My Political Dealings Pt.2- Electric Boogaloo

I worked so very hard on this party... putting in work all day Wed and definitely all day Thursday, hoping to have everything go according to plan. And in the end, everything did go according to plan, a feeling that is both relieving and rewarding. The party was an immense success, and in some ways was better than I ever thought it would be! Here is a recap of the events, and some pictures my mom took.

I got there around 3PM and began unloading my car and setting things up. The Venue, which is the gathering room connected to the Blue Violet Cafe, has a dimly lit, coffee house vibe complete with couches. There was already a stage set up, with red curtains as a backdrop. I was able to set up my mac, the projector, and most of the decorations. It wasn't until Christoph (Dweller, friend, Windows user) showed up, with a duffle bag filled with nothing but wires, that I could get started on the tech side of the event. We had a little trouble at first setting up the internet, but after some fiddling around we not only got it working, we were able to set up a wireless hotspot! So now our phone call with the First Lady could be wirelessly broadcast on Chris' computer. Excellent.

The party kicked off at 6:30, as the first groups of people arrived. My dad and I greeted everyone, since we have the same first name people weren't sure who was hosting this thing. And then at 6:45 I made an announcement about the events for the party:

Standing next to me, of course, is President Bush. Or at least... a cardboard version of him. Thanks again to my buddies who got that for me for my birthday!

After that announcement, there was a good bit of mingling going around. I spoke with some people, but really spent the bulk of my time managing the music playing in my iTunes, streaming Flash movies and Bush campaign commercials off of the internet and into the projector, and welcoming the guests. I knew maybe half of the people at the party, the rest showed up because they either found out about it through Bush's website or they were invited at the last Beaver County GOP meeting I attended. It was really a great feeling to see all of these Republicans come out to party in a county that is largely Democrats (thanks alot, steel mills!)

A good number of the Cellar Dwellers showed up to support our President. Christoph is the guy picking his eye. Also pictured is Stephanie Shearer, a good friend of mine from SHU... represent!

There were also a handful of important people at the party, including Pat Geho (pronounced Jee-Hoe), who is running for the State House of Representatives, and this gentlemen, named Luke, sitting next to him, who is a representative from Melissa Hart's office. She wanted to come to the party personally, however she had to lay the legislative smackdown in Washington yesterday.

As it got closer to 8:30 (which was the time the conference call was to start) things started to happen at the party. The first of which was an appearance from everyone's favorite liberal tag-team, John Edwards and John Kerry! Okay, so really it was just me and Mike Hinzman (aka Mike the Tall) with neckties...but we did a killer impression and told some cheesy-yet-hilarious vaudeville jokes. Afterwards we were asked about possibly doing this routine at the next Republican fundraiser dinner in the county.

Kerry: We're more liberal than Ted Kennedy's ever-expanding waistband!
Edwards: We're more liberal than a lesbian eco-hike!

After our ten minute routine, it was time for the president's video message. The video was him summarizing all of the wonderful things he's done for the country in his four years in office (must I mention the No Child Left Behind Act, tax relief, etc). And of course after the video everyone applauded... It was at this tim in the party when Pat Geho and Luke from People with Hart got up and spoke to everyone about the election, getting active, and the strong morals and convictions that come with being a member of the GOP.

The conference call came through at 8:30 and was definitely a highlight of the party. It lasted over thirty minutes, and featured a speech by Laura Bush, question and answer sessions with various parties across the country, and a special surprise... GW! Right at the end, the operator announced a special guest, and sure enough the President got on the phone. Everyone at the party cheered, gasped, and pretty much freaked out... as quietly as they could, since we still had to listen to the phone call. George thanked everyone for having these parties, and spoke about the campaign to get him re-elected. It was an awesome surprise indeed.

After that, everyone relaxed, hung out, and dispersed around 9:30. An extremely successful party. We had about fifty people attend the party and all of them assured me they would be at the next one... which is scheduled for September 2nd (of course, I will be at school at the time... so this could be tricky). Thanks to everyone who attended, or helped me set this up (especially my parents!)

Posted by MikeRubino at July 16, 2004 1:12 AM