Jews & Politics: GOP Convention Update (Part 3)

Wednesday was another eventful day at the RNC, and the lineup of speakers was nearly mind numbing.

I can’t stress enough how great it is being a page and being able to meet some of the most prominent men and woman in our country.

The early part of the day started like most, with us pages putting down the materials for the delegates and alternates. The arena is very large with thousands of seats so it’s truly a wonder that our group of pages managed to finish in a little over an hour!

After that I had some free time, but was a bit saddened to learn that my kosher food was having trouble getting into the building; lunch would have to wait, it seemed.

My mood quickly improved as I was able to take a picture with former presidential candidate and current governor of Texas Rick Perry.

Later on the floor us pages were back at work giving out signs and firing up the crowd, as a great lineup of speakers came on. Rand Paul, a true conservative, led the way, putting his full backing behind Mitt Romeny.

We were then treated to a throwback to the last convention as Senator John Mccain took the stage. It is still hard to believe that four years ago I was watching him accept the nomination for presidency himself, and I was especially pleased with his comments about defending Israel, which is constantly under threat by militant countries.

In between distributing signs I did get to move around a bit, visiting my Nebraska delegacy before getting to shake hands with the attorney general of Texas, Greg Abbott, and got to dance with the Purto Rican delegates during one of the bands’ live performances.

Two definitive highlights of the night came when a few pages and I got to take pictures and meet the Governor of New Jersey and the previous night’s keynote speaker Chris Christie and have Ann Romney walk within feet of us waving and smiling before being whisked away.

Unfortunately, after that there was some overcrowding on the floor and the fire marshals had to clear some space so us pages were moved high into the stands. The disruption caused me to miss former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee (who I had met several times at the last Convention) and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, although I hear that they both gave rousing speeches and look forward to watching highlights.

I am happy to report that I was able to hear Congressmen and – hopefully – the next Vice President Paul Ryan, and all I can say is wow! I couldn’t help the thought from going through my head that this is what our future should look like. Both Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan represent very important things, I’ll go into what Governor Romeny Represents tomorrow, but the impression I got from Congressman Ryan was that this is who should be representing our country; this was the face of proper, hard-working youth and a man who – as he detailed in his speech – has not forgotten what hard work and taking responsibility means.

I was left without a doubt in my mind that a Romney/Ryan presidency will mean leading and not making problems worse; it will mean returning America to a successful country and not one that is trillions of dollars in debt; it will mean taking responsibility and correcting issues – not making excuses and putting the blame elsewhere. Perhaps most important, someone like Paul Ryan can help bring us back to a morally righteous country that builds toward the future without attempting to destroy our past, and respects its moral foundations that have been under such heavy attack.

Simply put, Paul Ryan to me represents the future that we could and should have, and I’m thrilled to have the chance to vote for a man who shares the same ideals and visions that I, and so many other young people I have met this week, have. He is truly a voice to the voiceless, and I have no doubt that Joe Biden is a pretty nervous man tonight.

Side note: there was an incident where protesters got into the building, but I saw they were swiftly removed and I just want to give kudos to the convention’s security personnel, who have kept us all safe and sound.

All the Good Stuff,
Yosef

The author with Texas governor Rick Perry.