If anyone is has any doubts about Mr. Cheney’s protection, rest assured that the Secret Service’s presence was abundant. They messed up my game plan – after I found the perfect place to capture the moment, when they arrived I was escorted to the media stand because they needed a clear path in all directions.
KSEV radio talk show personality Edd Hendee started the proceedings with a rousing endorsement of Sen. Hutchison. He ran through a litany of issues that Texas has faced under the leadership of the current governor that have not been addressed. Obviously, he brought up border security because that is his main issue but he also mentioned the high property taxes that homeowners still face and the additional tax burden that was placed on small businesses. His remarks were well received.
After Mr. Hendee’s speech, the stage was cleared for the entrance of Sen. Hutchison and Mr. Cheney. They entered to rousing applause and then Mr. Cheney went straight into his endorsement.
The former VP spoke for about five minutes, talking about his long time relationship with Sen. Hutchison and how she worked to help the Bush administration keep our country safe. He also made it clear to all that Sen. Hutchison is a true conservative, not one of those conservatives in rhetoric only. She does most of her work behind the scenes, preferring effectiveness in governance over the roar of rhetoric. Here are his remarks.
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Although Mr. Cheney received a warm welcome, the star of the show was clearly Sen. Hutchison. The people that were in the room are obviously longing for new leadership in Austin. Although Texas is doing well in relation to other states, they seemed to understand that the true comparison should not be with other states but with what Texas could and should be. And in that comparison, they know that Texas is lagging well below its potential and they believe that Sen. Hutchison can help Texas reach that potential.
Another thing that I noticed about the crowd was the relative youthfulness. Sure there were some longtime Republican stalwarts such as Dr. Ed Chen but there were a lot of young people, which is exactly what our party needs. We really, really do need to break out of the current model of focusing on the issues that us older voters hold dear and understand that if our country is going to remain vital, we must reach young people. Sen. Hutchison seems to be able to do this and to get them excited.
All in all, it was a very good night for Sen. Hutchison. I doubt her campaign could be much happier with the way it turned out.