Mr. Kelly goes to Scottsdale

Last night I, along with pal Dan Tullie attended a "Tea Party" put together by the Republican Professionals. These functions, borrowing their names from the Boston Tea party, are gatherings for conservatives, or in Dan's case, the inquisitive, to express displeasure in the Federal governments increasing involvement in the U.S. economy. Having never went to a political gathering outside of Saipan, I was curious to see what grassroots Republican activism looks like.

Held at Scottsdale's W hotel, Republican activism was not what I envisioned. I had figured the meeting would occur in a conference room. Rather, the tea party took place on the W's rooftop pool.Built to appear that the shimmering water hovers above the deck that surrounds it, this the coolest pool I had ever seen, which says alot, as I come from an island crammed with resorts. Dan and I were decidedly under dressed, as I had naively believed that since the meeting was open to the public, there was no need to dress up. In a sea of crisply dressed, (mostly)young urban professionals, Dan and I were proud representatives of the Casual Republicans (at least I was). One of the two speakers was Barry Goldwater Jr., whose profile in the Arizona dusk was a dead ringer of his father. Barry Jr. is advancing in years, evinced by his definition and defence of classic Goldwaterian Republican conservatism (liberal use of the words freedom and liberty).Barry Jr. also mentioned that America was engaged in a bloody war in South East Asia, which was kinda quaint.

I was surprised that the mention of Jan Brewer's name brought cat calls from the crowd. Brewer, a Republican, is currently cutting State spending, and is in favor of temporarily raising taxes, in an effort to close a Billion dollar-plus budget deficit she is legally bound to close. There were no alternative suggestions from the speakers or from the crowd for solving Arizona's budget crisis except "no new taxes!". Jan Brewer's tax record is AAA sterling, and criticizing her for potential tax hikes requires one to see only half the problem, a luxury the Governor does not enjoy.

In the end, the Tea Pary was an interesting mix of the expected and unexpected. Amid swank, trendy Scottsdale trappings, accompanied by a soundtrack piped modern elevator music, concerned citizens gathered to express their displeasure with the countries direction. It was a fusion of classic Buckley-Goldwater conservatism and Scottsdale cocktail party, populated by attractive women in dresses colored in vibrant hues, and gents with fresh suits (including one guy in a white coat/pant ensemble Ala Scarface). Dan and I weren't given tea bags, but what we did lend was authenticity, as in the Boston Tea Party, the participants had to use makeup to appear like first Americans, while we came to the party prepared in that respect.