This past week-end, Smart Girl Politics[1] held its 2nd Annual Smart Girl Summit[2] in Arlington, Virginia.
It was a two day event that had about 200 attendees. Since people are undoubtedly wondering, the ratio of women to men at the event was about 15-to-1. Additionally, percentage wise, there were more minorities at this event than most of the other conservative events I’ve been to lately. I’d say that roughly 10%-15% of the crowd were minorities.
I was there covering the event for Human Events[3]. I also was on the journalism panel with Kerry Picket[4] and co-moderators, Elizabeth Blackney[5] and Melissa Clouthier[6]. The panel went well, but unfortunately, I had a battery issue with my Flipcam Mino, so I didn’t end up getting a video of the speech.
There was an impressive array of speakers at the event including Michele Bachmann[7], S.E. Cupp[8], Dana Loesch[9], Debra Burlingame[10], Rachel Campos Duffy[11], Leslie Sanchez[12], Kathryn Jean Lopez[13], Liz Cheney[14], and Cathy McMorris Rodgers[15] (PS: I got a chance to speak for a few moments with Cathy McMorris Rodgers. She assured me that not only does she support defunding Obamacare, but that the GOP will enthusiastically attack the funding of Obamacare if they take over Congress.)
The speakers were very good across the line and when you got a chance to talk to them away from the stage, they were extremely friendly. Just to give you an example, on Thursday night, I ran into S.E. Cupp[8] outside the hotel. Honestly, I didn’t recognize her without the glasses — which makes me think that maybe Clark Kent’s glasses on/glasses off Superman disguise makes more sense than I may have thought at first. In any case, S.E. Cupp[8] was just sitting around talking to bloggers and two of them later told me S.E. spent two hours plus just hanging out, enjoying their company.
Of course, we all headed out each night after the day’s festivities had ended. Usually, we started in a restaurant and ended up in a bar. All in all, it was a great event that I’d highly recommend. We had a good time at the event, we had a good time afterwards, and even though I’ve been doing this for a long time, I learned some things during the panels. So, if you’re wondering whether you should go next year, I’d definitely give the event a big thumbs up.
Now, let’s get to what everyone’s really waiting to see: The pictures. Most of these pics are of the people I hung out with at the event, although I’ve started getting into the habit of getting snaps with the political celebrities I run into as well. Enjoy!
Kerry Picket[4], April Gregory[16]
Dina Fraioli[17]
Ashley Sewell[18], Jenny Erikson[19]
Ashley Sewell[18], Jenny Erikson[19]
Michelle Moore[20], Chris Loesch, Dana Loesch[9], Brian Bollman
A cultural lesson from Elizabeth Blackney[5] and her daughter in three pictures. First, here they are doing an American salute
Now Elizabeth Blackney[5] and her daughter are doing a British salute
Elizabeth Blackney[5] and her daughter are finishing things off with a French salute 😉
Maria Campos-Duffy, Rachel Campos Duffy[11], and Kathryn Jean Lopez[13]: The front shot
Rachel Campos Duffy[11], Maria Campos-Duffy, and Kathryn Jean Lopez[13]: From behind
Brian Bollman, Fingers Malloy[24]
Erik Telford[33], Ericka Andersen[22]
Alexa Shrugged[31], Fire From The Heartland: The Awakening of the Conservative Woman[34]
Natalie Nichols[35], Pamela Gorman[28]
John Hawkins[23], Dana Loesch[9]
Brittany Cohan[36], John Hawkins[23]
Laurenellen McCann[37], Thomas LaDuke[38]
Pamela Gorman[28] and Lori Ziganto whisper onstage
John Hawkins[23], Tabitha Hale[39]
Dina Fraioli[17], John Hawkins[23]
Maria Campos-Duffy, Sean Duffy[40]
Stacy Mott[30], Rachel Campos-Duffy[41], Teri Christoph[42]
Teri Christoph[42], S.E. Cupp[8]
S.E. Cupp[8], John Hawkins[23]
Alexa Shrugged[31], John Hawkins[23]
April Gregory[16], John Hawkins[23]
Tabitha Hale[39], April Gregory[16], Rachel Campos-Duffy[41]
Brittany Cohan[36], Molly Teichman[21]
John Hawkins, [43]Sarah Durand[27]
Stacie Haaga[44], Sarah Durand[27]
Also see my Human Events articles on the Smart Girl Summit,
Conservative women vs. liberal women: Who better represents the feminist ideal?[45] The Top 5 Quotes From Liz Cheney’s Smart Girl Summit Speech[46] The Top 5 Quotes From Dana Loesch’s Smart Girl Summit Speech[47] The top 7 quotes from day 2 of the Smart Girl Summit[48]