This past weekend, I had the honor to attend the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference held at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island at the tip of northern Michigan. It was the largest conference they have had in thirty years with over 1,500 diehard Republicans in attendance to hear from our Republican presidential candidates.
The conference is an opportunity for the party faithful to get together and listen to speeches, attend workshops, and share ideas. While the press is in attendance at this conference, their access to candidates, receptions and what they can report is limited. This gives our candidates the opportunity to speak more candidly and off the cuff.
Conference attendees were able to see and hear from Rudy Giuliani, Duncan Hunter, Mitt Romney, John McCain, Ron Paul and Fred Thompson. Also, Newt Gingrich gave a one hour workshop on American Solutions.
All of the presidential candidates gave great and passionate speeches. Mayor Giuliani was first to speak on Friday night and focused on Islamic terrorism as well as comparing and contrasting Republican ideas with those of the Democrats ideas. He spoke of his success in turning New York City around, balancing the budget, cutting taxes and making it the safest large city in the county. He also spoke confidently of his assessment that he was the best candidate and the only one who could be competitive in all 50 states with the Democrats.
The final speaker of the conference on Saturday night was Senator McCain. He definitely received the loudest applause as he dealt exclusively with the Islamic terrorists and the war in Iraq. He spoke from the heart with passion and brought the crowd to its feet when he admonished Columbia University for inviting Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad.
In between, we heard Governor Romney speak about how we need to be Republicans for change. His messaged focused on how Republicans solve problems by being creative, open to new ideas and taking risks. We can secure our borders and solve the healthcare crisis without creating a new government bureaucracy.
Senator Thompson’s message was focused on his background and experienced and why he was qualified and ready to lead the country. He also talked extensively about why the GOP is far better than the Democrats.
Overall, it was a very positive experience and the overwhelming consensus was that Republican ideas are still the best ideas for America, but as Governor Romney said, “when Republicans act like Democrats, America loses.”
RANDY
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