(Karri Bragg) – You may have thought that rain would keep Las Vegans inside last weekend, but turnout at February’s First Friday was as strong as ever despite the messy precipitation.
We’re not sure what made people put on rain coats and traverse the roads – maybe the anticipation of the Reagan Birthday celebration or the chance to hear Grover Norquist mix it up with locals about Harry Reid’s fate in November- but we are glad you all did!
A few special guests flew in to Las Vegas just in time to miss the massive snowstorm slamming the East Coast.
Craig Shirley, biographer and author of two books on President Ronald Reagan, chatted warmly with guests and shared the inside scoop on the ’84 election cycle.
Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, and ATR’s State Government Affairs Director Patrick Gleason, also dropped in from the nation’s capital to spread the good conservative word and share 100 free copies of Norquist’s latest book, “Leave Us Alone”.
Grover was none too shy about taking the stage – and his brief speech may have been one of the most rousing we have ever experienced at First Friday. He not only compared President Obama to the vermouth in a Reid-Pelosi martini, he pointed to the success of the First Friday happy hour in Nevada as a grassroots achievement that should be taking place in every state.
Perhaps the biggest applause line of the evening was when he reminded the crowd that “All eyes are on Nevada – this is your chance to get rid of Harry Reid.”
Many new faces walked through the door Friday evening, and we hope to see many more join us in the coming months as the 2010 election heats up.
Stay tuned for the announcement of a very, very special guest at the March First Friday- coming your way in just a few short days. We are moving away from the political angle this month to take a moment to say “thank you” to a pretty spectacular young woman.
Mark your calendars now for the March 5th event, taking place at Stoney’s on the Strip.
Pictures and more information about First Friday may be seen at www.firstfridaynevada.com
(Karri is executive vice president of Citizen Outreach Foundation)
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