I thought I’d do a photo dump… not that I have much to dump… I didn’t get any pictures of Governor Sarah Palin (sorry!), and you can see why by the photo below:

100_1890

That was the view from bloggers row.  She was in and out of the hall as well so didn’t get a chance to get up close.  I did find one lucky person who happened to be at the right place at the right time as she was leaving, and I’m shamelessly lifting Ryan Collmeyer’s picture here:

image

Behind the Governor is Iowa GOP chair Matt Strawn, one of my friends, Isaiah McGee, volunteered at the event and was able to hang out with Todd Palin by their car and had a chance to meet Governor Palin briefly as she was leaving.

100_1891

Above we have former Gubernatorial candidate, Rod Roberts, and his wife Trish.

100_1892

And these are the people I have to hang out with.  Pictured here are Al Bregar of Iowa Defense Alliance and Grant Young of Questions, Comments and Insults.  Art Smith of The Conservative Reader and Craig Robinson of The Iowa Republican were being too prissy to get their photo taken and didn’t want a bad photo posted online.  Ok, I just made that up.

100_1895

Another reason I don’t have a lot pictures is that I’m absolutely horrible at it.  Next time I’m bringing my daughter to be my photographer.  I decided I shouldn’t complain about my seat, because behind the camera platform sat the media.  I could at least see the stage from my vantage point.

100_1897

Congressman Steve King (R-Iowa 5th) and yours truly.  In case you are wondering yes I have braces, and yes I hate to smile now.  Just two more years… and I’ll be rid of the things.  Congressman King and I had a brief chat where he said it was good to put a face to Caffeinated Thoughts.  Looking at the picture above I can’t see why that would be good 😉

100_1898

Congressman Tom Latham (R-Iowa 4th) and hey it’s me again.  I think this post has set the record for most pictures of me.  I hate posting pictures of myself, but here you go.  Congressman Latham looks thrilled to be there doesn’t he?

100_1900

Senator Chuck Grassley talking with some constituents, the line was too long to get a picture with him.  He’s a popular guy and yesterday was his birthday – 77-years-old.  Governor Palin wished him a Happy Birthday during her speech.

Well a photojournalist I’m not.

I also spoke with our Lt. Governor candidate, State Senator Kim Reynolds, who is a huge Sarah Palin fan, and also talked with Brenna Findley, our candidate for Attorney General of Iowa who was also given a shout out by Governor Palin (makes sense since she’s one of two Attorney General candidates that Governor Palin has endorsed).

Update:  Dave Davidson has some excellent photos up here, and you can see all of the pictures he took of the event here.

You May Also Like

Media Bias and Defending A.J. Spiker

Some Iowa Republicans are quick to judge A.J. Spiker for what they see as political failures, but are mum on Governor Branstad’s policy failures.

Reynolds Signs Property Tax Transparancy​​​ Bill

SF 634 adds new steps to the city and county budget processes, aimed at clarifying intentions around property tax increases and giving citizens the opportunity to be heard.

Paul McKinley: We Get The Government We Vote For

By State Senator Paul McKinley – Iowa Senate Republican Leader We get…

What I’m Thankful For

David Young: As we approach the end of the year and the Thanksgiving holiday, I want to express my thanks to the folks of Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District.