Jedediah Bila: Lessons Learned in the Windy City

Jedediah Bila attended and spoke at the C4P meetup in Chicago. Following is an excerpt of her reviewThis past Saturday, I headed to Chicago to speak at the Conservatives4Palin November meet-up. The trip was one I?ll never forget. It?s incredible how many lessons one can learn from hard-working, patriotic grassroots activists.[...]I learned that the weight, power, and connections of the long-standing political machine can?t hold a candle to the raw passion and commitment of grassroots activists. The machine is robotic, tedious, and lifeless. Grassroots activists are independent-minded, dynamic, and vivacious. I learned that the character of those who support a leader really does mirror the character of the leader herself. Many of Sarah Palin?s supporters are so much like the Palin I?ve come to know through her writing, appearances, and a brief encounter with her at a book signing in November of 2009. Much like the woman who inspires them, the activists I met on Saturday are humble, down-to-earth, and approachable, but tough as nails when it comes to fighting for what they believe in. I learned that Tammy Bruce is downright fantastic. As a former lefty, her perspective is invaluable. But most importantly, she calls it like she sees it ? all of it, even the stuff so many are too hesitant or too afraid to say. I, for one, am incredibly grateful that the conservative movement has her on our side. And I learned that the extent to which Sarah Palin has inspired people is far bigger than I realized ? likely much bigger than she realizes herself. When I covered her book signing in Rochester in November of 2009, I discovered that there was something different about her supporters, something I then labeled ?a force to be reckoned with.? However, it wasn?t until I spoke at the C4P event this past weekend ? where I met leaders from groups like US for Palin, Physicians for Palin, Jews for Palin, and countless others ? that I fully understood how exceptional their commitment really is. The people I spoke with don?t view Palin as a celebrity and don?t care about the fact that she?s famous. They treasure the message she carries with her, relate to the fact that deep down she really is just a regular person with a regular family and a regular life, believe in her ability to lead this country and to take on politics as usual, and ? perhaps most importantly ? genuinely trust her to keep her word. That kind of trust is not only priceless, but incredibly rare in politics. And ? in my humble opinion ? incredibly beautiful to witness.Read the rest here it's really good. She writes about a letter she recieived from a C4P reader.

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