Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did a fine job on Friday fielding questions from Iowans for almost an hour. He was engaging, he was witty, he was funny and he was steady.
And, as good as he was, I must say those in attendance were at least just as good. And they proved why Iowa belongs in its First in the Nation position.
Pompeo was peppered with questions from conservatives at the Westside Conservative Club that Republican candidates may not really want to be asked.
Detailed questions about Chinese policy. A question about the radical Equality Act. A couple of questions about election integrity (and those asking made clear it was a pretty well-established fact in that room the 2020 Election had fraud). A couple of questions about literature. A question from a young man about the debt and the dollar.
I could go on and on.
But this is nothing new for those of us who routinely witness political stops in the Hawkeye State.
Iowans know their stuff. They’re smart. They’re engaging. They cut to the chase and they let the questions fly.
I give credit to everyone in attendance as well as the group of folks who decided to start the Westside Conservative Club in January of 2009. Shortly after Barack Obama was elected President, a group of patriots decided to do something.
A dozen years later, their “group” was about 150 Iowans in a party room at the Iowa Machine Shed with some overflow in another area of the restaurant.
This group meets twice a month. They encompass everything that is great about this country and they do it for the right reasons.
If America had more groups like the Westside Conservative Club led by patriots like those who spearhead the organization, we’d have a much more informed electorate and, in turn, much fewer problems (read elected Democrats).
And on one final note, I was told by many Trump supporters after the 2020 Election that there was no point in voting ever again. That there was no point of engaging.
But if Friday morning’s crowd is evidence of anything, it is that conservative apathy in Iowa doesn’t exist.
Conservatives know the future of the country is on the line. And when the future of the country is on the line, it means the history of the country is at stake as well.
A history of men, women and children who made a voyage from the other side of the Atlantic centuries ago — willing to sacrifice their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor in hopes of forming a more perfect union.
Through their courage and their faith in God, our founders laid the foundation for the most incredible country in the history of the world.
Their willingness to sacrifice those very things — their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor — are indeed honored to this day when proud patriotic Americans gather for breakfast twice a month to discuss the most pressing issues of the day.
So to everyone who filled the room by 6:30 a.m. on a Friday morning, and to the Westside Conservative Club organizers, thank you.
You all are evidence as to why Iowa should be First in the Nation.
