http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-ZI0vui1OE
Youtube was limiting what we could say, and even labeled the booth "Why I nominate McCain" the next day. Look for Lori Shewmaker's video, too. I will pull no punches, if there are misunderstandings to be cleared I hope they will be cleared publicly. Things happened that I am quite upset about, and I will simply put all I saw on the table.

Sunday:

Our first official function as delegates was to attend a reception for all delegates and alternates. There was an open bar and many tables of finger-foods. We were admitted to "Civic Fest" at no charge also.

We do not know who footed the bill. At that point, I knew all of us had spent a great deal of time and money to get there, and felt we deserved a little party for our efforts. I had some food, a couple of drinks, and enjoyed the displays. I tried to chat up a few people, but the delegates would only be friendly if I discussed which first lady wore the tackiest dress or some such inane topic. The people guarding the displays were more interested in politics, so I chatted with them mostly. It seems Minnesota is mostly Democrats who are as disgusted as I am. A few other Ron Paul supporters were located but nothing of much consequence was accomplished.

We went to the reception for Ron Paul delegates and alternates next. There was a much more modest bar that was paid for by the C4L or donors, not any multi-national corporation. I screwed up my courage and walked right up to Dr. Paul and confessed I was the trouble-maker from Idaho. I was fully prepared to be chastised, told to settle my happy ass down, what have you. He smiled ever so sweetly and said "Well, that's nice." He then shook my hand and we had a photo snapped, where his smile is about as big as mine. Hmmmm.... maybe the good doctor can appreciate a bit of rabble rousing...? The rest of the evening was a delight. Spending time in a room packed full of people who "get it" was uplifting in a way that defies description.

Monday:

We were invited to breakfast by the BNSF Railroad. We got on the shuttle bus, and arrived at the station where we were greeted at 10:00 AM by an open bar and live band. I have no objection to alcohol, and when camping I will spice my coffee with a splash of Bailey's, but I really believed I was going to perform a sacred service to my fellow Americans that afternoon, and starting the day with an open bar seemed inappropriate to me. There was food; the finger foods that corporations can get away with and not be crossing any legal lines for bribery. After 30 or 40 minutes we actually managed to find some of it and ate enough cold breakfast burrito to sustain life for the morning. We did chat with a few people at last, but found the Montana delegation we were dining with to be quite hostile if they caught a whiff of "Ron Paul" on your breath. As Ron Paul delegates, we were opening the conversation with it, trying to show them the face of middle aged, articulate people with conservative values and no tin hat... We did enjoy seeing our delegation behave with dignity. They were kind to us, and we did not see anyone hanging at the bar at 10:00 AM that we knew, although we sat inside and were not watching it, either. One of the Idaho McCain delegates sang the state song a Capella, a brave and talented woman!

Hurricane Gustav caused the McCain campaign to change the plans. To be clear, this "Convention" was completely controlled by the McCain campaign, the RNC simply rubber stamped it. Our first session was shortened by about five hours and all we did was "business." We were bussed around back so we never saw any protesters, but we saw MANY heavily armed police. 3500 we later learned, enough that each delegate could have had and armed escort, but that is not good fear-mongering. The committees issued their reports and when the credentials committee report was voted on I objected. My tiny little "No" could barely be heard, but I was not going to let the travesty in Nevada go without an objection. My husband's "No" was much less timid and a few heads jerked around to look at him, but they did smile. When the vote for the platform came up we were again going to voice our token objection but we were not given the chance. The Chair asked for the "Nays" then slammed the gavel as he asked. I am guessing Mark's
"No" carried further than I realized. Here, as the actual business of the Convention was being carried out, not a bite of food not a drop of water was offered to us. At one point, we saw carts begin to get wheeled about with bottles of water, so Mark grabbed one as it went by. The woman turned, snatched it out of his hand and told him it was going to one of the media suites. Eventually we did manage to procure a bottle of water and a bag of potato chips. Every attempt to talk politics is shut down; we realize even a sympathetic person would be a fool to admit it here.

We went to the concert. As with pretty much every time we got in the car, we got lost. Mark and I are usually a precision team, I navigate, he drives, we never get lost. But between having the river wind all through the cities and Mark and me chatting more than driving navigating... We took the scenic route everywhere, OK? Can we leave it at that? We arrived as Aimee Allen was singing, bummer to miss some of that. However, we did get to hear both her revolution songs, and the anthem twice. She simply rocks the Kazbah. As did the good doctor. He was on FIRE, if you have not seen the video go find it. I am sure someone has posted it. It was an incredible evening, the first time I ever got to chant "END THE FED" and have it REVERBERATE (in an open stadium!) there were so many chanting. Ralph Smead and Maurice Clements were there, bless their hearts. These elderly gentleman have amazing stamina, especially when Liberty and their dear friend Dr. Paul needs them. It was truly an honor to spend time with these fine Idaho Patriots!

Tuesday: We were scheduled to have breakfast courtesy of ATT, but we have no stomach for it. Mark has realized we are already being courted by the lobbyists, and we decide we will eat on our damned credit card rather than let ATT or any other corporation buy us breakfast. Brandon and Lori were depending on us for transportation, but they will have to tell their own stories. It seemed to me they agreed and came and went with us of their own free will. We slept in, we were still exhausted from the drive. We had discovered a screw in the tire and been driving on faith for a day and a half, we decided to use the morning to fix that. OK... two new tires and a round of games with the credit card people later we are now running late as hell for the Rally for the Republic. After a lovely scenic drive there... we had the most amazing time of the entire event. Jesse Ventura proved to me what I have suspected all along. If Dr. Paul is not a closet "truther," he is the only person in this movement who is not. The place went WILD. It is SO comforting to know that for all the "we have to not talk about that" crap we have tolerated that you all are really out there, and you KNOW what I know. Mark and I picked four "pet" alternates; we had given our delegate credentials to Nate and Melissa for the night. A rumor went around the floor that our credentials would be taken if we skipped the RNC, so I called Shirley. Through a message reply, she assured us we were fine. However, the rumor cleared the rally of most of the delegates and so the entire audience was invited to come down and find a seat. Every minute of this was on C-Span, I hear. Go watch. Aimee Allen and Dr. Paul were like the two paddles of the defibrillator getting the heart of the Constitution beating again. It was the historic event of my lifetime I suspect, but time will tell.

Wednesday:

Enough playing "their way." We have been instructed over and over to be mellow at the RNC, it is McCain's party, let it go. We are asked to build relationships, but I do not WANT relationships with the people who are in control of this party, I want them replaced. The kind, good people I want to replace them with are NOT going to discuss any form of dissent at the RNC, so we decide to go where the dissenters have gathered. There is a MSNBC stage set up, and protesters have gathered there. We go talk to them and tell them they have to get involved, democrats too. We tell them our national level is lost to us, we must begin at the bottom and start again. NOW we are getting somewhere. I am making friends left, right and center. A few want to talk Obama / McCain, but we refuse. "It is International banking cartel versus the humans," I say and I laugh, and they laugh and agree. Lori Shewmaker found something even deeper in her soul that day I do believe; that tiny lady is a little freedom fairy! We talked to the cops as much as the protesters, and said things like "police state" and "excessive force" and many of them showed genuine understanding. They would not speak to Mark unless I approached first, victims of fearmongering themselves I suppose. The time came for us to take the Convention floor again. We were stuck changing clothes in the car, but a girl gets pretty good at that stunt in the mountains of Idaho. I can put on a full neoprene wetsuit discreetly, a skirt and blouse is easy. Walking in allowed us to interact with the police, and we thanked them and ribbed them about being overdressed. I would confess to being a Ron Paul person and assure them they would not need there billy clubs. And I would always point to the protesters and say I was glad they were there too, because we have to change this nation and that is how peaceful change happens. Walking through some back hallway, we come upon a group of giggling girls posing with Karl Rove. I get about ten feet away, and in my voice hoarse from protest I growl "People are waking up, Karl!" One of the girls looked at me with wide eyes, and hand clasped over her mouth. I hope she learned that she does not need to be afraid to speak. I spun on my heels and walked away without looking back, truly half expecting to be tazed any moment! But with my dear husband covering my back, I knew I was also well protected.

Mark and I reach to floor and find each chair has a sign (something we are forbidden from bringing in) and instructions. It tells us how to wave our sign and what to chant. Our state chairman finds us and tells us the Idaho vote will be recorded as 26 delegates for John McCain. Our 6 Ron Paul bound delegates will not be mentioned at all, we have completely wasted our entire trip. We had very low expectations, but to be robbed of our tiny little vote at the last minute was despicable, and I have lost whatever shred of respect I may have had for our state Chairman. The candidate who announced it, Jim Risch, LIED on National television to promote an illusion of party unity. I will not support ANY candidate involved in that charade, Phil Hart included. We later were told that the breakfast we had skipped that morning was not a corporate one, but an unannounced MEETING of Idaho's delegation. Our fellow Ron Paul delegates agreed to that decision without so much as making a phone call to ask our opinion.

So, there we stood, all dressed up and ready to be muzzled, Lew Moore approached as Norm indicated two McCain supporters who wanted our credentials, and Lew said it was the right thing to do. We gave them to them and we left. We went back to Red Wing and had dinner and watched a ball game. We chatted up the waiter and learned that NO one can serve local ground beef now. All restaurants must buy their meat from government approved meat factories. When we got to a hotel room, we at last succumbed to curiosity and turned on the coronation. I urged my companions to give Sarah a chance as her speech was being highlighted on the news. Thirty seconds of warmongering later I heard all I needed to know. To watch the press, especially Bill Kristol, fawn over her, has cemented my opinion.

Thursday:

Peace march today! As we drive around looking for it, we pass a line of at least twenty SUVs filled with police. Mark rolls down the window and flashes a peace sign, we all follow his lead. Nearly every car flashed a peace sing back, it was so amazing! We had "Ron Paul" stickers on all four sides, they knew who we were. Then near the end one guy flashed the Mason hand sign – very creepy. We approach the protesters with our credentials displayed this time; no more hiding. We know who will listen to our message and we take our message to them. I use a sharpie to put a peace sign on my red scarf, Lori and I brandish it like a sign. We grab our credentials and introduce ourselves to the people gathered at the capitol, preparing to march. "Republican delegates for peace" we say, and we say it a thousand times over and over as we march with these people. We proudly marched with Code Pink, Vets for Peace, even another Ron Paul "stealth" alternate flashed a credential from his pocket at us. We were interviewed over and over; the message that there were people inside the party fighting for peace was a message of hope these people never expected. And when we told them "YOU have to get in and clean up your party, because it is NOT Democrat or Republican" they knew we spoke the truth. We hope we made many fine future ADVERSARIES that day! It would be my great honor to sit across the aisle from these people, if they were to replace Nancy Pelosi and her ilk.

Our last night, it is Lori and Brandon's turn on the floor. Brandon wears his "Ron Paul Revolution" sweatshirt, I am so proud to know this brave young man. He takes a tie, just in case, and it has "NO WAR" and a peace sign on it. Lori takes the scarf, I rip a bag and make a small "TROOPS HOME NOW" sign. I put a peace sign on my chest and back in sharpie. If I am getting tazed, I am going out big. Thankfully, no one got to see my peace signs!

We went to the third floor and walked the halls outside the suites where the powerful people get snockered. We hand out "PSST" cards by smiling and saying "A quick message for our Conservative friends" and most people take them. I hope a seed or two was planted, or at least a neo-con or two was unnerved. We started to leave with another couple of disgusted Ron Paul supporters, but decide to drink their free booze at least and go to the basement. We have a couple of drinks and watch the king get crowned, although apparently it is the queen we are all to hail. (I'll hail her if someone else can cover the locusts and pestilence, OK?) At last the game is over, we head upstairs into the sea of revellers. Mark starts saying the truth, every to everyone. "Tax and Bomb is a bad policy" "Vote McBama, the only corporate choice" and even a round of "Vote with your pecker, Palin is cute." The "9-11 was an inside job" was the real shocker, but no one stopped him. I watched as Alanna, sporting her "I (heart) Palin" pin gave an interview I did not think represented Idaho Ron Paul supporters, so I whipped out my sign and asked them to interview me, too. Somewhere there is video of Mark and I sporting a "Troops home now" sign in the RNC giving an interview. If you find it, let me know! After the interview, I held the sign and continued to deride "Tax and Bomb" economics. At last, a woman snatched the sign from my hand, and THAT is when a cop escorted us out. She asked Mark to come with her, actually, and Mark said we were just leaving and it worked. I find it interesting that when I had my personal property stolen the cop came after me...

So, there is my report to you, the voters I tried to represent. Please feel free to grade my efforts, but know that we did the best we could at every moment. There was constant pressure from Drew Ivers and Lew Moore NOT to make trouble at the RNC, or I would have been SCREAMING. I hope you all will find my efforts satisfactory. If I recall more "good stuff" I will add it. I want to say that Brandon and Lori, who stepped up at the last minute to fill holes left in our delegation, are two of the finest Patriots in Idaho. It was an honor to spend time with them, and I know these two will leave an indelible mark on history!

Claire and Mark

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