I live in Macon, Georgia also the home of Erick Erickson the founder of RedState. Most of you in this community are familiar with the site and its' reputation. He is also on the Macon City Council and a deacon at a local church. RedState is having its' first "convention" in Atlanta this weekend, and I want to share with you some of the information about this "convention" that was in my local paper.
The Red State"convention" is being held at the Buckhead Grand Hyatt in Atlanta. Around 250 redstaters are expected to attend. Supposedly, the 15 members of the Red State board of directors conducted a poll of its' 450 Georgia members to determine whether they wanted to meet each other face-to-face, and obviously the answer was yes. How Erickson turned it into a media event for big name republicans was not stated in the article's contents. I think he created an opportunity to elevate the status of his web site and prepare himself to run for a higher position in Georgia in the very near future.
At the "convention" Erickson plans to endorse the current Secretary of State Karen Handel for governor in the 2010 race. Liz Cheney is described in the article as the "surprise guest speaker." Now, I wonder why Erickson would invite Liz Cheney and why she would accept the invitation? The woman's credibility is shot, but I expect there'll be a lot of salivating by the redstaters because of the political bones Cheney will toss to them. I suppose they'll feel like they've met royalty because, after all, she's the daughter of former Vice-President Dick Cheney. They won't think about all of the damage that the Cheneys have done to this country. They'll stay right in their alternate reality and gobble up every lie she spews from her mouth.
What surprised me is that Governor Rick Perry(R) of Texas is also expected to attend. He'll get another chance to rail against healthcare reform, stimulus spending, and the spread of big government all while borrowing huge sums of money from the federal government. He'll probably be a big hit with the redstaters when he starts talking about the Tenth Amendment and secession.
Good old Representative Tom Price(R) also plans to make an appearance at the Red State "Convention." He'll probably get a chance to speak and rub shoulders with Perry and Cheney. He should be conducting a townhall or trying to come up with a republican solution for healthcare. But oh, that's right, the republicans don't have a plan!
I'm interested in how much influence Erickson thinks he can develop for himself. I read the comments to the article in the local paper and found that not every republican likes him and that more people than myself living in Macon feel he has a credibility problem. Time will tell.