Nancye and I attended our first Lincoln Dinner as Warren County Conservatives on Friday April 14, 2023. The event was held at the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green. We did not know what to expect, so we planned to arrive early. I was taught that it is better to overdress for an event when there is no stated dress code, so we did.
When we arrived at the museum, there was plenty of parking. As we entered the reception area, there were a few people in front of us, but the check-in seemed to take longer than necessary. I don’t know if this was by design, but by the time we received our name tags and took the obligatory stroll through the main lobby to gaze at the newly sold Corvettes, the line was backed up to the front door and curled around the front with quadruple the number of people.
As we milled around the lobby and then found our assigned table, it became evident that the purpose of the delayed start was to meet and greet existing representatives and selected political candidates. As newbies to the fray, it seemed everyone knew everyone else except us. The familiar faces were those I have seen or spoken with at the various political meetings in town.
As I surveyed the crowd, it was evident that elected officials and wannabes were the ones dressed in professional business attire. Some of the groups interacted like good ol’ boy fraternities while other gaggles included their families in polite political conversation. The candidates present were willing to talk to anyone.
As a newcomer, it is sometimes difficult to engage with elected representatives as their attention span seems to diminish rapidly after one or two minutes of conversation. They also seem to be constantly interrupted by other colleagues or government bureaucrats. The constituents, some more informed than others, have trained these politicians to talk more than listen. Fortunately, we were approached by a representative (name withheld) who introduced himself and his family. Because I knew of his recent voting record, we had a productive discussion where I shared my viewpoints and got his feedback. Because of this, I left the conversation with a more positive impression than I held previously. If only more representatives would spend a few quality minutes with ordinary citizens.
Once we were seated at the table, the conversations with other conservatives were informative and spirited. Additional candidates made the table rounds and informational flyers soon cluttered our eating spaces, including some oppositional smear material. I was somewhat shocked by this and felt like a kid who accidently discovered an older brother’s porno collection. The purveyor of the smear material told us we could keep the flyer if we wanted, but I demurred. I got the gist of the accusations.
Finally, a delicious dinner was served after almost two hours and the scheduled program began. The invocation, anthem, and pledge were inspired sandwiched by comments of support for law enforcement and the military. In the subsequent program, two candidates for state offices and five candidates for governor spoke for three and five minutes each, respectively. Interestingly, all the speakers are serving or have served in an elected capacity except one. Their speeches quickly sorted themselves into two categories, those who were running against their primary opponents and those who were running against their Democratic Party opponent. It was also clear that a political newcomer has a tremendous disadvantage. The seasoned office holders all know the hot button issues and speaking cadence that will generate positive crowd reactions. The common themes were faith, family, economy, energy, and education. The word freedom was mentioned often.
The keynote speaker, Asa Hutchinson, former governor of Arkansas, provided a fine exclamation point to the event. As a recently announced candidate for the President of the United States, he had the clearest and most transparent message of all. He began by speaking of his accomplishments in government under Reagan and Bush the younger. He then outlined his five-point presidential platform.
1. Control spending
2. Secure the border
3. Lead the free world
4. Grow energy opportunities
5. Defeat leftist indoctrination in schools and business
I’m sure his message will be further refined and tested over the next year during the presidential campaign. For me the burning question remains whether any of the candidates or current elected officials will have any interest in reducing the size of government. The swamp is alive and well at all levels. Money brings influence and power seeks more power. Over 300 attended the event, but during the entire evening’s activities, the list of 34 sponsors scrolled continuously on the big screen. This ensured we didn’t forget who the truly important people were at this event.
Mark Doggett, PHD
About Mark
Mark has twenty years of experience in higher education with thirteen years as a full-time educator. Twenty years of experience in business and industry including defense aerospace, food and beverage manufacturing, farm and irrigation products.
Education: Doctorate at Colorado State University Interdisciplinary Studies with B.S. and M.S. degrees in Industrial Technology from California State University Fresno.
To contact Mark, email him at mark.doggett@wku.edu