Practical Federalism–Closing remarks by Jeff Chidester - Granite Grok

Practical Federalism–Closing remarks by Jeff Chidester

In concluding the entire day’s activities, Jeff Chidester gave his closing remarks to those still there at the end:

In large part, this was due to a lot of people there to hear Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, and Rick Santorum – the Presidential candidates.  Yes, many did show up for the beginning (more or less) and the room was filled to standing room well before those three showed up but it was clear the exits were seeing more activity the longer the event went on after the Wannabees had left.  This I can understand – at least they are trying to understand what the candidates are about on the issues.  For a lot of people, that may be all of the “dip into the political pool” they can stand – and I can’t say I blame them.  I, as a political blogger, news junkie, and philosophical in outlook, really got a lot out of the event – but it isn’t for most.  So all I have to do is convince another couple of percent of folks to be willing to jump right in and….

On the other hand, there was the Press…

Yes, I know they are on deadlines.  Yes, I know that they have to pack up and scoot in a lot of cases to get to the next gig.  And yes, unless they are at the top the pay is miserable (and if they were at the event, it meant that they aren’t at the top). And yes, we bloggers at these kinds of events are seen as annoyances at best and relegated to the bottom of the “journalistic” totem pole. When we arrived we were told that the riser stage was for the press and initially stuffed behind a pillar.

There, that off my chest, I hope that we have more credence than most of them – and much of it is due, I hope, that we actually WANT to be at these kinds of events.  We think we do a good job covering these events when, often, no media ever shows up.  And yes, a lot of these media were there ONLY because of Cruz, Fiorina, and Santorum.  Yes, a number showed up before their speeches but I can tell you that it is has a while (er, last event??) since I saw a more listless, more disinterested group of people that seemed to ABSOLUTELY hated being there.  I watched – not a SINGLE one of them nodded at a long of the good lines and points uttered in their presence.  Not a single instance of clapping, no smiles – but yes, looks of disdain and a few frowns instead. And almost as fast as the Wanabees were done and the photo ops and “press gaggles” were done, down came their equipment and off they went. It is clear that the MSM is not interested in our views, our interests, or our concerns.

Sidenote: I will give some props to WEBN, a small Boston based TV station that set up in front of us – but then hung around for more of the event and did some interviews with some folks.

Conservatives and constitutionalists, remember – the Press is not your friend.  In fact, in many cases, they hate you and everything you stand for.  Remember, 95% of their political donations go to the Left and there is a reason for the phrase “Democrats with bylines”.  No, we at GraniteGrok are not perfect (at least, I’m not!) but we are open and transparent about what we’re about – and we ARE your friends because, well, we are conservatives and constitutionalists first, second, and a whole bunch of ways down that line. You see us messing up, screwing up, and off the reservation – you let us know!

And thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

Previous Videos:

  • GrokTALK!Pre-showthe ordinary odds and ends as we tidy up the last techie details from, once again, doing a remote event.
  • GrokTALK! – Segment 1: ‘Grok friend Jeff Chidester (Talk show host, columnist, conservative activist) comes on to yak with us.  And we thank him for his nice words about us!
  • GrokTALK! – Segment 2: Ann Marie Banfield, education liason for Cornerstone Policy Research Action to talk about, well, Education!
  • GrokTALK! – Segment 3: Shane Vander Hart of The Family Leader (and blogger) comes on to talk about the Caucus activity going on in Iowa and how we see the differences between NH and Iowa.
  • GrokTALK! – Segment 4: Utah State Representative Ken Ivory comes on to represent the American Lands Council – why should the Feds control so much state land?
  • Practical Federalism – Jeff Chidester opened the forum as Master of Ceremonies; Bryan McCormack (Exec. Dir of Cornerstone Policy Research Action) gave the formal opening remarks
  • Practical Federalism – Emmett McRoarty, Esq., (American Principles Project) – “An Overview of the Federal Overreach”
  • Practical FederalismSean Fieler (Chair, American Principles Project) – “The Politics of Easy Money”
  • Practical FederalismUS Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) Parts 1 & 2
  • Practical Federalismformer HP CEO Carly Fiorina Parts 1 & 2
  • Practical Federalismformer US Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) Parts 1 & 2
  • Practical FederalismUT State Rep Ken Ivory of the American Lands Council Parts 1 & 2
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