LJWorld Reader blogs

Editor's Note: Becca Korphage is one of three Kansas delegates to the Republican National Convention who will be blogging on LJWorld.com. Check back often to see what they're saying.

It is about 2:15 a.m. and we just got back to the hotel.

The day started with a breakfast meeting with Congressman Jerry Moran. Afterward, I headed to downtown Minneapolis for a little souvenir shopping at the Civic Fest and then to the St. Thomas Law School for a Catholics for McCain event. We attended Mass followed by a luncheon. One thing I appreciate about being Catholic is the true universality of the Church. I can worship with people from around the country or the globe and absolutely be on the same page.

After the luncheon we previewed the documentary "Advise and Dissent" about the Supreme Court nomination process, particularly with Alito and Roberts, but even references to Bork, etc. It was very interesting, but I had to leave early before the panel spoke (Ralph Reed, Sen. Dewine, etc) because I had to get back to the hotel.

In the afternoon the Kansas and Oklahoma delegations were invited to a reception hosted by Koch and BNSF. We had wonderful speakers - Sen. Sam Brownback, former Congressman J.C. Watts and Matt Schlapp. The venue was just a couple blocks from the Xcel center.

The convention started promptly at 6:30. The night's theme was both a combination of "country first" and "service". I'm not one to get teary-eyed often, but I welled up with the essay on the American flag, the tribute to a fallen navy seal as well as at the tribute to Ronald Reagan. There is such tremendous pride and passion from these stories that exemplify who we are as a nation and as a people - individually and collectively.

Kansas's alternate delegates have the sweetest location, right next to the VIP box. So we watched, took pictures of and shook hands with the VIPs, President George H. W. Bush and Laura Bush, etc. The highlights were the speeches by Sen. Fred Thompson and Sen. Joe Lieberman. It was refreshing to hear politicians tell it like it is with no need to gloss over a candidate's credentials. John McCain is the real deal. Obama is not. I was fascinated by Lieberman's guts to lay out the truth knowing that he will be excommunicated even more so by his former party. I hope the independents and many Democrats will take the call to heart and check out McCain with open hearts and vote for him in November.

After the convention session ended we had many events to choose from for the after hours. Most of my friends and I ended up at Gov. Mike Huckabee's rock concert. It was a blast. They really know how to rock! The music selections, all being more classic rock and country, were great. We had a lot of fun.

Back to the hotel by 2:00 a.m. At it again at 7:30 a.m.