RNC!

Jason and I went to the 2008 RNC Delegate Welcoming Party at the Minneapolis Convention Center on Sunday evening. We were treated to the red carpet! The first red carpet I have ever been on! We entered and people treated us like royalty! It was so much fun and there were so many delegates there. They treated us to the Civic Fest that has been going on. The Civic Fest is an exhibit with historic memorabilia and artifacts. They also had a ton of food which was catered. I am not kidding you when I say that there was a food table every three feet! I was so full afterwards, I didn't think I could eat for a week! There were also bars, you could have any mixed drink, beer, soda and water. Anything your heart desired was there.

These were dresses worn by First Lady's. Of course I didn't write down who they were and didn't quite get the names in the pictures. They were so petite though! The dress on the left is Laura Bush's gown. They had a picture of when she wore it.

This limousine was President Ronald Reagan's. He actually had it altered, if you notice it is taller than most limousine's. He wanted to be able to see the people out the window and wear his cowboy hat, so he had the roof lifted 3" and the glass was also made to be taller. You can see he rode in style, love the blue velvet! It is privately owned and the fest was just renting it.

This was President Franklin D. Roosevelt's car when he was President. He also had the doors altered to make room for his wheelchair and a ramp was added so he could get in and out with ease.

I was so glad that I had the opportunity to go. It was so much fun and we talked to many delegates. You could really tell the ones from Texas, they love their state and definitely dress to show it! All the delegates were very nice and were very happy to be in Minnesota for the Republican National Convention.

RNC!!

On Monday, Labor Day, Jason had to work (he ended up working 5:30a.m. to 8:00p.m., we got home at 9:00 p.m. and sure enough he got a phone call so he ended up working at home until after 10:00 p.m.) and I had the day off so I figured I would take the opportunity to go downtown and see what was happening at the RNC. I ended up getting downtown around 10:30 a.m. and Jason and I went for a quick breakfast/lunch. Unfortunately, Jason had to go back to work, but I had my camera and walked around taking pictures all over Saint Paul. I probably walked 5,000 miles, maybe not that many but it sure felt like I walked a ton. Plus, a lot of the roads/sidewalks were closed so I really had to detour around town.

I started my trek by going to the Cathedral and the Capital Mall where all the protestors were protesting. I was able to get onto the Capitol steps (only media was allowed up, but they were nice enough to let me go up) and take pictures to show how many protestors actually were there. It was just packed and it smelled really bad! You could tell that many of them didn't find taking a shower a requirement for their day!! The trees cover some of the protestors but there are just a ton of them.

I headed back downtown. The buses with the delegates were trying to get to the Xcel for the convention but as you can see protestors started taking over the streets. The police quickly got involved and the buses were eventually able to make it through. They did this for every bus that came through. The road was blocked off for the buses, thus no other traffic.

As the day went on the protestors became rioting and started being hostile so the National Guard was called in. I was getting a little worried by this time because hundreds, maybe thousands of protestors starting trashing Kellogg Blvd. and becoming unruly. It was definitely not a safe place for those of us on the sidewalk.

As you can see the hundreds of National Guard members were taking back Kellogg Blvd and Wabasha. In the background you can see the SWAT members trying to push the protestors back. A little after this photo was taken all the SWAT members and National Guard members were ordered to put on their gas masks.

I started following the SWAT members who were trying to get order and prevent the protestors from destructing the City. There was tear gas and pepper spray. I could feel a little tingle in my eyes and nose and I was fairly far away. The majority of protestors were either wearing gas masks or bandanas over their face, obviously prepared that when they were rioting that the police would have no other choice to keep themselves safe and those of us abiding by the law safe, without using pepper spray/tear gas. I also think they wore them to hide their faces so if pictures were taken of them no one would know who they were so they couldn't be prosecuted. In the news there was a police officer arresting a protestor and out of the crowd another protestor, completely in black with a black mask, hit the police officer. They know that they are going to be causing destruction and assaulting police officers so they wear the masks so they won't be arrested. Childish if you ask me.

The SWAT team was able to push the protestors back to Shephard Road. Unfortunately that is the way home and the road was closed off. Thank you protestors for making me take the long route home. Really appreciate it.

I am all for freedom of speech but when protestors make me fear for my safety I say enough is enough. I am so glad that the SWAT and National Guard was there to protect me. Protestors also broke windows in the Macy building and damaged a Police car. I will say that the protestors, many of them, were really only out to cause destruction and chaos in the City. I love how I live here 365 days a year and these people have the audacity to come here and completely destroy my City and then blame the cops for causing this, it is completely ridiculous. The police were very nice to me. They always said hi and if I didn't know where the street was closed off, they would give me directions to where I wanted to go. I noticed many people asking police for help for directions and never once did I see a police officer not treat them with respect and kindness. Oh, and lastly, a woman protestor told me that they were just yards away when a bunch of protestors smashed the cop car and broke the windows, I replied "Anything for publicity" to which she replied "It is better that the protestors get publicity than this administration". Really? Honestly? I cannot believe that people actually feel this way. If you feel that you have been wronged make sure you break the law in a big way to get publicity because that may make you feel better. I have many more pictures of the Civic Fest and downtown Saint Paul on my blog, so check it out.

Did anyone see Sarah Palin speak last night? When McCain asked her to be his running mate, I was completely shocked. I thought he lost his mind. Well, I couldn’t stop watching her speak. She is amazing! She is so real, unlike the Washington elites. I wish she was running for President so I could actually have someone to vote for! She is the only one with executive experience, and unlike Obama, she hasn’t spent 3/4 of her political career running for President. I loved how she spoke her mind and didn’t care if people or the media agreed with it. She really stuck it to Obama and I was laughing my butt off throughout her entire speech, she really can hold her own!!

Lindsay