Hit The Floor Running

Last night, the Franklin Pierce students who are attending the Republican National Convention had the opportunity of a lifetime when they were given access to the convention floor.

 

Each student was granted half an hour on the floor to speak with the delegates, get interviews and experience the mayhem of the convention floor firsthand.  We spoke with delegates from all over the country and talked to them about issues such First in the Nation, McCain’s choice of Gov. Palin as vice president and responses to the convention as a whole.

 

Reactions from students ranged from joy, frustration, anxiety and shock.  Students made their way onto the floor to work amongst members of the international and national media and to experience a profound moment in the history of our country. 

 

I was on the floor for two of the most anticipated speakers of the convention — Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) and Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AK).  Between speakers, music would come on and the delegates would get out on the aisles and dance. 

 

As a young journalist, the most incredible part of the experience for me was watching the reporters from Fox News broadcasting live while I was standing right there!

 

From the floor, we each took the material we had collected and rushed to the press filing room so we could post our videos and stories. We were sitting with other members of the media, rushing to get our material out and loving every minute of it.

 

We didn’t just report on history last night, we lived it!

The Convention Floor

Just moments after writing my blog last night Molly approached me and said, “Are you ready.”  Of course I had no idea what she was talking about and curiously responded, “For what?”  After reality check and few deep breaths, I was walking onto the delegate floor.  I was surprised at how busy the floor was.  From my seat it seemed active, but nothing prepared me for the cutthroat attitude many of the reporters and photographers had on the floor.

I had a chance to speak with a few delegates about their experiences at the convention so far, and their anticipation of Sarah Palin’s speech.  They were all overly thrilled about the opportunity to potentially hear the next Vice President accept her nomination.  The delegates from Michigan were showing their support by sporting hockey jerseys for the hockey mom herself.  Keith Bulter a delegate from Michigan said, “Its electric here.  People have great anticipation of hearing Governor Palin speak tonight.”  I also had a chance to speak with Alaskan delegate Paul Verhagen who when I asked if he was excited about his governor speaking said, “Excited is an understatement.”

Tonight is the final night of the convention, where John McCain will officially accept his nomination for President, the millions of balloons will fall, and the crowd will be on their feet. 

-Erica Tomaszewski

Dole: N.H. Primary Is Overrated

Bob Dole’s feeling on the N.H. Primary.

 

 

-A.J. Kierstead

Ron Paul: This Is Much Bigger Than The Republican Party

 

Ron Paul’s Rally for the Republic took place only a few blocks from the Republican National Convention and brought a crowd of nearly ten thousand despite being publicized mostly through word of mouth and the internet.

 

For those who are not aware, Ron Paul is a ten term congressman from Texas who ran for the Republican nomination on a platform described by many as “old school” or “traditional” conservatism.  Throughout the primary season Paul maintained that his party had “lost its way,” after receiving criticism for advancing views seen by the Republican base as not in line with current views of the Republican Party.  The main example being that Paul was the only anti-war Republican.  This certainly led to some very heated exchanges on the debate stage.

 

At first, Paul was viewed as a dark horse in the Republican race.  I, myself, was at Paul’s first New Hampshire fundraiser.  It was held at a house in Bedford, New Hampshire and was attended by a little over one hundred people.  It was February, 2007 and Paul was at one or two percent in the polls.

 

I followed Paul’s campaign closely, and from February to November of 2007 I watched in amazement as Paul’s campaign defied even his own expectations.  In a column I wrote for the Pierce Arrow, Franklin Pierce University’s student run newspaper, shortly before the New Hampshire Primary in November of 2007, I summed up how far the campaign had advanced:

 

Political comedian Stephen Colbert even went so far as to flash a photograph of a monkey named ‘Binko’ on the screen during his show and announce that Binko had surpassed Ron Paul in the polls.Sorry Mr. Colbert, but according to a poll released on October 25 by Saint Anselm’s College’s Institute of Politics, Ron Paul has now risen to 7.4 Percent in the New Hampshire Republican Primary. This new poll places Paul ahead of the man that many thought would shake up the primary but so far has failed to create much fanfare, Senator Fred Thompson (R-TN).

 

 

 

Paul announced on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, in late October, that he is now number three in fundraising among the GOP candidates, raising more money than Senator John McCain last quarter. Paul’s number three fundraising position was further solidified shortly there after, when the Congressman’s campaign raised $4.2 million dollars during a one day fundraiser on November 5th. Since the fifth, Paul has raised an additional three million dollars which brings him roughly four and a half million short of his campaign’s goal of raising 12 million this quarter.

 

The campaign came to be known as the Ron Paul Revolution.  The lack of media coverage did not seem to be a problem, as his supporters seemed to be everywhere and intent on spreading their message whether those listening were receptive or not.  Other candidates complained about Paul’s supporters, and the media seemed frightened at times (Fox News commentator Sean Hannity was reportedly chased down the street and made to dodge snowballs hurled at him by Ron Paul’s fans.)  Regardless, Paul and his devoted followers pushed on and ran one of the most aggressive campaigns of the 2008 presidential primary.

 

So what happened?  Where did all of the momentum go?

 

Despite all of the donations, visible support, and unexpected public interest, Paul failed to gain the support of the majority of the Republican Party.  On June 12, 2008 Paul officially withdrew from the presidential race stating that his “resources could be better spent on improving America” because he believed that his campaign would fail.  Determined to keep his message visible, Paul announced around the same time that he was launching a new organization called Campaign for Liberty.

 

According to the Campaign for Liberty website, the organization’s goal is to “The mission of the Campaign for Liberty is to promote and defend the great American principles of individual liberty, constitutional government, sound money, free markets, and a noninterventionist foreign policy, by means of educational and political activity.”

 

One of the first actions of the Campaign for Liberty was to put together the event that took place today, the Rally for the Republic.  Most politicians and political movements often retreat into bitter obscurity after their message and goals fail to gain significant traction.  However, in the case of Congressman Ron Paul and his supporters things appear to be the total opposite.

 

As explained on the Rally for the Republic website the rally was to “be a celebration of our movement and our supporters, a launch party for the Campaign for Liberty, and a clear call to the Republican Party to return to its roots of limited government, personal responsibility, and protection of our natural rights. The event will run in conjunction with the first two days of the Republican National Convention and will feature top conservative speakers, musicians, and organizations. It will also have an organizational and training function for the Campaign for Liberty and the Freedom Movement.”

 

A celebration was what they aimed for, and a celebration was certainly what they got.  The rally ran for almost ten hours and the wide variety of speakers kept the audience of nearly 10,000 Ron Paul supporters hanging on nearly every word.  MSNBC’s Tucker Carlson performed the duty of Master of Ceremonies.  When asked if he agreed with all of Ron Paul’s views he laughed and said, “There are a bunch of issues I don’t agree with him on, but that’s the beauty of people like Ron Paul.  You don’t need to sign up to a twenty point program to be a Ron Paul fan.”

 

After a few words from Carlson, Matt Colvin stepped up on stage to sing the National Anthem.  Colvin is an active duty member of the U.S. Air Force and has served three tours in the Middle East.  The crowd rose instantaneously, placed their hands on their hearts, and joined Colvin as his chorus.

 

The first speaker was Barb Davis White.  White is running for the U.S. Congress in Minnesota’s fifth congressional district.  “I am running for Congress in the Fifth District here in Minnesota against Keith Ellison, and we’re taking the Fifth District back from liberalism, fascism, and socialism!”  The crowd cheered, White certainly knew her audience.  She ended her remarks with a prayer she had written, “Thank you, dear Heavenly Father for Dr. Ron Paul!  For his wife, for his children, and thank you for sharing him with all of us.  Thank you for his vision to take back this country for liberty, freedom, and justice for all!”

 

One by one the other speakers expressed praise for Ron Paul and shared with the crowd their knowledge of the issues so important to Paul and his followers; peace, adhering to the United States Constitution, less government intervention in the lives of Americans, abolishing the federal income tax, ending the wars in the Middle East, and abolishing the Federal Reserve System. 

 

The speakers included; chairman of the Conservative Caucus Howard Philips, author Lew Rockwell, author Bill Kaufman, presidential historian and New York Times best selling author Doug Wead, constitutional scholar and columnist Bruce Fein, former Governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura, President of Americans for Tax Reform Grover Norquist, the current Governor of Minnesota Gary Johnson, and former Congressman Barry Goldwater, jr.  There were also musical performances from Aimee Allen and Sarah Evans.

 

“The speaker besides Ron Paul that really stood out to me was Jesse Ventura,” said an older man in the audience sporting a Rally for the Republic t-shirt and a holding a sign that read “DUMP MCCAIN!”  Ventura spoke for close to half an hour to an obviously electrified crowd, who were so enthralled with his remarks that he had to pause from time to time to let the “Run, Jesse, Run!” chants die down.  “Let’s remember something,” said Ventura, “I am not a Democrat!  And I am not a Republican!  And I say that very proudly today because I think these two parties are destroying our country! Remember something if you will about voting.  Voting is not a horse race, voting is voting your heart and your conscience.  And when you do that, don’t ever, ever, let a Democrat or a Republican tell you you’ve wasted your vote!”

 

After an entire day of speakers one would think that Ron Paul’s supporters would be “revolutioned” out.  However, when Barry Goldwater, Jr. led the crowd into a “Ron Paul!” chant, the crowd was more energized and excited than it had seemed all day, and from the previous events one would think that a crowd could not get more energized and excited than they had been before Dr. Paul took the stage.

 

As Ron Paul took to the stage red, white, and blue confetti shot off from locations all around the auditorium and Paul stood and waved to the crowd for several minutes before the cheering died down so that he could speak.  Even after his national campaign, Paul still appeared very humbled by the affection and admiration of his supporters, “believe it or not, I still think of myself as a country doctor that has gone to Congress and I’m the quiet little Congressman from Texas,” he said, “And for thirty years I was rather quiet, but in the past eighteen months it was discovered that the ideas of liberty and the revolution was alive and well and we’re celebrating it here tonight!”

 

The crowd hung on Paul’s every word as he spoke about what had been accomplished during his campaign for President and assured his supporters not to be disappointed that they were not able to sway the Republican base back to it’s roots, ““This is much bigger than the Republican Party. . . . In a true revolution, believe me, the revolution does not occur within a single party.”

 

He added, “They asked me about what I wanted to do as President, you know, I really look at it differently.  I want to be President because of the things I don’t want to do!  I explained that I did not want to run people’s lives, I did not want to run the economy, and I did not want to run the world! They said, ‘well that sounds like a weak President.’ Well, I don’t think so, I think resisting the temptation of power and we don’t need more government power!”

 

Ron Paul closed his remarks by thanking his supporters for all their hard work and reminded them that their message needs to keep growing, “I sincerely believe that our day is coming. Could you imagine from going to those twelve spammers we had in the beginning to what we have here tonight!?  In eighteen months we had a thousand percent increase in energetic freedom fighters.  What if we had a thousand percent increase with those who are with us today.  We have a large crowd here tonight, but what about the country?  We’re not talking about ten thousand, we’re not talking about a hundred thousand, we’re not talking about the million point two who voted for our campaign in the election we’re talking about millions of people in this country and around the world who have heard this message and it’s growing and it seems like even they tried they can’t stop us!

 

One thing that has been truly unique has been watching Ron Paul take his message from that small house party in New Hampshire, energize thousands of people across the country, and leave the country with a movement and message much larger than just himself.  In an off stage interview with Barry Goldwater, Jr., when asked if the Rally was a “last gasp” he said, “This is the beginning! It [the revolution] will keep moving and growing.  These kids down here have gone to school and learned about politics and how to start a home grown organization.  They’re going to go back to their home states and develop a grass root organization of attracting people to the cause.  This is only the beginning.”

-Justin Martell

Jon Voight And The Secret Service

Right now I am sitting in the Press Filing Center at the Republican National Convention.  It is day three and I still cannot believe I am here attending delegation breakfasts, meeting politicians, and watching speeches in the Xcel Energy Center.  Yesterday I was fortunate enough to make my way to the arena floor.  I was just feet away from the red carpet, and was able to experience the backstage aspect of the convention.  It was on the arena floor that I saw interviews in the Fox News press box with Hannity and Colmes.   Also, Jon Voight, had just finished an interview with Fox News, and although he was too busy to take a picture I still shook his hand.  After I ran into Sway, a news anchor on MTV.  I could not believe what was happening and quickly blurted out that my dream job was to be a news anchor on MTV.  He told me that I could do it, I would just have to put hard work into it, a typically response from someone in the job you want, but it was much appreciated. 

A.J. and I continued our journey around the arena floor, bumping into everyone from esteemed members of the press to beauty queens.  Our experience was cut short when a member of the Secret Service informed us that we were not allowed in the area and that we needed to leave immediately.  A.J. and I found the nearest elevator and briskly walked in its direction.  When we arrived at the elevator we ran into Jon Voight for a second time, but again he was too busy for questions and photos.  The atmosphere was incredible on the arena floor and throughout the convention center.  After we made our way out of the restricted access area, A.J. and I met up with Molly, and we slipped passed security into the club section of the convention center.  We were sitting directly in front of the stage, and saw keynote speakers such as Fred Thompson, Laura Bush, and Joe Lieberman.  We also saw Orson Swindle whom we interviewed the day before.

 Day two of the convention was incredible, and we are already preparing for tonight.  We have acquired a floor pass for a few hours and will be rotating it between the student media members on this trip.  Tonight we will be able to see the reactions to the speakers from the floor, instead of in seats stories above.  Sarah Palin will be speaking tonight along with Rudy Giuliani. 

-Erica Tomaszewski

“Lets come together and make John McCain our Next President” -Lieberman

The roar of the crowd is constant with the steady stream of reasons why the nation should select John McCain for president of the United States.  First Lady Laura Bush introduced President George W. Bush, who talked via satellite link from Washington D. C., who could hardly get out two sentences without the crowd going wild.  Fred Thompson then hit the stage and did not fool around in any sense of the word.  He out right called Sen. Obama “the most inexperience comi’ to ever run for president,” which was proceeded by a standing ovation and laughter.  When Sen. Joseph Lieberman came on, he came across equally straight to the point, pointing out how strange it was for a democrat to come to the Republican National Convention and answering it with the fact that he believes that McCain is the right man, it has nothing to do with any party.  He pointed out that “eloquence is no substitute for a record” with Obama, and his lack of any bipartisanship and policy making makes him far from an obvious choice for president.  Across the board, all the speakers have pointed out Gov. Palin’s ability to “shake up” Alaska’s government, bringing them to the point that these two reformers can work as a great team and be productive if elected into office.

A. J. Kierstead

The Breakfast Club

This morning, the Franklin Pierce University students who are covering the RNC had the opportunity to report on the New Hampshire/South Carolina breakfast.

 

There were several key Republican speakers in attendance. The first guest to speak was Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez.  He spoke about John McCain’s experience, and how it is the job of the American people to “recruit” the next President. He then went on to speak about Sen. McCain’s running mate, Sarah Palin.  He discussed how Palin’s experience as Alaska’s governor made her the perfect candidate for Vice President.  “This is truly a ticket of reform,” Gutierrez said.

 

Colonel Lee Ellis, who was a POW during Vietnam, spoke of McCain’s courage, his devotion to the people and his willingness to sacrifice.  Following Ellis, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham introduced Cindy McCain, wife of Sen. John McCain.

 

Mrs. McCain began by praising the states of New Hampshire and South Carolina for all of their work during the primary season, “To all of you in New Hampshire and South Carolina, thank you,” McCain said.  She continued by discussing her plans for speaking during the convention.  During her speech, which is scheduled for Wednesday night, Mrs. McCain said she will be talking about the McCain family and giving guests an inside look of what the McCains are all about.

 

The final speaker was Rudy Giuliani.  Giuliani spoke of his respect for John McCain. “John McCain is a hero,” Giuliani said.  He continued by discussing McCain’s campaign and chuckled when he remembered one particularly memorable McCain quote. “I’d rather lose an election than lose a war,” a quote from a Republican debate earlier in the campaign season.  Giuliani has been continually impressed with the Senator’s ability to inspire people.  “The man stands for something, and in American politics that means something.”

The Drinks are on us

At Myth nightclub in St. Paul the Franklin Pierce University students were invited to a benefit concert to support the Hispanic Leadership Fund and the American Red Cross.  Daddy Yankee, a hip-hop artist from Puerto Rico, was the headliner of the event geared towards raising money for these organizations.  On the floor near the stage were fans of Daddy Yankee, but in the V.I.P. boxes up above were the delegates, honored guests, and other attendees of the Republican National Convention.  These members were given special treatment with free drinks and private rooms with televisions and sofas.  The delegates began to loosen up and donate to the causes, while the people on the floor enjoyed the concert.  There were two completely demographics at the concert, but everyone meshed well.   

Good Times! (RNC Edition)

The day began with a ride in the back of a police cruiser. Four lost Franklin Pierce University students were lucky to come across a St. Paul police officer willing to give us a ride to the Xcel Energy Center since the buses were not running do to the holiday. It was not until we arrived at the center that we realized we needed to be at the Hilton Hotel in Minneapolis. So, being resourceful college students we hailed the first cab we could find. Luckily it was a van, so we did not have to repeat the police ride over to the Xcel Energy Center. We hopped in the van and began our $34 cab ride over to Minneapolis.

We arrived late to the New Hampshire delegation breakfast at the Hilton in Minneapolis, but we were still warmly welcomed. We ate a hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon, potatoes, and sausage knowing well that we had a long day ahead of us. We listened to Doug McCain, John McCain’s son, speak about NH, and how important it is to the primaries. We also were able to interview Orson Swindle, who was a POW with John McCain. He spoke fondly of John McCain and how he will make a great President. Peter Spaulding, the New Hampshire delegation committee chair, was also willing to speak to student media about his experience at the convention so far.

After our breakfast we learned that Cindy McCain and First Lady Laura Bush would be visiting a telethon put on by the Republican National Convention to provide relief funds for the victims of Hurricane Gustav. We immediately volunteered to help. They asked us to take out our cell phones and start calling our family and friends to make donations. Naturally I picked up the phone and called my mom. She agreed to a $20, and I was on a roll. It was not until 30 seconds later I realized I was out of my league. The volunteer beside me collected a $10,000 donation. A few minutes later the volunteer in front of me received a $1,000,000 donation and the person beside me eagerly accepted the challenge to top that donation. We left the telethon without meeting Laura Bush or Cindy McCain.

Next we hopped on a bus to the convention center. Unfortunately our bus driver was not familiar with the directions and turned our planned 10-minute bus drive into a 40-minute adventure through St. Paul and Minnesota. We traveled on three different highways and turned around twice.

When we finally arrived at the convention center we were greeted by hundreds of protestors. We breezed through security and took our seats in the nosebleed section of the arena; however, we were hardly satisfied. Molly and I beat the system and took the fire exit staircase down to the club section. From there we were able to see the Chairman of the Republican National Convention, Robert Duncan officially open the ceremony. Speakers included a variety of delegates from across the nation. We also saw Cindy McCain and First Lady Laura Bush. There was a video presentation featuring the governors from Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, and Texas.

From the center we took a bus back to the Hilton. On the bus there were delegates from Texas and Louisiana talking about a benefit concert taking place tonight and how they needed to get rid of their extra tickets. The speaker from freshman orientation inspired me. He said you need to solve your own problems, and not to be afraid to take risks. With his advice in mind, I made my way up to the front of the bus and introduced myself. About 30 seconds later I had 8 tickets to the Daddy Yankee concert.

2 Press for Every Person

The convention has come to a start officially with the opening and the press is on top of it.  Walking around the River Center, which is basically the basement of the Xcel Center where the convention takes place, you see it is alive with countless press organizations chugging away to get the story in first.  On the top floor is radio row which is filled with at least forty booths with people broadcasting their shows or recording podcasts for future playback.  There is even satellite radio represented with Sirius and internet radio with Ustream.tv, the company we use for our radio station webcasting (piercemediagrouponline.com/wfpclp).  Going down stairs you see the collection of writers, all in front of computers submitting articles and collecting poll information from various polling agencies that are thrown randomly in the mix.  In the Xcel Center itself and even in the parking lot you get to see full fledged television studios in the field.  Fox has one of the largest set ups that takes up a decent sized parking lot, their tent looking like a warehouse and with a separate live studio overlooking the Xcel Center on a stage that is about thirty feet off the ground.  It is impressive by any standard, but is overwhelming to a broadcasting geek like myself.