Daisy and I got to go to the GOP State Dinner last night, because Big E is so nice to us and includes us in so many GOP reindeer games. We were excited to go, not just because Mike Pence was giving the keynote, but because it was the first opportunity for each of us to wear our fancy Louboutins. TOGETHER, no less.
When we got there, there was a cute little chick sort of directing everyone to where they needed to go, and we were informed that the “main” reception along with the registration/check-in area was upstairs, and that the VIP reception was downstairs. We went upstairs to check in, and were given name tags which indicated we were seated at Table #1, and VIP passes, which totally made us giggle, because that meant that Big E registered us as VIP’s, which is RIDICULOUS. We proceeded to ask the cute check-in girls if there were tiaras waiting for us behind the desk as well, but it turned out there were not. Clearly, there are limits to our VIPness.
Anyway, we headed to the VIP reception area where all sorts of important people were mingling, and we went straight for the bar. Daisy was pretty stoked to be able to drink after being pregnant for so long, and I was stoked too because I never have occasion to drink things like a gin and tonic unless I’m out somewhere fancy.
Murray Clark, the GOP State Chairman, made some quick opening remarks to introduce Mike Pence, who was there not only with his adorable wife Karen, but also with two of his brothers and their wives. One brother in particular looks JUST LIKE HIM. We decided we needed to get a picture taken with him, because we figured people don’t fuss over him nearly as much as they do his brother. He was reluctant at first, but then said it’d be ok as long as his wife could be in the photo too. It turned out his wife didn’t want to be in the photo, but TOOK the photo of us anyway, and then we introduced ourselves and she said, “YOU’RE the CHICKS??!? OMG!” and proceeded to take more pictures of us and we had tons of fun talking to her. She was so nice. And after that we giggled a bunch over the fact that Mike Pence’s sister-in-law knew who we were.
The Chicks with Mike and Karen Pence
Someone started ringing a cowbell, which apparently is the Marriott’s way of telling VIP’ers that it’s time to move to the dinner party room. So we all herded into the main dinner area, and sat down. We were seated next to one of the hotties who was in our Hunks On The Right calendar, Jamal Smith, and his totally foxy wife.
All of us snickered over the fact that there was a perfectly adorable chick who was assigned to sing the National Anthem before dinner, but she had to bring the lyrics with her, and she STILL messed up a line or two. Yikes. I mean, I understand nerves, but wow. That’s a song you kind of want to have down pat before you sing it at a GOP dinner. I’m just saying.
Anyway, we chatted it up for awhile with Dee Dee Benkie, GOP National Committeewoman, who is hilarious and a total blast and who we are going to be working closely with on a new project (details forthcoming). We had a quick chat with Our Man Mitch, who gave a terrific introduction to Mike Pence right before Pence’s keynote. Mitch talked a lot about the whole “change you can believe in” mantra that Obama used during his campaign, and how the GOP is the party who is about “change that believes in YOU.” I loved that – it’s the perfect way to capture the fact that it’s Republicans who believe in the capability of people to be productive and able to make their own decisions, versus Democrats who seem to think that people are only surviving because government provides for them.
Pence’s address was awesome, because he’s basically one of the most powerful speakers in politics today. You can’t listen to him speak and NOT be inspired or feel huge optimism.
As always, we had a MOST excellent evening. A few more photos after the jump!
