NRA Conference, fun! 6/18/22

[BassCliff]

Greetings,

A month or so ago I got an email with an invitation so I thought, "What the heck? It sounds like it could be fun and interesting." I've never attended a function like this before, an NRA State Conference. It was held at a not-too-fancy hotel not far from my new home.

I was sort of expecting protestors with signs and foul language, but there was nothing of the sort. This certainly isn't California. I walked in to register at the desk but my name wasn't on the list. I mentioned that I RSVP'd twice for this event. I was told the website got hacked so a lot of names were lost. Great. I wonder what other information of mine may have been stolen. Anyway, they let me in to enjoy the show, and free breakfast.

This is Keith, who runs the local Republican party for the county. They were selling lots of merch. I picked up a couple of t-shirts.

I texted Mrs. BassCliff a picture and asked if she wanted me to pick up a t-shirt for her. She declined.

There were maybe a couple hundred attendees at this event. I sat up at one of the front tables. It turns out that the table I invited myself to was reserved for all the speakers. But none of them minded and invited me to sit. Cool.

This was the itinerary for the day. All the speakers were knowledgeable and passionate.

The table at which I was sitting included David Keene, Aurilia Giacometto, Julian Bradley, and Janel Brandtjen. Aurilia was in Pres. Trump's cabinet. Julian and Janel are current state legislators here in Wisconsin. There were also a few other "celebrities" in the house. You might know this guy.

Meet gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels, gladhanding with the old noob. Seems like a good sort.

Another gubernatorial candidate, Rebecca Kleefisch. I really like her. Can you tell?

This is Aurelia Giacometto and David Keene. Aurelia was sharp as a tack and David like to tell "good old boy" stories. They were both charming.

After all the legal talk, training talk, grassroots talk, Q&A, etc, it was time to go home and inventory my swag.

It was a really fun and informative day. I'm seriously considering doing some volunteer work for the NRA. I've got the time now. We all need to do our part in preserving the entire Constitution, including the 2nd Amendment, and getting young folks interested in the shooting sports. OK, this is me, getting down off my soap box.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[somorris]

Good for you, and thank you, BassCliff! I have always heard all politics is local. The NRA needs all the help we can get right now.

 

[dad]

It never ceases to amaze me the anti NRA crowd doesnt realize its people that make up the NRA. They always talk about it as if it were just some sort of inanimate lobby.

 

[TidalWave]

Participation like this is such a good thing… next time, consider taking a friend or two - especially if they are not gun owners but might be sympathetic to our freedoms.
The more that attend these events, the more politicians will pay attention !

 

[TidalWave]

Concur…
It’s almost as though “if we’d get rid of that thing [NRA] everbody would be happy to fall in line…
or some such.

 

[Recusant]

Good for you BassCliff! I just hope more members here will follow your example and get involved at the grass roots level. We are all into responsible gun ownership and protecting our 2nd Amendment rights. Thanks for taking the time and making the effort.

 

[Jfal]

I would have come just to hear Dan Kelly, but it looks like he maybe did not speak very long....

 

[BassCliff]

Hi,

I would have come just to hear Dan Kelly, but it looks like he maybe did not speak very long....

Dan Kelly spoke for a good 20-25 minutes. I liked his attitude. He told a story about a church he was visiting while in that town for an event. At the end of the service the pastor greeted him and said, "It was quite an honor to have someone so important visiting us in church today." Dan said he gauged "importance" by the number of bosses a person has. (For example, the owner of the company is the big boss. He's pretty important. There's no one over him. The dock worker in that company has a lead, a department head, a supervisor, a manager, a vice-president, etc, a lot of bosses over him. Perhaps the dock worker is not quite as irreplaceable as the owner.) He asked the preacher how many bosses he had. The preacher, of course, said, "I've got One Boss." To which Dan replied, "Well, I've got six million bosses. I work for all the people in the state. I think you are quite a bit more important than I am." Dan spoke about holding government officials accountable for what they were elected to do, not just make up arbitrary rules while living in their "bubble". Elected officials and representatives should not forget their constituents. It was a good talk. In a perfect world things like that would really happen.

Sheriff (Ret) David Clarke was also there at his "Rise Up Wisconsin" table. I wish he would have been on the speaking agenda.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff