the official Convention site at http://2012tampa.com/.

Talk with you more as Convention week starts. I'm just heading down to Tampa now....