I attended the Take Back Washington rally on Friday, and left energized despite spending the entire day on my feet (with a twenty pound camera pack) and on the move. I wasn’t the only one…several hundred North Dakotans joined me to take part in this synergy between the established Republican Party and the grass roots movement.

I’ve gone back and added a few things to these photos now that I’ve got the time, so check ’em out a little more closely:

“Thomas Paine” and Dakota Beacon publisher Steve Cates were among the friendly faces I found when I first arrived. If you don’t read the Beacon, you should. If you do read the Beacon, please subscribe. If you advertise your business or product, do it in the Beacon. “Thomas” is my friend Lynn, and I’m told that yes, those are rented socks.

Things started at 3pm with breakout sessions consisting of various panel discussions and Q&A opportunities. The topics ranged from family issues to energy to constitutional battles. This session was on taxation and government spending. Some of the sessions were in smaller rooms, others like this one in much larger ones. The only downside was that I couldn’t decide which one to sit in, and I wanted photos of all of them, so I did the best I could to pop in and out without being rude.

Each session had a microphone handy for those who had questions and/or comments for the presenters and panels. This was the family session, hosted by Tom Frier of the North Dakota Family Alliance. It’s also the only one I know of that closed in prayer. Amen!

My friend Rob was on the Constitution panel, and I didn’t even get to hear him! I was too busy running from place to place in search of cool photos. I allowed the organizers access to a bunch of my images to upload to their Flickr stream. This event is important because it can be used as a model for other states, and I want to contribute to that success.

I love this hat, belonging to a sweet little old lady who let me take her picture later on. I agree with the “Draft Ed” button, but now to draft him for a return as North Dakota governor! She waited patiently in her wheelchair for me to take her photo, giving me a little background about the history of many of those buttons on her hat.

Speaking of Governor Ed, he was on a panel with political expert Grover Norquist. I was able to meet Grover at a luncheon earlier in the day and get an autographed copy of his new book, too! Someone later remarked that no matter where or when you meet him, Ed is always Ed…a man of character. I’d wholeheartedly agree. Whether it was helping him get a restored car started at McDonald’s or chatting about getting a new racetrack started outside his ExtendAmerica offices, he’s been the same friendly, genuine person each time our paths have crossed. Mr. Norquist was nothing like I expected him to be, and is another patient and friendly guy. I sure appreciate his sense of humor (as well as the free autographed book).

All the panels were very well attended. I managed to listen in from place to place and really wish I could have been everywhere at once! It was impossible to pick one discussion I wanted to attend. It was hard to find a seat in most of them. I stayed near the back and listened while taking my pictures, moving from place to place.

I lucked into a VIP pass for a chance to meet the keynote speaker, Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, and a seat right up toward the front. I’ve never been pranked by a US Congressperson before (aside from the daily backstabbing we North Dakotans get from Earl Pomeroy)! Nice to see she has a sense of humor 🙂 I didn’t really use my seat up front much, though, since I was roaming around with my camera as usual. The first picture we took was serious. I was about to leave when she pulled me back and said, “one more!” This was the result.

Then it was time for the rally to start. As you can see, it was a wildly successful event. There were several hundred attendees and the atmosphere was one of excitement and enthusiasm. Even with my blue VIP ticket, I was lucky to find a place to sit in the section they had reserved for us up front. That’s okay…I was only in it for five or ten minutes before roaming around the room with my camera once more.

The evening was MC’ed by the Chairman of the Common Sense Club, radio personality and event supporter Scott Hennen. I think he coordinated the effort to provide live web streams of the event as well. I keep a link to his radio station, AM 1100 “The Flag,” on the right hand side of this site. You can hear his show locally here in Bismarck-Mandan on News Talk 1270 AM.

Gary Emineth, GOP Chairman, deserves credit for coming up with this idea. I’ve only wanted to get involved in politics in the past year or so, and from the start Gary and other members of the party have enthusiastically reached out to me and others like me who want to make a difference. Republican party organizations in other states had better take note of what happened here tonight, because Gary’s idea was a sure-fire winner in my opinion.

Republican candidates for a variety of offices as well as party leaders took their places at a row of tables at the front of the room. They had no microphones. They were given no opportunity to respond or give a speech. They were there for one purpose Friday night: to listen. And listen they did. I have a really wide lens, but not wide enough to show you that Kevin Cramer was to the left of this shot. Make no mistake, he was there and listening.

Ross Ueckert started off the audience participation part of the rally. Ross is known for his effort to walk to Washington, DC and give our congressional delegation an earful. He made it all the way across North Dakota from Beach last year, and as far as Hastings, Minnesota. He suspended his walk (due to weather, I presume) and will resume on Flag Day. He isn’t going to stop until he gets there.
Ross’s stories of the people he’s met along the way are amazing. I got to chat it up with him at lunch earlier in the day. He proudly wears a bracelet bearing the name of a fallen ND soldier. The bracelet was given to him by a woman he encountered on his walk. Why, yes…he does have a website: www.ourgreatwalk.com.

Yes, I had my turn at the microphone after Ross. When I realized that I had something I wanted to say, I took a cue from a certain vice-presidential candidate and wrote the three points I wanted to mention on my hand. No teleprompters in this house! Naturally I was misquoted in the Tribune.

Then it was time for Congresswoman Bachmann to take the stage as keynote speaker. She was amazing to listen to, and appeals to people like me who value tradition, responsibility, and accountability in our government.

Michele (if I can presume to refer to her by first name…she’s such a charismatic person, it’s easy to think of her in a friendly way) was a superstar, even though Scott and others told the crowd that we’re the stars of the show this time. She was able to present some interesting information while being entertaining, endearing, and encouraging. Can you imagine her teamed up with Sarah Palin? Well, that’s going to happen down the road at a future rally, in Minnesota if I recall correctly.

Then the Johnny Holm Band took to the stage, with an impromptu parody song to the tune of “Battle of New Orleans” by Johnny Horton. He was able to talk some of the evening’s more famous folks into singing along with the crowd, as someone had dashed to a photocopier and made a bunch of lyric sheets for the crowd. I’m told that FOX News took the live web feed when the crowd started singing, but at that point I was packing up my camera gear to rush home to my beautiful wife.

I say again, the entire event was an enormous success from start to finish. The most important thing I got from the event, and this is what I said when I had a turn at the microphone, is that we concerned North Dakotans should not be considered “Tea Party” or “Town Hall” people. We’re North Dakotans who are standing up for our nation, and we are with the Republican Party on the vast majority of issues. If we differ with the party on certain issues, let’s change that from inside! They’re reaching out to North Dakotans who have never been involved in politics before, saying, “Come on in!” Let’s take them up on it, giving strength and direction to the party, and start taking back our nation!